Random Tater Pic of the Day #288

Today's random tater pic of the natural cut fries with Old Bay seasoning from Joe's Crab Shack comes courtesy of my bro-in-law Bruce, thanks!

Halloween at MoonDog Grill

Don't forget to get over to the Moorestown Mall Food Court to try MoonDog Grill's Walking Dead Dog, an all-beef Sabrett hot dog topped with chili, cheese sauce, spicy red pepper relish, atomic BBQ sauce, jalapenos, onions, and sriracha… oooh, hot and scary. They also have new Italian sodas in ten assorted flavors, but the real reason to visit MoonDog at any time, not just Halloween, is the fries, and now there's a twist.

You can not only get MoonDog's fabulous fresh-cut and twice-fried French fries, but you can get them as a Fry Bowl. They start with eight ounces of fries and come in four varieties – Chili Cheese: all beef chili, cheese sauce, and onions, Barbecue: pulled pork, shredded cheese, and BBQ sauce, Mexican: salsa, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and shredded cheese, and Buffalo: buffalo wing sauce, jalapenos, blue cheese dressing, and celery salt.

Stop in and check them out, some of the best fries and dogs in South Jersey!

French Fry Diary 780: BurgerFi Appetizer

BurgerFi is one of those places I have been meaning to go to for quite some time. When I saw one nearby on a business roadtrip with The Bride, I had to stop in, while she did other important stuff.

The first thing that struck me about BurgerFi was the prices.  This place doesn't play, it's expensive, or at least more expensive than other comparable places. Any size single order of fries or onion rings border on around five bucks.  I was startled, only happening upon the place by chance and just wanting a snack.  This was an expensive snack.  I settled for the Cry + Fry, being a combo of fries and rings... at $5.47. 

I had been meaning to go to a BurgerFi for some time since one opened in the Philadelphia Convention Center but that never happened while I lived in New Jersey.  I was happy to find one here in Florida.  It was nice with an open-air patio, Coke Freestyle machines, and a pager to take to your table so they can bring your order out.  They also had Mexican Coke in bottles and Boylan Sodas as well. I thought the latter was a bit odd as it's a Pepsi product.

The Cry + Fry was almost exactly as advertised in the pictures in store and online - three gigantic onion rings atop an order of natural cut fries.  They came out fairly quickly and we're very hot, so probably cooked to order.  All things considered, the portion size was very generous so perhaps I shouldn't have bitched so loudly about price. 

The fries were on par with, if not better than, Five Guys, and yeah, that impressed me too.  They were more than a little addictive as I ate more than I intended without realizing it.  The rings were crunchy and juicy and battered with an orange color.  I was expecting a spicy kick based on the color but it wasn't there. 

Both the fries and rings were very good, thumbs up, I'll have come back when I'm hungry for a burger.  Until then, BurgerFi is highly recommended. 

French Fry Diary 749: Bobby's Burger Palace 2017

We recently flew up to North Jersey for the wedding of a friend, and with time on our hands, and empty stomachs from the flight, we went in search of a quick snack. The intent was to find some place that we had not been before so I could write about it, and also some place not readily available in our new home in Florida, for much the same reason.

Our search was becoming fruitless (and fryless) between the time restraint getting tighter and not finding anything in the Bergen NJ area, when suddenly we came upon a strip mall with a Bobby's Burger Palace in it. It was getting late, and I had always intended to give the place a second chance and also try the onion rings, so we figured why not?

We wanted just a snack so The Bride ordered the bacon cheese fries with scallions, and I got the buttermilk onion rings. We also got shakes. They were thick and good and small, but while there were some very interesting flavors, we noticed there wasn't a chocolate or vanilla on the menu, so I got a black and white. They were small, but expensive, and had real whipped cream that really could have used a bit more whipping, but there you go.

I should note that the seating did not improve at this other location. Be forewarned, the booths are small and the counter seats are tight. Whether it's Cherry Hill or the Bergen, Bobby Flay does not like bigger folk, which based on the menu suggests there are not many return customers. I guess a lot of people must 'outgrow' this place.

Based on our order the girl at counter asked if we were getting any food. Even if that wasn't rude, it did not instill confidence in our sides for snacks since they weren't food. You can see into the kitchen through the pick-up window, it should be noted, and I could see our 'food' there for quite some time. When it was finally brought to us, we got a tutorial on sauces while our food got even colder. Not cool.

My order of onion rings was big, in a misshapen paper cone containing five rings total, but they were huuuge (as the big dumb Ooompa Loompa might say), big and thick, with a bit of a spicy kick to the batter. They had a big onion taste and were very good, but I wish they had been hotter - and they probably were, just not when they were in front of me.

The Bride's fries were just as warm, natural cut fries with bacon, cheese, and an awful lot of scallions - probably more scallions than bacon or cheese.  Maybe they should have been called scallion bacon cheese fries?  

This was not a bad snack, but it could have been so much better. I might try Bobby's Burger Palace again, but they should keep in mind, three strikes and that's an out.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #276

This one comes from friend Deb who saw these fries at the restaurant at Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. Thanks, Deb!

French Fry Diary 740: Swiss Chalet

The Bride and I went up to Toronto this past winter to visit my friend Andy for his birthday party. I didn't get to really try that many fries up there, managed to dodge the dreaded poutine, and remembered the hard way what winter is really all about after several months in Florida. It's damned cold up there, and forget Florida, it makes New Jersey look like a hothouse in the winter.

Anyway, while chatting music and movies, and books and toys, Andy ordered dinner for us from a place native to Canada called ironically enough Swiss Chalet. Knowing what a French fry guy I am, he also got their fries for me.

It's the thought that counts, but I have to say I was not all that impressed with their natural cut fries, and of course that may be because they were delivered, which always cuts down on quality and freshness. I bet they might have been better hot. The chicken however was very good, and they also have ribs and other stuff, including poutine, and any place that has Toblerone for dessert can't be all bad.

Still, as I said, it's the company that counts, and although we were only in Toronto for less than twenty-four hours, we had a great time meeting and hanging out with friends and family, and helping one of my best friends celebrate his birthday. Next time, poutine, and better fries, promise.

French Fry Diary 722: Club House Diner

I don't go to the Club House Diner often, unfortunately when I have gone, it's after a funeral, as there's a nearby cemetery. The Bride however frequents it quite often with her gaming friends. When they wanted to throw us a going away party, it was at the Club House Diner in Bensalem PA.

Part of moving from the old place and moving to a new place is purging things that are no longer needed. I had a lot of gaming stuff I was getting rid of. I had previously given a ton of gaming books to this particular group of friends, and this night brought my HeroClix collection to get rid of, um, I mean, give away as party favors. So as the fight for plastic crack began, I ordered.

I had wanted onion rings, and while they were pretty big, they also looked dry and heat lamped so I passed on them. I also passed on the fries, which were heat lamped natural cuts. Instead I ordered some French toast and some breakfast potatoes. On the latter, I should have thought better of it.

I got cold breakfast potatoes, smashed on the griddle and folded like an omelet. They were quite cold by the time I got them, and they did not reheat well at all. Despite the bad food, this was a good time, we will miss our friends, and lots of toys got new homes. Thanks, everyone!

Halloween Weenie Fingers, with Fries

From Heathers Hobby on YouTube, here's a spooky recipe for Halloween Weenie Fingers on a bed of French Fries, check it out.

French Fry Diary 721: Foodies, Parx Casino 2016

I had kinda promised I'd never come back to Foodies again, but trapped at Parx Casino in Bensalem PA, with Chickie's & Pete's closed due to a sporting event, and the promise of Foodies being completely redone, I gave it a second chance.

Now there's an Earl of Sandwich and Bambu Noodle House there, and of course, Foodies. Looking at the menus for the other two places and then the average selection at Foodies - I had to wonder why it was called that. Foodies is apparently not for foodies.

The fries were heat lamped natural cuts, but at least they didn't have any foreign debris as they did last time. They tasted like they had been under a heat lamp for quite some time, even though all food made to order as promised on a sign by the ordering station. I really wish I had gotten chips.

The more these fries cooled off, the less appetizing they became. I ended up tossing more than half of them out. This was not much better than my last foray into Foodies. Maybe I should have tried the onion rings, but then again, I thought that might have been pushing my luck… Not recommended.

French Fry Diary 713: The Sunroom at Borgata

Usually when going to the Borgata in Atlantic City, it's mandatory to visit Fatburger in The Cafeteria (now the vastly inferior by all indications Marketplace Eatery, but since the Borgata has seen fit to remove Fatburger, there might not be any reason to visit any more. There is still the Sunroom however, the last restaurant standing when it comes to good fries at the Borgata.

The Bride and I have visited the Sunroom three times in the past and have always enjoyed ourselves. This restaurant, whose menu was designed by Food Network favorite Geoffrey Zakarian, is unique in the hotel casino, a oasis mirage in a desert of glitzy decadence. There is a giant water wall, trees with lights, skylights, and the constant sound of running water (though not enough to make one have to use the restroom). If you look up, it's like you're in a jungle, A+ for atmosphere, though it can be a bit dark, but apparently all the good restaurants are.

Looking at the menu, the truffled fries with Parmesan were $10 and the classic fries were only $8. Wow, these better be good fries. There were also tiny little ketchup bottles, as if regular sized ketchup bottles had a baby, and the Coke was served in small aluminum bottles for $4 each, the aluminum supposedly keeping the cold in. The Bride got the Water Club Sirloin Burger, which she liked, and I got the dry aged steak skewers with tamarind, which were awesome - but you're here for the fries, the main event.

The Bride got the classic while I went for the truffle fries. They came in a brown paper cone, very elegant display. These fries were fresh cut regular cuts and were not really greasy, but soggy and limp. I think they might have been much better with one more shock fry as they needed a serious crisp to them. There was a heavy but even dusting with large granules of Parmesan, not too much but a lot, giving a good cheesy taste. Each fry was dusted, even as I dug deeper into the cone. There might also be a bit too much truffle oil - it has be used sparingly.

These fries would be amazing and close to perfect if I took them home and reheated them in an oven for three to five minutes - just enough to crisp them. And despite the positive reaction I got from many folks after I Tweeted a then-live image of these fries as we were dining at the Sunroom, these were far from perfect. Yeah, they look good, but they need a little work.

They were very good while hot, even if over-cheesed and over-truffled, and the portion-size was huge. I would definitely get them again, and definitely come back to the Sunroom, especially now that Fatburger is gone. Damn you, Borgata.

French Fry Diary 688: Moon Dog Grill

I have to say it was refreshing to see the new food court at the Moorestown Mall, as opposed to construction area that was here last time I visited. This court has been redone several times, as a matter of fact, I think this may have been the first food court I ever visited, waaay back in 1985 - if I recall correctly, to visit a place that sold only French fries. Ah, youth. The latest remodeling is nice, with high tables including outlets for electronics being a modern improvement, but the real surprise and treat was seeing the MoonDog Grill.

Nestled amongst the other court restaurants like Subway, SaladWorks, Suki Hana, and Philly Steak among others, including the Yard House, is the MoonDog Grill. In case you've been under a rock somewhere and don't know, the MoonDog Grill is brought to us by the same wonderful folks who ran the much loved Cool Dog Café. I have been on a forced hiatus for the last few months, but when the new place opened in the Moorestown Mall on January 2nd, I was inundated with emails.

The word of mouth has been incredible, with so many folks telling me this is the crew from the Cool Dog Café. It's not everyone however as Shawn has moved out on his own, but Bernadette and Ira are still there, so it's the same great customer service, really the best service around, the type that makes you feel like friends, like family.

The menu is a little bit smaller, but still the same great food, and - wait for it - still the same fantastic fresh cut French fries. Always one of the best in South Jersey, these natural cuts are cut fresh and twice fried, so you know they know what they're doing. The paper bag to hold in the heat is an old school touch, and they still have all the special fry sauces from the Cool Dog days.

That's enough of my personal obsession. You're also going to be hard pressed to find a better hot dog or burger for the price. The Sabrett all-beef dogs have a great snap and are deep fried to perfection, and the burgers are 100% Angus beef, hand formed and never frozen. All the food is cooked to order and to your specs. This place is aces.

Most of tables in our area of the food court had MoonDog food on them, so they seemed to be doing a pretty brisk business the Saturday afternoon we visited. I wish the folks at the MoonDog Grill the best in this endeavor and it gets my highest recommendation.

French Fry Diary 685: Ruby Lounge, Holiday Inn Totowa NJ

The Bride and I visited the North Jersey area again recently for the wedding of a dear friend. After the ceremony and reception, the wedding party and close friends met up again later at the nearby hotel where many of the guests were staying to hang out and talk. Eventually it was time to eat again, and then came the fries.

The place we chose to chill at was the Ruby Lounge at the Holiday Inn in Totowa, New Jersey. When we had first arrived, much of the restaurant area was empty and there were only a few folks at the bar. One man, the bartender, was doing a one-man job keeping his eye on everything. He took orders, seated patrons, tended the bar, all while the bar and restaurant filled up during the oncoming dinner rush. At one point, he was taking care of easily three dozen people at once.

And that is just the tip of the iceberg. When it came to taking our party's orders for dinner, he did so without writing anything down, despite the complexity of some of the orders. It took some time for the food to come out gradually, but all the orders were perfect. The dude's memory was that good. It was amazing, incredible customer service.

For my dinner I had an excellent chargrilled burger on sesame seed bun. The side of fries were natural cuts, some underdone, but still very good. They kinda reminded me of Burger King's original French fries, in that they appeared to be limp and a little bit greasy, but still tasted great. Also, while not my thing, the cole slaw was highly recommended by several folks. All in all, a great cap to a wonderful day.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #176

These steak frites are from the Lucky Bones Backwater Grille in Cape May over the Thanksgiving weekend. This might have been my GAR! Podcast partner Ray's Thanksgiving dinner, but they saved this for Saturday night. Some folks are living the life, eh?

French Fry Diary 630: Room Service - TCM Cruise Day Two

Room service on board the Disney Cruise is almost a tradition at this point. So after a late night seeing The Sea Hawk on the big screen (yeah, still on the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic), both The Bride and I had the munchies, so we figured what better time to get room service, especially with the new limited hours of the restaurants and the no-go anti-self-service policy Disney had initiated on the cruise so far. If we wanted food or drinks, it was room service or we were out of luck.

I was hoping for steak fries but got natural cuts. That's okay, they were soft, hot, and good. While I had my usual room service fare of a hot dog, The Bride got her macaroni and cheese. The food came quickly, even by Disney Cruise standards, along with a fancy variety of condiments. We were pleased with out late night treat.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #171

I had the opportunity to go to T.G.I. Fridays this past weekend, and noticed a change in their fries. Whether it's a permanent change or perhaps they ran out that day, they had regular cuts rather than their usual natural cuts. Either way, they were still quite good dipped in that wonderful Jack Daniels sauce.

French Fry Diary 611: b. good

The South Jersey area has been invaded in the last few years by upscale gourmet burger restaurants like Elevation Burger, Smashburger, Zinburger, and coming soon, Burger Fi. The trend continues with b. good, just opened in the Promenade in Marlton. At first glance it looks like a quick service burger place, but it's much more than that, and costlier.

You order, get your drink and have a seat. The pricing is a bit misleading if you're used to menus and meal deals at fast food restaurants. There are signs that say you can add drink and fries for $5.99, but the deal isn't $5.99, for an additional $5.99 you can get a drink and fries. Add that to the pricy burger and it adds up - this is not a typical quick service burger place though, the service is quick, and the burgers are really good.

The drinks are intriguing. No Coke or Pepsi here. They have cane cola, skinny cane cola, Italian lemon, and Pennsylvania red birch beer (yum), to name just a few. I know I'm a Coca-Cola guy, but I enjoyed trying the different soda flavors, much more than the Lay's potato chip flavors I've had to try of late at least. The cane cola is awesome.

The burger was very good. The meat was local, as is everything at b. good, dry-aged, and house-ground, and it's a loose ground, which makes for a juicy chewy burger. On a softer bun, this would've been an amazing burger, but as is, it was only great. And by great, I mean better than the burgers at most other places.

The natural cut fries, also local, were very good. They were excellent hot, a little soft but still managed to have the right amount of crisp too. There's a subtle seasoning that give them a little kick, nice. I think I got the tail end of a batch as they were many small pieces and stubs. It happens. I saw some awesome sized regular cut fries on the plates of others. I also got a few sweet potato fries with mine, which was a nice surprise. All in all the fries were very good. On a later visit the fires were even better. I guess they just needed to get their groove.

The French fries bags have a lot to say. "These fries are special. They're hand-cut and oven-finished." I like that. Additionally they have the calorie and fat counts of McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King as compared to b. good's. There's also another slogan, "Food made by people not factories." Nice. I really liked b. good a lot, and can't wait to go back, and bring friends and family. Recommended.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #153

Certain restaurant Twitter accounts are getting very very good at what's become known as 'food porn.' Burger King has been a fierce competitor, as has Red Lobster.  Here's one from the Outback.

And remember, you can follow my French Fry Diary posts as well as a whole lot of other stuff at my Twitter here.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #135

From today's T.G.I. Fridays lunch with the brother-in-law, the Jack Daniels burger with a side of fries, natural cuts, with salt and pepper, in a clever paper sleeve. Points for presentation, the fries were okay, and the burger was awesome. Thanks for lunch, Bruce!

French Fry Diary 553: Victory Beer Hall, Xfinity Live

I have been a Philadelphia Wings season ticket holder for nearly a quarter of a century. When I first started going to games, we had a fierce team that constantly won and took us to the championship several times. The last decade or so however has been lean, and I'm being kind.

The Bride renewed our season tickets this year automatically. Had it been up to me, I wouldn't have, or at the very least there would have been some discussion. With the lean years for the team, management has been less giving to the fans, and especially the faithful season ticket holders. For example, they threw us a party, where we had to pay outrageous stadium prices for the food. As if sixteen dollars per game to park wasn't enough. It goes up every year, soon it will be more to park than it is to buy a ticket.

Nevertheless, that's not what I'm here to talk about. The party, where we also got to meet the new players, and the remaining old players, as well as mascot Mad Dog, was at the Victory Beer Hall, inside the Xfinity Live sports bar complex at the center of the three stadiums in Philadelphia. Nice place for the most part, tables and benches, a stage, many big screen TVs, no complaints really.

The Bride ordered loaded fries with cheese, bacon, and scallions. These natural cuts came in a big portion and I thought they were pretty good. She said she thought they would have been better if they used Cheez Whiz instead of whipped cheddar. She is originally a Philly girl, so she does know her Whiz. I don't know though, I kinda liked them.

I got a burger with a side of homemade BBQ potato chips. The burger wasn't bad, but then again, I got it plain, so it wasn't as piled high as some we saw. It was good, but it wasn't ten dollars good, which is what they charged. The chips had a good big crunch, got cold quick and were a bit overseasoned, but

they had a good kick when I put them on the burger. That was great.

The portions were huge. Folks around us also ordered massive (4"x8") stuffed baked potatoes and a giant soft pretzel that filled a 12" plate. That was seriously big, and it fed a family of three, and they were so full they thought they would be sick.

The party had a good turn out despite my (and a lot of fans) being disenchanted with the team the past few years. The team was enthusiastic, and while they did not win their first home game last week, they gave a hell of an exciting game. Let's hope for the best for the rest of the season. Go Wings!

French Fry Diary 543: Ore-Ida Simply

This is another step in the recent bandwagon toward healthier French fries. Ore-Ida has come out with a new sub-brand of frozen French fries called Simply. The varieties include Olive Oil and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries; Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries; Olive Oil and Sea Salt Homestyle Wedges; and Roasted Garlic and Herbs Homestyle Wedges.

I was able to get hold of the first type listed above, and it's worth mentioning that both 'country style' and 'homestyle' are just fancy ways of saying natural cut, or with the skin on. On the healthy scale, these fries are gluten free, with less fat, less calories, less carbs, but unfortunately a whole lot of sodium, more than usual actually. Something to watch for the health conscious.

The 'simply' part of the product name is that the only ingredients are the ones mentioned above in the product descriptions, so the Olive Oil and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries are just that - olive oil, sea salt, and potatoes. Simply also has its own new cartoon mascot, Ore-Ida Mae, made up only of natural ingredients.

Wow. Once prepared, pun intended, they were 'simply' the worst fries I have had in quite some time. I made them per the directions and they were more than a little overdone, and the directions for other Ore-Ida products work fine in my oven. Where they weren't overdone, they were limp. I could taste neither olive oil nor sea salt in or on these natural cuts. Their most outstanding quality, I have to add, is their blandness and lack of any flavor or seasoning.

These fries were terrible. Granted, I may have just gotten a bad bag I suppose, but based on this experience, it will be quite some time before I try another Ore-Ida Simply product. Sorry, Mae.