French Fry Diary 671: Ott's 2013

Two summers past the Pineland Players performed "Into the Woods" and of course I went to see The Bride in it along with a couple of our friends. As the Medford P.J. Whelihan's was uncooperative with their reservations, we went to the Medford Ott's instead. I have been there before, not under the best of conditions, and the customer service was lacking, but I'm always willing to give places a second chance.

I ordered the Old Bay fries, which were store bought frozen crinkle cuts deep-fried and tossed in Old Bay seasoning. The fries were very good, better than they had a right to be honestly. They came with a white cheese sauce that tried very hard to be the stuff from Chickie & Pete's, but failed in my book. The fries had just enough seasoning to be good, like baby bear's bed, not too much and not too little. The Bride liked them so much, she finished them.

I had also asked for a side of the honey teriyaki sauce I liked last time, but it did not come. The wings that that sauce usually comes with did however. Customer service had not improved on this occasion. But in our waitress' defense, she had other things to worry about on this particular Saturday night, like patrons falling off barstools onto the floor near us. Quite a party night.

There was a band that night as well, called B.S. and The Truth. At first I hated them because they did a double shot of Van Morrison followed by Lynyrd Skynyrd - I thought I was in Hell. Really though, as the set went on, they were really good, doing some excellent and surprising covers not usually in the repertoire of a band like that. I was impressed. By the band, but not necessarily by Ott's.

Update: It should be noted that this review was written back in 2013, and I've since been to Ott's numerous times since when the food and the customer service were superior. This is a major reason why I do give some restaurants second chances. Some places like Ott's have bad nights, and now, it's one of my favorite places. Every other time I've gotten the Old Bay fries since, they have been awesome. They also have great potato skins, and I'm not a potato skins guy, so there you go.

French Fry Diary 524: Keg & Kitchen

As we had already been disappointed once that week by A Battered Tartan, so The Bride and I had to find another place to have our actual anniversary dinner. She had received a gift card from a place in Westmont called Keg & Kitchen (or alternatively, Keg N Kitchen), so we were off.

On the edge of the Collingswood restaurant district, and with very little parking out front (there is a backlot), Keg & Kitchen has a very nice pub feel. There is large variety of beers and flatbreads and cheeses, as well as the standard pub fare. Be warned however, this place is very dark. I'm guessing the money meant for the electric bill went toward maintaining the big blackboard of breads and cheeses.

Remembering a very good ground chuck hamburger I had at P.J. Whelihans recently, I ordered a similar burger here, which came with, of course French fries. The burger was very good, juicy and tasty, and the caramelized onions on top completed a great meal. We drank our sodas out of canning jars, which would have been cooler had they been larger. Jars are fun as long as they hold enough.

The fries were natural cut skinny regular cuts, not quite shoestrings but thinner than usual. Unfortunately they were more than a little burnt. This was disappointing because I think these could have been pretty good had they not been so overdone.

We might come back someday if we have another gift card, and we bring flashlights, and they don't ruin the fries. Seriously though, it was the company that counted, not the food.

French Fry Diary 433: P.J. Whelihan's 2012

Yeah, I came back. I came back to the place where I found a hair in my fries - P.J. Whelihan's in Medford Lakes. Only because we were coming out of seeing The Bride in the Pineland Players production of "Bye Bye Birdie," and that's where the cast and crew were going, we went. I was not enthused, but we went. I was outvoted, I wanted the Medport.

So, once there, I determined to give the fries a second chance, and also try the onion rings. I went for a different kind of favorite fried food this time - PJ's Famous Fries - old bay seasoned crinkle cuts, but sans the American cheese. Or at least that's what the menu said, and what I ordered. Last time I was here, I got natural cuts. And sadly, since the last time I was here, they got rid of that wonderful Guiness BBQ sauce. Boo. Hiss.

The Famous Fries were fairly standard crinkle cuts but slightly flatter on one side than on the other, kinda like an oddly shaped Nathan's fry. They were also quite long, only lightly seasoned with Old Bay, and very addictive. I passed on the American cheese but it would've gone well with them. They were great while hot, but unfortunately got cold rather quickly.

The onion rings were thick cut and lightly crunchy. Almost perfectly done. I liked these best on this trip. They came with a creole mayo sauce that my good friend, the Dark Crystal, really disliked, more vinegar than mayo. I got the Hot-n-Honey signature wing sauce for my fries, and that was more buffalo than honey, still hot, but not the kind of hot I was looking for in a honey BBQ sauce.

All in all, this time it was a good visit, and pleasant visit. And best of all, no hair...

French Fry Diary 303: P.J. Whelihan's, Medford Lakes NJ

I had only been here once before, years ago, when this particular P.J. Whelihan's was South Jersey landmark, the Settler's Inn, for a wedding reception I was late for because I got lost. But that's just how Medford Lakes is - it's easy to get lost. It's fun, and easy, and a nice drive. However this is one of those times I wished I'd gotten lost.

The P.J. Whelihan's in Medford Lakes is like a TARDIS, much bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside. The décor makes it look like a pub, bordering on a T.G.I.Friday's. There's a bar, big screen TVs blaring sports, decades old album flats on the walls - you get the idea.

Once I saw the menu, I was entranced. There were at least four varieties of French fries. They had Famous - old bay seasoned crinkle cuts with melted American cheese, Original - classic golden regular cuts, P.J.'s Spicy - Originals dusted with their special seasoning, Sweet Potato Fries with horseradish dipping sauce, and also Onion Rings with a Creole dipping sauce. And some of the burgers also had onion strings as a topping so they must have them as well, even though not mentioned on the menu.

I determined that I would have to come back to try the others and just get one type of the favorite fried food on this trip. I got the Originals, which turned out to be, as promised, natural cut regular cuts with salt and pepper. They looked crispy but that was just the bad dim lighting. They were in fact soggy and just barely warm. They were soft and mashed potato-ey inside, with a baked quality and while they were probably deep-fried.

On the good side, there were a variety of sauces available for the chicken wings, one of which I snagged for dipping my fries in. The Drunken BBQ sauce was infused with Guinness, and mild and interesting. Everything was great until I pulled the hair out of my basket of fries. Ick. Double ick. Triple ick. I guess I won't be coming back to try anything else on the menu... ever...

I might try a different one someday, but not this P.J.'s.