French Fry Diary 687: Silk City Diner & Lounge

I'm not sure when the last time I had been to the Silk City Diner & Lounge was. I'm thinking maybe the early 1990s to see a friend's band, the much-missed Cycle of Souls, originally known as The Fleshlords.

Either way, the place looks a lot different in the day time, not sure about the inside, because when friends Judy and Marc asked The Bride and me out to brunch there, we decided to eat outside.

As it was the first sunny hot day of the year, and at an uncomfortable 84 degrees striking quite a contrast to the previous weeks' winter weather, the forty-five minute wait was not fun. It didn't help that not all of our party were feeling their best, but we persevered and made the best of each other's company.

I ordered the Silk Cakes, which were three pancakes, with maple butter and candied bacon. I also got an order of the French fries, just because, after all who knew when the next time I'd be here would be. It was at least two decades since the last time.

The pancakes were huge and fluffy and very filling. The serving of the fresh natural cut fries was also huge, easily enough for the four of us to share. They were sprinkled with pepper, a nice touch, but a bit soggy and greasy, as if they could have used a few more minutes cook time. They were not good.

The home fries that I snagged from The Bride however were pretty good, with chunks of onions and peppers. They probably would've been a better choice.

Happily the company was better than the food. Still, good times.

By the way, have you voted in the poll on fry dipping sauces on the left side here yet? If not, please do. Remember, you can choose multiple answers, and you can always change your mind before the poll closes.

French Fry Diary 661: Holy Land Pizza

Friends Judy and Marc insisted I try the fries at Holy Land Pizza in the Rhawnhurst area of Philadelphia. One of their favorite restaurants. And I trust them. They turned me on to Burger.Org and also New Harmony, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant, that believe or not, I actually enjoyed.

They have a rather large and varied ethnic menu online, but once there, we got a one sheet. That had this catastrophically picky eater worried, but it was cool, I just got the fries.

They were frozen fries, maybe freezer burned, deep fried. Not bad, but not great. The portion size is gigantic. Their small is considerably bigger than most pizza places' large orders. I gotta say though, I was not impressed. Sorry, Judy and Marc, I guess you can't win them all. The company was as always good however. You guys rock.

French Fry Diary 628: Cabanas - TCM Cruise Day Two

For apparent health reasons (we are in the middle of a worldwide ebola scare, and cruise ships are well known for spreading germs like wildfire, so I do get it, but still…), Disney is attempting to kill the all-you-can-eat buffet concept with guilt. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you may no longer serve yourself. *

If say, a huge percentage of the reason you choose Cabanas is for the breakfast potatoes, you can only get a small serving of them. And if you ask nicely for more please, they will give you a proper non-verbal shaming before finally, after an appropriate pause, giving you another small serving.

Another negative to having a server in front of each station to give you your food at the 'all-you-can-eat' buffet is bacon. A serving of bacon is two small strips, period. Try, just try asking for more. And there is no longer any such thing as crispy bacon and not so crispy bacon. If you wanted one of the other previously, you could just pick them out and put them on your plate. Now, The Bride who likes crispy bacon and I who like it not so crispy, got the same bacon, despite our instructions. You have zero control on what you get to eat at a buffet.

The same goes for the wonderful breakfast potatoes on board. These are great chunked broiled, spiced, and marinated small red potatoes that are a number one reason to go to Cabanas for breakfast. Suppose you want them soft one day and crispy the next, the server will just plop a small spoonful on your plate willy-nilly, crispy or soft. The image you see is three servings by the way.

What I did get was very good, but you should never have to leave an all-you-can-eat buffet hungry, right? I did. And don't even get me started on asking for those tiny paper cartons of milk, especially if you want one for cereal and one or two to drink. Talk about a server stink-face! Perhaps it's not just health reasons, maybe Disney is running out of food…

* The situation did resolve itself, check here.

French Fry Diary 598: Casa Carollo Bar & Grille

We haven't been to Casa Carollo Bar & Grille in quite some time outside of going to the Comedy Cabaret there. And I'm not sure if that counts because it includes a limited menu for those events. Looking for something different one night when we wanted something delivered, we checked them out.

There is definitely something to be said for portion size. They make 'em big at Casa Carollo. The Bride got chicken Parmesan that was at least three servings, maybe more. That would be lunch for a couple days that week, and the same for my steak sandwich. It was easily more full than any other local steak, and also easily at least two meals. Plus they gave us rolls and garlic knots. This was a haul at a very inexpensive price compared to other places locally for the same stuff.

And you guessed it, I also got fries, else I wouldn't be writing about it here, right? Casa Carollo offers something called Italian Fries. On the menu, these are described as crispy thin fries with Italian herbs. What we got were seasoned regular cuts. I recognized Old Bay, maybe rosemary, but there was definitely more. They were neither crispy nor thin, actually they were kinda soggy, but they were perfection when heated up a bit in the oven.

All in all, we were very pleased with what we got and ordered again the next week. This time I got the onion rings, big thick panko breaded rings, equally good reheated later. I think we've definitely found a new place to go in the area.

French Fry Diary 554: Donkey's Onion Rings

Folks who read my first review of Donkey's Place knows I loved it. On my second visit, I got their huge unique cheesesteak with Whiz, plus an order of their onion rings so I could write about them here.

Wow. Like the sandwiches and the order of fries we got last time, they were huge. Big deep fried thick beer battered onion rings in an equally gigantic cup. The cup was roughly the size of a Super Big Gulp at 7-Eleven. Wow.

The sandwich was just as fantastic as the first time, and better with the Whiz, and the rings were among the best beer batter I've had in quite a while. Another terrific meal, I can't wait to go back!

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 547: Time to Eat Diner, Bridgewater NJ

This fairly famous diner was chosen as the last day breakfast site for the NJ DIS Weekend Meet. Time to Eat is a landmark in the North Jersey area, and it's a very Greek diner as everyone working there I encountered had thick accents. It was packed as per usual for a Sunday morning as most such diners are. I don't think either the DIS folks or the diner folks had any idea how many of us there would be. We arrived late, so the seating was dicey.

I got my diner usuals for breakfast, home fries and bacon. The home fries were shredded potatoes that seriously needed to be cooked a little bit more. I should have done what the bro-in-law sometimes does and ask them to just deep-fry them for extra-crispness. There were random onions, peppers, and maybe scallions mixed in, but far too few to be on purpose, maybe they just slipped in through sloppy cooking. These home fries also got cold very quickly, or maybe they were just cold to begin with.

This was a big order by the way. Again, there is something to be said about portion size at most diners. A side order is only a small order if it's actually a side to a meal, but a side order without an entrée will be huge. They will not skimp on the potatoes, and you will get a full-sized plateful of them. Don't try to test this with bacon however, you will be sorely disappointed.

While the food was not great, diners are about getting together with friends, not food for the most part. Or maybe that's just me waxing philosophical and making an excuse for the really crappy food. It is always nice to meet new folks, and make new friends. The company and the conversation were pretty good, most of it about, you guessed it, Disney.

French Fry Diary 523: Burger King Satisfries

I have to be honest after the last few times Burger King changed their French fries, I was expecting the worst. But here's the thing, I think they may have actually gotten it right for once.

These are nice big standard crinkle cuts, mild crisp on the outside and soft, fluffy and hot inside. They have a baked quality rather than fried or deep-fried. You're getting more potato than Burger King's 'classic' fries, which they are being sold alongside. The portion size is also bigger but it should be noted, so is the price.

The signage around the restaurant insists they are 40% less fat and 30% less calories, but that's over McDonald's fries, not BK's own. After all, the Satisfries are cooked in the same oil as the classic fries, and the onion rings.

Bottom line, I like them, a lot. As I said, I think Burger King finally got it right. Until the next time they change their fries. Again.

French Fry Diary 510: Olive Garden Parmesan Potato Chips

On a recent dinner outing to Olive Garden, I found something really cool on the menu. Parmesan Potato Chips. Called a favorite in Italy, these are thin potato slices, lightly seasoned, with a creamy Italian cheese dip. The Bride, my cheese expert, proclaimed it tangy, pretty good, and offset the chips well.

I liked them, very tasty. They were thin enough to be chips and thick enough to have some potato meatiness to them. Near perfect chips. And as much as I like Olive Garden bread sticks, these chips were nowhere near as, as in not at all, as greasy as the sticks.

If I had any complaint it would be there wasn't enough. but this was a 'small plate,' they need to make it a large plate. These were really good, thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 469: Redstone American Grill

The Redstone American Grill is right in town. It's really a wonder why it's taken me so long to review this place. They've been here a long time. The Bride's family used to come here all the time, and the flatbreads were the specialty and the reason to come. For some reason, once I started actively reviewing places for French Fry Diary, we stopped going mysteriously. I don't now why.

I recently came with my friend Dave for lunch. I got my regular, a plain burger. The burger was gigantic and near perfect. I'm hungry again now, just thinking about it. I also got fries of course. They were different from the last time I was here a few years back. They still had the same natural cut shoestrings, but this time they were in a tin box. The fries were very crispy, deep-fried, and in a good portion size, packed into that tin box pretty well.

It's a box, but not quite a box, more of a frame really. It makes it hard to get to the last of the fries, despite the wax paper they are wrapped in. You will eventually have to dump the whole thing onto your plate anyway. It does however keep the fries separate from the other food notably, preventing what I have started to call pickle fries - fries drenched in pickle juice. So the tin frame serves a good purpose. The fries are pretty much the same as previous visits, only the presentation has changed.

Dave got a pulled pork sandwich that came with thin grizzled onions that he seemed pretty happy with. That said, I wished I had known I could have gotten grizzled onions as well. Maybe next time. All in all Redstone is recommended. A good lunch with a good friend.

French Fry Diary 456: Little Louie's BBQ

A family member took a bad fall, so they was rushed to Cooper Hospital in Camden. I went up Haddon Avenue past the Pop Shop, as this was the most direct route to the hospital, I past a restaurant I had never seen before. Once the emergency was over, and everything had settled down, I had more time to investigate this new find. So something good did come of it.

Little Louie's BBQ is up the road a bit from the Pop Shop, just outside the bustling heart of Collingswood. It had its own parking lot so no outlandish parking fees, plus number one, and I had heard the ribs were very good. That put it high on the list for the mother-in-law, my favorite rib connoisseur. So The Bride, her mom, and I made plans for dinner at Little Louie's.

We went in on a Saturday night, didn't need reservations, and I was quite surprised to see that it wasn't crowded. Folks from out of the South Jersey area might not know, but Collingswood is a hot bed of trendy popular restaurants. If it's a restaurant in Collingswood on a Saturday night - it should be packed. And honestly after our meal, I have to say again - it should have been packed. Hope this review can get the word out.

The place has a stark but warm atmosphere, with old western movie posters on the walls, and a great view of Haddon Avenue. Like at Famous Dave's, they had a roll of paper towels at the table as opposed to napkins. Also at the table they had mild and hot barbeque sauces. In my opinion they needed one in between those two extremes.

I got the foot long hot dog, on a toasted long roll. The dog was just the way I like them, very crunchy, very juicy and very good. It was big, not just long, but thick. Well done as if done on a grill, as was the roll, it was a big meal. As sides I got fries (of course) and baked beans, although I got coleslaw instead. No harm, no foul, I guess.

The fries were awesome. These are hand cut, as in individually hand cut, natural cut fries. These were unevenly cut, some thick, some thin, like you would make at home if slicing them up yourself. They were soft and hot on the inside, and crisp on the outside - serious, nearly perfect fries. I couldn't get enough. They come in a larger portion, which will be what I order next time we come here.

All in all this was a wonderful dinner with The Bride and her mom. Terrific big servings on everything, although I could have definitely had more fries. Like I said, these were fantastic fries. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 410: Village Whiskey, Revel Casino, Atlantic City

I have gotten so many French fries recommendations for the Village Whiskey in Philadelphia, but had never gotten over there. They have duck fat fries, duck fat being the gold standard in fries, going to Village Whiskey was like going to find the Holy Grail.

The mom-in-law had gone to the new Revel Casino in Atlantic City a few times and raved about the fries at the Village Whiskey they had opened there. That was unusual, the mother-in-law raving about fries. So we planned a road trip. Fries so good that mom raved? Indeed, these were fries that needed to be tried.

Upon arrival at the Village Whiskey in Atlantic City, it was quite a sight. Inside the huge modern confines of the casino, they had built a quaint little Philadelphia pub, nice contrast. Inside it was very dark, lit by a single candle. Old sixties psychedelic music played overhead much too loud, but it certainly did a lot to bring a dingy Philly nightclub/bar to life inside the Atlantic City casino.

We did have some trouble with seating for my father-in-law as all the seating was non-conducive to the handicapped, and the staff wasn't very helpful, standing by and watching. The place is all high tables and booths, very hard to seat from a wheelchair. The attitude, not just at Revel but all AC casinos, seems to be that they only need to outfit one restaurant of their many to be handicapped friendly. Village Whiskey was just not one of them, so just cross it off your list if you're handicapped. Seriously, Disney should get into the casino business and show these folks how things should be done.

Once we were all seated, which took maybe twenty minutes, again, with no help from the staff, other than to get the wheelchair out of other customers' way, we looked at the menu. It was full of several burgers mostly, a few pub offerings and a lot of alcohol, all very classy. Despite all the effort to make the place seem like a Philly bar, and the anti-handicapped seating difficulties, its Garces Group pedigree shines through. I got my usual.

The fries were very thick (British chip sized, yay!) natural cuts. Crunchy on the outside, soft and hot inside, these were near perfect fries. Served in a metal cup with a cup of ketchup and ramekin of cheese, it was classy. I was not sure what to make of the duck fat. While one or two fries were greasy, they didn't taste greasy. That may be the result of the duck fat, but I didn't taste a distinct difference. They were seasoned with sea salt and cracked black pepper, and maybe a bit of rosemary or parsley. Very good fries.

The tiny tin cups of fries however were seven dollars an order, and were said by the waitress to serve two or three diners. Two or three what, I don't know, maybe two or three baby birds, perhaps? I know I didn't get enough. The fry crumbs in the bottom of the cup weren't cool and kinda disturbing. The Duck Fat Fries also come with sly fox cheddar cheese for nine dollars, and with shortrib and cheddar for a whopping fourteen dollars. Whoa, these are expensive fries.

The burger was huge, like a filet mignon of chopped beef on a big old baked roll, and very tasty. It was hard to finish, but I did. It was that good as were the Duck Fat Fries. The fries get a solid thumbs up. I might not be back to this location because of the seating, but the fries were definitely worth it, even if a bit expensive. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 373: Sensible Portions Sweet Barbecue Potato Straws

As one might imagine I stroll up and down the snack aisle in the supermarket a lot. When I see something that catches my eye and might be good for the blog, I'll grab it. Such was the case at ShopRite the other day with these Sensible Portions Potato Straws, and of course I went for the Sweet Barbecue flavor.

Forewarning, I found them in the healthier section of the snack aisle, and probing truth in advertising, these are all natural, with no preservatives, no cholesterol and no transfats. They're even kosher. But like most potato snacks, they are barely potato. They're made from potato flour, that's potato flakes and potato starch. Sound appetizing? Yeah, exactly. That's why I got one of the flavored kinds, because usually the plain version of these types of snacks taste like cardboard.

Fortunately that is not the case here, or maybe it is, but the not unpleasant sweet barbecue flavor covers it up. They are quite tasty and addictive, and luckily the portion size is noted on the bag in a few places to make sure you know. It's thirty-eight straws in the seven ounce bag I bought. And as someone who watches portion sizes, let me assure you, that's a very big serving.

The Potato Straws themselves are two inches long each, and the size of shoestring French fries otherwise. It is interesting to note they are really straws, in that they are hollow. Like a Twizzler, or a real straw, you can even drink through them. They are also terrific for dipping.

All in all, this is an excellent find, and a tasty snack. I will be picking these Sensible Portions Potato Straws up again for sure.

French Fry Diary 372: Mastoris

Recently a friend of The Bride's, and a Trenton local legend, Randy Now opened up his Man Cave & Consignment Shop up in Bordentown New Jersey. We, along with her parents, looking for a nice drive to get out of the house, attended the grand opening. Great place, wonderful stuff, and there was a rocking band there opening day. If you're in the area, definitely stop by, it's worth it.

Afterward, we were still up in the Trenton area and we had the munchies, so after much discussion (there are so many different places to eat), we decided to go to Mastoris. This place is legend among New Jersey diners, in fact, it is probably one of the most famous, and the classiest of the New Jersey diners. I had never been, so this was an experience. I have heard both good and bad about the place in my time on Earth so I was interested in finding out for real. I also wanted to try the, duh, what else, the French fries.

Mastoris is a landmark, a piece of history. In existence since the 1920s, it is both a fancy and homey diner with extra rooms for larger parties, fireplaces in each room, and some folks even have their wedding receptions there. And as if to secure your having dessert one way or another, you have to walk through their luscious bakery just to get to your seat. They hit you here or on the way out, you will get dessert. We got a nice table near one of the fireplaces and our waitress seemed very nice and eager to please, especially to prepare our food however we wanted it. Regular readers know that's a plus for me, the catastrophically picky eater.

I was stunned when the waitress handed out the menus however. It was huge. I kid you not, this was a twenty-page menu, plus a two-sided one sheet with today's specials on it. Lifting the menu was a workout. They have to have everything, or at least that's what one would think, based on the menu. I shudder to think what Chef Gordon Ramsey would say. Frequently on "Kitchen Nightmares," that's one of his pet peeves, and he always cuts the menu down to one sheet. Mastoris would probably give him a conniption.

One of the things that Mastoris is most famous for is their cheese bread, and to a lesser extent, their cinnamon bread. Like the restaurant itself, the cheese bread is a thing of legend. I am always hearing stories of folks who will drive for hours to get some of this bread, and then take some home with them as well, thanks in no part to walking out through the bakery, I'm sure. I couldn't wait to be served, especially with that kind of build up. Now I might be blasphemous saying this, but here I go. The cheese bread is good, no doubt, but as far as I'm concerned, the cinnamon bread is to die for. Keep your cheese bread, just leave the cinnamon bread for me, okay?

When my burger and fries arrived (Oh come on now, you knew that was what I was going to get, right? If not, you haven't been paying attention.) the first thing that hit me was the sheer size of it. The burger was gigantic. I had to cut it in half just to attempt to eat it. This is where Mastoris gets an A+ for portion size, with the burger. It was good hot, but not so much when just warm. Despite the size and look of the ginormous hamburger, I have to say, it was only just okay.

The French fries were steak fries, standard from the grocer's freezer and deep-fried. They were really good, as good as those kind of fries get, mind you, and I really would have liked to have had more, but. And this is a big but, so big, Sir Mix-a-Lot would be happy. The fries came in such a ridiculously small portion compared to the giant portions of everything else. Not as small as at Denny's last time, but still. Speaking of the big portions - on everything but the fries - we walked out with five Styrofoam containers, none of them containing fries.

Just so you don't think I'm being psychotic (well, not that psychotic) about the portion of the fries, it should be noted my father-in-law also got the steak fries, and there weren't enough for him either. The mashed potatoes were also quite good, although they weren't from my order.

On a side note, I thought the service was quite good, but my mother-in-law felt it was the worst service she'd ever gotten at Mastoris. She said that they were usually more attentive and personable. I was floored by this. Our waitress was twenty times nicer than at, say a Denny's or an Applebee's, but then again, I guess that says a lot, doesn't it? We must have gotten our waitress on a bad day, I'll have to go back. All in all, it was a good family afternoon dinner. Good times.

French Fry Diary 364: Select 7 Panko Breaded Onion Petals

I had a long day, I was hungry, and it was late so my options were few. So when I approached the 7-Eleven, like an oasis in the desert, I knew I would be stopping for a snack. I got a hot dog. It's easier to ignore how long they've been there and what they might be made of at that hour. And Cool Dog, the first stop for dogs, wasn't open.

I was still hungry and was aisle by aisle shopping the 7-Eleven, and I found these - the Select 7 Panko Breaded Onion Petals. 7-Eleven or not, I snatched them up. I have recently been on a Panko drive so I had to have them.

Once home I found they could be cooked three ways - microwave, baked, or deep fry. Deep frying is a lot of work, and anyone who's had supposedly crunchy food microwaved knows it rarely works, so that was out too. Baking it was. For the record, I gave them a few more minutes in the oven than they suggested. And the Aussie Sauce will be saved for The Bride and her salads. It is just salad dressing, is it not? I myself prefer barbecue sauce for my fried onion treats.

Baked they are quite crunchy and tasty, with more of a hint of Panko than the ShopRite Panko Onion Rings promised. And the portion provided by the small box is enormous. Despite the 7-Eleven store brand, these are very good. I like them a lot. I look forward to trying them deep fried, and maybe even microwaved.