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.

Bacon & Onion Foil Packet Potatoes

Karen of The Pineland Players (as well as a half-dozen others, but she was first) hipped me to this cool built-for-camping recipe on the Facebook from the Spirit FM page.

Bacon & Onion Foil Packet Potatoes

Ingredients: 2 to 3 sheets of heavy-duty foil, 1 packet onion soup powder, 10-12 baby red potatoes, thinly sliced, 12 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon, 1 small onion thinly sliced and diced, 1 cup cheese (optional), salt and pepper to taste, 3 tablespoons butter, sour cream for serving (optional).

Spray each sheet of foil with cooking spray. Top each piece with equal portions of potatoes, bacon, 1 packet onion soup powder and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each serving. Wrap securely.

Grill for 20 to 30 minutes. Or you can bake it in the oven, at 350° for about 35 minutes or till done. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve in foil, topped with sour cream if desired.

And don't forget, French Fry Diary is also on the Facebook, you can find us here.

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 414: Ott's Restaurant & Bar, Medford

I had heard quite a lot about Ott's Restaurant & Bar in Medford, and had received numerous recommendations for the place. After The Bride had been there several times for aftershows with her stage group The Pineland Players, we finally went to Ott's as part of a large party, coincidentally with the PP.

We were put in a large party room with a pool table and an oldies band outside blasting throughout the night. We had a table that was never wiped or cleaned the whole night despite a water pitcher condensating (or just plain leaking?) constantly. There was only one possibly inattentive, possibly frazzled waitress to handle well over twenty of us. We saw her occasionally throughout the night. And it also took quite some time to get utensils. This night did not represent the pinnacle of customer service. Of course this might have been because we were at a second not full table, and we were late, but still.

The Bride got waffle fries with her Reuben. They were golden brown and deep fried from frozen I bet. Still they were very tasty, but being as they were waffle fries, they could have used a bit of seasoning. I got the chicken tender platter that came with crinkle cut fries, also deep fried but they also had a baked quality. They could have been cooked as well as the waffle fries, but weren't. I got the honey teriyaki sauce (usually for the wings) for dipping. It was a bit overpowering, more teriyaki than honey, but still pretty good. Both the waffle fries and the crinkle cuts were pretty good.

Ott's also has sweet potato fries that come with honey for dipping (excellent choice), and onion rings that looked good at a distance, but I couldn't tell if they were breadcrumbed, Pankoed, or beer battered. They were thick, but as I said, they were across the room and I didn't order them so I can't really say. There are also Bay fries, crinkle cuts tossed in Old Bay, and Ott's claim to fame from recommendations - the Beef Fries, waffle fries smothered in homemade shredded roast beef, brown gravy and mozzarella cheese. I ordered none of these however. Nobody, not even me, can try that many different kinds of fries all at once.

The customer service was a bit lacking, but despite the simplicity of the fries I tried, they were very good, as I said. The company certainly made for an interesting and pleasant night, even if the service didn't. I might go back, maybe a smaller party in the main room would make for better service.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #47

We stopped at Cool Dog Cafe recently to talk business about the Pineland Players, but more importantly we got dinner, and especially their great fries.

Since the last time we'd been there, they added a cheddar cheese sauce for fry dipping. This is some luscious cheese, perfectly melted, the kind you get in the best grilled cheese sandwiches.

Mmmm... Good stuff. Just one more reason to be going to the Cool Dog Cafe more often.

French Fry Diary 313: Riviera Pizza, Medford NJ

The Bride travels to Medford quite a bit, not for work, but for rehearsals with the Pineland Players. Recently she found a new place to eat, right across from the Zinc Café. Now while I have to question the logic of going anywhere else when you're so close to the Zinc Cafe, when she brought dinner home from Riviera Pizza recently, I was game.

The Bride was first hooked on their buffalo chicken pizza, and on this trip she tried the buffalo chicken cheesesteak. For me, she picked up a plain steak sandwich and, of course, French fries. She even got Whiz on the side so we could share the fries.

While I have never actually been there, Riviera Pizza has quite a selection on their menu, including a wide variety of pasta, seafood and soups. Online reviews seem to echo The Bride's feelings on the buffalo chicken pizza as a favorite, but let's get to the nitty gritty, it's the fries you want to know about.

The food stayed relatively hot after the twenty to thirty minute trip from Medford to Marlton which is pretty good considering that things like Burger King's new fries don't stay hot in the less than three minute trip from Marlton to Marlton. It's also pretty good considering the steaks were in styrofoam and the fries in just cardboard paper.

Now while my steak sandwich was delicious when I got it, and even later reheated - the fries not so much. They were heavily batter fried regular cuts, pretty okay while hot, but nearly inedible cold or reheated. So like many places that have pizza and steak sandwiches, that's a no on the fries at Riviera Pizza.

Can anyone out there recommend a pizza and steak place that does fries well?

French Fry Diary 296: Zinc Café

This is where we went for The Bride's birthday this year. She had a late night at work and then a Pineland Players meeting so we had to schedule dinner in a tight schedule and also do it somewhere in Medford so we would have time. I got online with Urbanspoon with my iPhone and found the Zinc Café, a place with perfect timing and location that we all agreed on.

The Zinc Café is kinda tucked away on Stokes Road, so if you don't know where it is, you might miss it, but you'll also be missing out on one of the best local restaurants around too. This was a rare find indeed. It's a little small, but you can also eat outside. It's cozy, and a little dim, but it's great atmosphere. Small town meets fancy coffee shop, friendly and cool, I liked it a lot.

The menu has an amazing selection, both healthy and bad for you, both simple and exotic. No Coca-Cola products but they had Boylan instead. My cane cola was a welcome change of pace. They also had appetizers of thin crispy breadsticks that tasted like matzo, very addictive. I could have been happy just with the soda and the sticks.

The Bride and her mom got salads with some amazing add-ins, and we were all surprised by the crisp, fresh and colorful vegetables. The Bride got a grilled cheese sandwich (it's what she wanted for her birthday) with a few cheeses I couldn't pronounce. I got a burger (surprise), which was just terrific, and of course, with the burger were fries.

The French fries were natural cut shoestrings, another sign of high class, at least by this fry guy's estimation. They were very crispy, and had a certain kick we couldn't quite identify, but it was a good kick. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. I really think I have found a new favorite restaurant.