French Fry Diary 693: O'Lordan's Irish Pub

On a recent trip to see the in-laws, and especially see the nephew rock the house as part of his school's chorus, we stopped for a late night dinner at O'Lordan's Irish Pub. It being a pub and it being Friday night meant it was very loud, but we were seated behind the stage where the atmosphere was much quieter - and apparently less traveled by the waitstaff.

As the company was good we didn't mind the long wait time, much. I got my regular, a burger and fries, but what I really wanted to try was the Onion Cone. It's described as "Spanish onions in a seasoned batter and fried golden brown." However in my current altered diabetic state, those types of deep fried delicacies are certain death by carb, and calorie, and cholesterol. Maybe next time.

The burger, ordered medium well, was on the charcoal side of very well done, but still tasty on the inside, as long as one could get through the blackened exterior. On the plus side, it was on a sesame seed bun, which I usually prefer.

The fries that came as a side were waffle fries similar in cut and first glance to Chick-fil-A, but that's where the resemblance ended. If one took those great Chick-fil-A Waffle Fries, battered them, deep-fried them until they were crunchy on the outside and greasy on the inside, then over seasoned them... yeah, you got it. They were that bad.

That said, potatoey products purchased by other members of our party (how's that for alliteration?) were quite good, including the Bangers & Mash and the Potato Skins, the latter of which were made from huge Russet baking potatoes. The Irish Whiskey chicken Tenders also looked very good, maybe for next time. And I'm not adverse to coming back, they could have been having a bad night - not as bad however as the singer who was soundly butchering David Bowie and Tom Petty on the other side of the wall...

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 621: Phily Diner

I recently talked about afterparties over at Biff Bam Pop!, ones that go horribly horribly wrong. This entry here is about one much less sinister, or depending on your health outlook, maybe just as bad. We are talking about French fries, after all.

The South Jersey Writers' Group has their official meeting once a month and afterward some of the members get together for an afterparty of sorts at a nearby bar or restaurant, more for pleasure than business, just to talk shop casually, or not. It's just fun, and we also wanted to celebrate a little, friend and Biff Bam Pop! colleague Marie Gilbert had just released her book, Roof Oasis. We had exhausted our welcome and our tolerance of the nearby Applebee's, and Rexy's Bar stopped serving food after a certain time, so we had been looking for somewhere new, and someone suggested the Phily Diner.

The Phily Diner is a cross between a loud sports bar and a typical Jersey diner, and no matter where you look, it's as if neon exploded in there. Sports bar and neon aside, there are still a few of those creepy life-size chef statues around the place to prove it's still a tacky Jersey diner. And remember those fresh off the mimeograph papers we had waaay back in grade school? We even had a couple menus like that. 

The place was surprisingly crowded and loud for a Thursday night. But that being said, we had also retreated from Applebee's because it too was too noisy. One can only surmise that Thursday is party night in Bellmawr and Runnemede. Perhaps because of the crowd and the noise, the service was painfully slow. And when I say slow, I mean sloooooow.

Everyone wanted to help me write the review so potato products were gotten by almost all. Amy Holiday wanted to compare the Phily's Chesapeake fries to the Pop Shop's Louisiana fries. I didn't think there'd be any comparison, as the Pop Shop is the best. They were heavily seasoned waffle fries with white cheddar cheese on the side. A little greasy but very good hot and Amy said they were better with the cheese.

Janice Wilson got the potato skins, very tasty looking half-potatoes well cooked with generous bacon and orange cheddar cheese. They looked really good, but how could they not be, because bacon. Mieke Zamora-Mackay got the chip burger, a burger with, you got it, potato chips on it. She liked it, and it had some chili, sour cream, green onions, and of course potato chips on it. Authors Jennifer M. Eaton, Krista Magrowski, and Jim Knipp might have also gotten potato-ey goodness too, but they were down the other end of the table.

I just got the fries, and as everyone else's food arrived I began to see that everything was waffle fries. I was kinda disappointed as I was looking forward to the steak fries I had seen on the website, but was resigned to the cross-cross potato variety. Imagine my surprise when a plate full of regular cuts arrived in front of me. These were deep fried frozen fries with a wonderful crisp skin and hot soft inside. The chocolate shake I also got was thick and good.

While the food was very good, and the company was excellent, the customer service was not, and the wait was horrendous. It might be better at a different time, but for now, not a good time and we probably won't be returning. Don't forget to pick up Marie's book Roof Oasis and the new SJWG anthology Reading Glasses.

French Fry Diary 589: T.G.I. Friday's Loaded Fries

Now I love T.G.I. Fridays, so I know their menu fairly well, even though I don't get to go as often as I might like. And knowing their menu, I know that they don't really serve this item, T.G.I. Friday's Loaded Fries, in the restaurants. While they have a variety of French fry-like products, I don't think they even have crinkle cut French fries like these. Potato skins, yes, French fries, no. We'll forego that bit for now and review this frozen grocery treat as is.

These are very similar to the microwave fries I've reviewed before, the Ore-Ida Easy Fries. Same directions - cook 'em in the box, but then add the cheese and bacon. Other than having to melt the cheddar sauce in running warm water, this is a pretty easy prep.

The box comes with the same type of microwave box, and two packets, one with cheddar cheese sauce, and the other with shredded cheddar and American cheese, and bacon bits. There's a four minute plus fries cooking time then an additional minute with the toppings. The problem is you get a soggy box pan with the fries glued to the bottom with cheese.

Once you've pried the fries from the cheesy glue box, they're not bad. They don't have the crispness of the Ore-Ida Easy Fries, no matter how else they are close to them. I wonder if the size of the box (slightly bigger) or the additional cook time for the toppings has anything to do with that. These are not bad in a pinch, but I think it might be easier to do Easy Fries and apply your own toppings when they are hot from the microwave.

French Fry Diary 408: Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored

Yeah, I know that's quite a mouthful, Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored potato chips. I've tried a lot of different bizarre flavored chips like the various rib chips, the steak chips, and even the chicken chips. There's even a hot dog flavored chip from Herr's I've been trying to track down. At least these are sorta tater related.

I had only a couple chips. I'm not a big fan of sour cream or Romano cheese and those flavors jumped right out immediately. There is also bacon and cheddar in there, but the former two flavors are overpowering. These chips were definitely not my cup of tea, and so not my bag of chips.

I had initially picked them up for The Bride, but she only thought they were okay. If you're into this kind of thing, go for it, but Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins were just not for me.

Best and Worst Onion Rings

This will be the last one on this slant, I promise. Recently the Huffington Post did a survey of appetizers in chain restaurants looking for the best and worst in various appetizers. We've seen potato skins and French fries so far, this time, we have onion rings.

Yeah, that's right. The Huffington Post did this. Again. Just when I think I'm wasting my time talking about French fries all the time, an almost legitimate news source proves me wrong by going even more trivial. Talk about niche!

What bothers me most about the survey this time is that they have their facts wrong. They list T.G.I.Fridays and Applebee's as not having onion rings. That second one is odd because I have an Applebee's review in queue that includes onion rings. Friday's has onion rings, and although it's been a while since I've been there, I'm pretty sure Planet Hollywood does too. Research research! Chili's are definitely up there, as are Red Lobster's, but Cheesecake Factory's rings didn't look like that the last time I was there.

Anyway, if you're interested in the Huff Post's findings and opinions, the full article is here. Enjoy.

The Best and Worst Potato Skins

Recently the Huffington Post did a survey of appetizers in chain restaurants looking for the best and worst in potato skins.

Yeah, that's right. The Huffington Post did this. Just when I think I'm wasting my time talking about French fries all the time, an almost legitimate news source proves me wrong by going even more trivial.

Now I'm not a real big potato skins fan, chiefly because the point is to scrape the potato part out (that's the part I like) and put other stuff in. Me, I'd rather have a baked potato, ya know?

Anyway, if you're interested in the Huff Post's findings and opinions, the full article is here. Enjoy.

What Are Your Favorite Kind of French Fries? Poll Results

First off, thank you to all the folks who voted in this poll, and put forth their 121 votes for their favorite fries. It means a lot, I mean, I know there are not many folks who are as passionate and enthusiastic about the favorite fried food as I am.

Here are the results, from least favorite kind of fries to most favorite:

The favorites with 39 votes are Steak Fries, followed by the 27 vote tie of Shoestrings and Waffle Fries.

Regular Cuts came in with 24 votes, followed by Curly Fries with 22 votes. Then we have a three-way tie for fifth place with Crinkle Cuts, Tater Tots, and Fries with the Skins on with 16 votes each.

11 votes went to Potato Wedges, while there were 7 votes for the mysterious Other, and no one sent me any emails to let me know what their other choice was. Perhaps they were matchstick fries or shaped fries or non-potato fries or pixie crinkles - we'll never know.

Maybe we'll have another poll in a few days. Any thoughts on the topic, drop me a line here.

BBQ Potato Skins

With Memorial Day Weekend right around the corner, it's barbeque season, as a matter of fact, I think May might even be National Barbeque Month. Anyway, here's a recipe from the Just-Potatoes group, enjoy!

BBQ Potato Skins

2 large russet potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
Chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat oven at 350F. Clean and bake potatoes in oven for 1 hour. When done, allow to slightly cool and cut into halves.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Scoop out the pulp, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell for the toppings. Cut the potatoes into quarter wedges, brush with butter and season with salt and pepper. Place on grill and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes. During the last few minutes of grilling, remove potatoes and place on a cookie sheet. Top the potatoes with cheese and bacon and place back on top of grill.

While potatoes are grilling, combine the sour cream and horseradish in a small bowl and mix well. Place potatoes on serving plates and top with the green onions, chopped tomatoes and the sour cream horseradish sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives, for garnish.

French Fry Diary 137: Bar Food Paradise

Usually when I talk about a cable channel here at French Fry Diary, it's the Food Network or even the new Cooking Channel. Not today, today we're looking at a program on the Travel Channel. It's called "Bar Food Paradise" and they highlighted two places of great interest to enthusiasts of the favorite fried food.

I'll let the folks at the Travel Channel take it from here:

"In 1979, nachos underwent an Irish rebirth. At J. Gilligan's Bar and Grill in Arlington, Texas, Irish potatoes, cheese, peppers, onions and jalapeños are combined in a skillet to create an unlikely bar food favorite. The dish caught on instantly, and now J. Gilligan's goes through 3,600 potatoes and 80 pounds of cheddar a week. Whether it's your game-time snack, your dinner or a late-night indulgence, the Irish nachos never fail to satisfy.



"Sunny Santa Monica, California may seem a bizarre setting for an Irish pub, but Finn McCool's is the genuine article. Owner Geraldine Gilliland painstakingly brought every piece of the famous bar over from Ireland, including the timber for the bar, the artifacts on the walls, and the lads and lasses slinging pints behind the bar. It's not just the Irish cheer and the Guinness that bring people to Finn's -- it's their potato skins. The secret ingredient that makes these skins so good is lean Irish bacon. Topped with freshly grated horseradish in sour cream, they simply can't be beat."

French Fry Diary 136: Deep Fry Secrets

I've presented a lot of recipes and videos and advice on making French fries here on FFD, but one of the questions I get most frequently is – how do I make French fries? Well, here you go, a quick primer in my methods and secrets. Enjoy.

First you have to get some potatoes. Russets are the best potato for making French fries, and not those wimpy things you find at Shop-Rite either – you need those big bad boys you get at Whole Foods or Wegman's. We're talking about Russet potatoes about five to six inches long and about two to three inches wide. Serious potatoes.

Sometimes I'll blanche them very quickly or throw them in the microwave for half a minute. This will make them soft and fluffy inside after the frying, but it's an optional step. Peel 'em or don't, but make sure you wash 'em. If you leave the skins on, rumor says you get more vitamins. It's a fact that the skins have high fiber content and antioxidants, but come on now, we're talking about making French fries – be healthy at your own risk.

Next up is the cut. This is a personal preference. Shoestrings are ¼" thick, regular cuts are ½" thick. You can go thicker or thinner as you wish, just remember, thin cooks faster and thick slower. Sometimes I'll scallop them, or just dice 'em up in chunks. Again, this part is all your choice. Just keep them uniform. Any odd sizes or bits will cook unevenly and at a different pace from the others. The oddballs can be used to test the oil, or be mashed up later for hash browns, mashed potatoes or some other kind of tater treat.

Once you've cut your potatoes, put them in water. And by that, I mean submerge them in ice water or just really cold water. Let 'em sit for a bit. That will help get the starch out of them, and also help them get that golden brown color in the frying process. While the fries are soaking, this is a great time to add a little bit of flavor. Sometimes some sugar in the water can add a sweet kick. Also for that special Boardwalk taste you can add just a bit of squeezed lemon or lemon juice.

Once the fries have soaked in the water for a while – anywhere from five to ten minutes to overnight – dry them really well before firing up the deep fryer. You're almost ready to go. I use a Rival CF156 deep fryer because I'm hardcore into fries. There are other deep fryers, the Fry Baby is good, the Fry Daddy is better, but I'll stick with my Rival. You can even use a wok (electric or otherwise) or just a deep frying pan or pot.

Heat your oil to approximately 325 degrees. Peanut oil is best, with canola and sunflower oil coming in a close second. You can even go with vegetable oil. If you want the kick of Spanish fries, you could even use olive oil. And don't forget to change your oil often. Your deep fryer is just like your car engine – take care of it and it'll take care of you.

When the oil is heated to the proper temperature, put your fries in, in small batches, being very careful of spattering oil. Cook for about five to ten minutes and then bring them out and let them drain. The fries will be darker than before but not yet golden brown. This is called the par-fry, or partial fry. Frozen store fries are already par-fried when you buy them – ready to eat, if you so please, fun fact.

Once the fries are completely drained, you have a choice. You can take the easy way out and put them on a cookie sheet and bake them the rest of the way. No shame in that, great crispy crunch and tender fluffy insides – and for the health-conscious, less oil exposure. The fries are very good like that, but for the pros, you gotta do the shock fry.

Shock frying is a second fry at 375 degrees for just two or three minutes. This is the bad boy that turns the fries that coveted golden brown color and seals in the hot fluffy potato insides. From there you can go darker and crispier as desired. Just don't burn them. If you do that, you'll know, and know better for the next batch.

When the fries come out of the hot oil, drop them on paper towels to dry and drain, or better yet, on a cookie rack over paper towels so the grease doesn't stay next to the fries. Again, a step for the healthy folks, but a smart one too. You want to taste fries, not fried. Hit them with salt and other seasonings as soon as they get out of the oil, so it sticks.

Put the fries on a plate and enjoy. That's the easy step, and the best one. And that's basically how I make fries, and a few of my deep fry secrets. Hope it helps.

French Fry Diary 104: Alexia Waffle Fries

Much like curly fries, the odd more 3-D shape of waffle fries might make baking more difficult for an even cook than deep frying – so I had my doubts on baking Alexia’s Waffle Fries. I like Alexia, and their frozen Onion Rings are top notch in my book, so I decided to give these a shot.

When it comes to fully peeled and cut vs. non-fully peeled and cut in the package – it’s about five to one. For me this is good as I prefer the latter over the former. Nothing against the potato skins, just my preference. These are very spicy, as listed: sea salt, pepper, onion and garlic – they’re almost golden brown with the seasoning before they even go into the oven.

The directions say about twenty to twenty-five minutes and that’s about right, but keep an eye on the smaller pieces as they will be done first – some even when you do your mid-bake turning. When they’re done, they are best hot right from the oven. Have something cold on hand for not only the heat but the spices. Some are uneven, but for most of them – when they are good, they are real good.