French Fry Diary 733: The Fries of the Camden Comic Con

Now I've talked before about how French fries and comic cons don't go together, the idea of collectible paper and grease mixing, even though they entail two things I love - comics and fries - are simply not compatible.

Now at this year's Camden Comic Con things were a bit different.  This year outside the con there was an awesome assemblage of food trucks, and it should be noted that as a podcaster at a table, it's not as easy to mix the two elements as it is for a attendee walking around with a bag full of comics.  We were free to sample the wares of the food trucks and record our reactions for both French Fry Diary and The GAR! Podcast. 

Outside the Convention there were three food trucks serving the needs of the event - My Four Sons, Wahlburgers, and family friends The Pop Shop in their new food truck, The Pop Shop aGoGo!, I love that name.  My co-host Ray Cornwall and I had planned ahead of time to have lunch 'on air' in a special FFD segment to try each of their fries. 

Wahlburgers was a major disappointment.  First because I was looking forward to trying their stuff, as they had already escaped me once, opening in Philadelphia a mere week after we had moved to Florida.  And now at the con, their food truck came only prepared to deliver tater tots, and not fries.  When one of the other two food truck choices has some of the best fries in the South Jersey area - Pop Fries - we skipped Wahlburgers completely, their loss. 

While I chatted comics with my friend Robert Repici, Ray went to lunch, and The Bride got my lunch from The Pop Shop aGoGo.  For herself, she got the buffalo chicken fries, and for me a burger and those great Pop Fries.  Now here's the difference between Wahlburgers and The Pop Shop - burgers weren't on the menu, but family friend Stink Fisher, who was running the truck, made me one special anyway.  That's why The Pop Shop rocks.  Thanks, Stink, you rule!

Friends Jeff Milliman and Jessy Lukens, who sat in with the recording, also happily partook from The Pop Shop aGoGo.  Ray on the other hand, got his lunch from the My Four Sons, including kimchi fries.  I did not try them.  I'm not sure if it was how they looked, whether I was already full from The Pop Shop, or if it was the conversation we'd had earlier about what the word kimchi really means - but I just wasn't brave enough. 

Looking at the My Four Sons menu however, I wish I had known about, and ordered their Tornado Potato, always wanted to try one of those.  Maybe next time, and maybe next time Wahlburgers will bring their fry game. 

For those not familiar, The GAR! Podcast is the Glenn Walker and Ray Cornwall weekly podcast where they talk unrehearsed about whatever happens to come to mind. It's an audio-zine for your mind, a nerd exploration of a nerd world, coming to you from the suburbs of New Jersey and the sunny lakes of Florida via Skype.

GAR!163: Lunch at the Camden Comic Con, the episode in question was recorded live at this year's Camden Comic Con and also features discussion with the mythical David Lisa, Janel Miller, Robert, Jeff, Jessy, The Bride, Ray, and myself talking comics, libraries, malls, and yes, the favorite fried food.

You can listen here. Enjoy!

Free Fries for Election Day

Even though I have moved a thousand miles away, I still miss, and love, The Pop Shop. One of the places I will be sure to visit when I come back to New Jersey will be The Pop Shop.

For Election Day, for all you folks in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, The Pop Shop is doing something special. Show them your "I Voted" sticker on Election Day, and you'll get a free Deluxe Pop Fries with any purchase of $6.00 or more. Awesome!

So get out there and vote, then stop by The Pop Shop for some of the best fries in the area!

National French Fries Day 2016

So how are you celebrating National French Fries Day today?

Besides just eating some fries, or even better, making your own fries (here's one cool way) and eating them, there are a number of ways you could celebrate today.

If you go to Chickie's & Pete's today, their amazing Crabfries are only one dollar, what a bargain! Also if you enter the Crabfries Eating Contest at their South Philly location, you can not only help out a great charity, but you could also win Crabfries for life!

If you are headed to the Collingswood location of The Pop Shop, kids eat free (one free kid entree with one paid adult entree) and grownups get a dollar off any full order of their fabulous Pop Fries. 

As I mentioned last week, members of Fry Society get free fries at New York Fries. However you celebrate, enjoy.

And don't forget to share your fries with your friends. That's the best way to celebrate. If you want to post pics to social media about your fries and your fry adventures today, please do, and use the hashtags #NationalFrenchFryDay and #FrenchFryDiary. Mmmm… fries…

French Fry Diary 675: The Pop Shop, Medford NJ

Divorce is a terrible thing, truly it's a tragedy, but sometimes, just sometimes, something good can come out of it. For the foodies of South Jersey, divorce in the family of one of my favorite restaurants - The Pop Shop - has resulted in two Pop Shops. This was my first visit to the new one in Medford. The building used to be an old bank, but the Pop Shop has really revamped it, but there's still a giant safe in the middle of the restaurant. Kinda cool, kinda kitschy, I like it.

The Bride and a friend visiting from out of town, Lisa, decided to go there for dinner on a recent weeknight. I was excited, as it had been almost four years since I had dinner or lunch there. Usually when we go to the Pop Shop, the agenda is breakfast, not that I mind breakfast (it's really great there, and served all day), but I prefer their lunch/dinner.

I like the new venue in Medford, an older two-story building that seems very open and welcoming. There's even an elevator and ramp for handicapped folks. I also liked the new Pop Shop shirts the employees were wearing that said either "fries with that shake?" or "got 08055?" Guess which one I liked best?

As I hadn't had it in a while, and it's what I wanted, I got the burger and fries. I was surprised by the small differences when my order arrived. I'm not sure if they're because of the time lapsed since last I visited or the different venue, but it was different. First off, the burger was big, juicy, and perfect, but not on a sesame seed bun as expected. No worries, it still rocked, and thankfully it made up for the fries.

More changes came with the fries. Rather than natural cut regular cuts, these Pop Fries were natural cut shoestrings. Ordinarily I would say that's a level up, as natural cut shoestrings are a rarity and hold a crisp very well, but that was not the case here at all. These fries were a little underdone and soggy, not good. Our friend Lisa had ordered the Parmesan Garlic Fries, simple and quite tasty, but they were done and crispy, nearly perfect. Based on the fries I saw on nearby tables, mine were sadly the exception - the other fries looked awesome.

For dessert (as always, with so much food, it's rare we order dessert at the Pop Shop) The Bride and I went decadent and split a Shakin' Bacon - a breakfast milkshake in a Mason jar with vanilla ice cream, pancake syrup, and crispy bacon. Pretty tasty, but it was a little weird having bits of bacon come up through the straw - still very good.

The power mysteriously flickered off and on a few times, but all in all it was a fun night out with friends. I look forward to visiting again to verify my faith in the Pop Fries. Highly recommended.

National Grilled Cheese Day

Today is officially National Grilled Cheese Day, so why don't you make yourself a grilled cheese, or go out and have someone else make one for you?

Of course, if you want the best grilled cheese around, you'll have to go to the Pop Shop in Collingswood, New Jersey. Not only do they have dozens of variations on the grilled cheese, they went spatula to spatula with Bobby Flay over grilled cheese.

And as long as you're at the Pop Shop, don't forget to get some of their great Pop Fries! Happy Grilled Cheese Day!

French Fry Diary 350: The Pop Shop 2012

I love the Pop Shop in Collingswood NJ, but that's probably evident to regular readers and eaters here at French Fry Diary. I love the Pop Shop for their fries, their great food and service, and not just because The Bride used to babysit the owner - yeah, I went there. We go there all the time with family and friends, and that's what it's all about - just a terrific restaurant for family and friends, and food.

I haven't written about them for a while and felt it was time to remind folks, and inform new folks how really cool a place the Pop Shop Cafe & Creamery is.

Our latest visit was with The Bride, her folks and two friends from out of town. We had intended breakfast on a late Sunday morning but, as usual, the place was packed. I think at one point there were as many folks waiting as there were sitting, but it moved rather quickly. Business is good, but business is always good because the food and service are so terrific. We had a bit of a wait - Sunday mornings are always busy - but eventually we were seated, and it was so worth it. As always.

It was close to noon though after the wait. Now I had a choice to make as breakfast is always served at the Pop Shop. I could get the deviously decadent Cinnamon Bun French Toast or my usual Deluxe Burger Platter. While the former is wonderful, I decided to be good and get the burger.

The Pop Shop burgers are always terrific and the Deluxe Platter comes with the Pop Fries, great natural cuts that are perfectly crispy and hot. They come in a variety of styles (Maryland, Gravy, Whiz, Mozzarella Pizza, Louisiana, Spicy, Chili Cheese and Collingswood - mostly toppings on their already amazing fries), but I'm a purist, I like the regular fries. I hadn't had them in a bit so they were extra good.

The Bride got breakfast, and those are her home fries with cheese in the pic. Mmmm... cheese... One of our friends, Deb, on the other hand, put sour cream on hers. To each their own, I suppose.

Another great meal was had with family and friends. I have to give you one warning though, folks, Collingswood now has 24/7 parking meters. Sad to have to interrupt your meal to feed the meter, and it's a hefty price, but for the Pop Shop it is sooo worth it.

French Fry Diary 216: Pop Century Breakfast 2011

The Bride is a very sweet and a very sneaky lady. This installment of Somebody Else's Fries is one that I have featured before on at least two occasions, here and here. These are the breakfast potatoes from Pop Century in Walt Disney World, but this entry is not so much about the fries this time, as it is about how she got to the fries.

My mother-in-law, one of the coolest and sweetest ladies I know outside of The Bride, has her seventieth birthday this year, today in fact, and my wife wanted to make it something special. She spent months planning an elaborate surprise birthday party with family and friends, the theme of which was the dreams my mother-in-law has always had - one of those dreams was to travel the world.

The Bride thought up the scheme of sneaking down to Disney World, going to the World Showcase in EPCOT and getting a special passport stamped and signed in every country for her mom - so that she could say she had 'seen the world.' Mom loved it, and as an added bonus, The Bride also got some breakfast potatoes from Everything Pop.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

P.S. It should be added that the surprise party itself was held at French Fry Diary favorite the Pop Shop, and included those amazing Pop Fries. Special thanks to the folks at the Pop Shop for making the day extra special.

National Grilled Cheese Day at the Pop Shop

January 20th, at least according to some folks, is National Grilled Cheese Day, and to celebrate, one of French Fry Diary's favorite restaurants, The Pop Shop, in Collingswood NJ, has one of the best offers around.

For every grilled cheese sandwich purchase you make, you get a FREE order of fabulous Pop Fries, so make sure you stop by for what is always a great treat!

And as far as what the real date of National Grilled Cheese Day is... well, the school of thought varies. But I think we can all agree on one thing - is it ever not time for a grilled cheese? Especially when they come with such great fries. Mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 155: The Pop Shop, Breakfast

I have talked about the Pop Shop before and how it's one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Of course, until very recently I was not a big fan of their breakfast, preferring instead their lunch and dinner fare, which feature those fantastic Pop Fries of theirs.

One very decadent but highly addictive new menu item has brought me around to their breakfast offerings - the Cinnamon Bun French Toast. Oh yeah, baby, just imagine it. Trust me, it the best thing you will ever taste for breakfast that doesn't include the favorite fried food. This is a breakfast item to die for. I can't recommend this enough. It's a masterpiece.

Now of course, while you're at the Pop Shop for breakfast, you might as well have some of their home fries as well. These shredded potatoes are lightly fried with salt and pepper and sometimes in need of a bit more seasoning, but keep in mind they can be cooked to order and you can season them yourself. I always like my shreddeds a bit well done and they will do it if you ask. They go great with bacon, and bacon at the Pop Shop is always perfect.

The bacon, the home fries, and the Cinnamon Bun French Toast are a killer combination and always a terrific breakfast. Check it out.