French Fry Diary 680: Mayfair Boardwalk Grill

The last time we visited the Silverball Museum, we had the favorite fried food there, and it was really pretty good, but as we were leaving we passed a simple shack on the boardwalk, and I knew that was where we should have eaten instead. When we went back to Silverball for The Bride's birthday celebration, I fixed that oversight.

We arrived on the Asbury Park boardwalk early in the afternoon, and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I figured a snack was in order. Yeah, hot dogs for breakfast, and me being me, I had to get fries too. I was given a number like at the butcher shop and asked to wait. This alone meant to me that I was lucky being the only one there at the moment, and that the lines could get very busy indeed.

The Mayfair Boardwalk Grill is an Asbury Park tradition, family owned and operated for over fifty years. As I waited and chilled on the park bench there on the boardwalk with bicyclists and kite-fliers and seagulls and dog walkers going by with the beach right there - I felt like I was in the middle of the opening credits sequence of "Three's Company."

The wait was short, and well worth it. The awesome foot long hot dog, cooked to splitting crispy perfection on a flattop grill was snuggled into a regular-sized roll. Sooo good. And it was accompanied by frozen regular cuts that were deep-fried. They looked burnt, really burnt, but that was just a look, these fries were perfectly crisp, and soft, fluffy and hot inside. This was a delicious meal, so simple, and highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 677: Jersey Shore Fry Company

I recently surprised The Bride by taking her to the Silverball Pinball Museum in Asbury Park NJ. The place is basically a big old-fashioned arcade like back in the day, predominantly filled with pinball machines from every era, and a few 1980s videogames as well. We got a pass to play any games we wanted for a few hours, but once that was over, we were a little hungry for a snack.

Behind the counter as we entered on the Boardwalk, there was a snack bar, just easy stuff, but including fries. The fries were specially sponsored by the Jersey Shore Fry Company, and the machines I saw behind the counter that made the fries bore the logo of the Perfect Fry Company. Okay, I was sold, I had to try them. We ordered inside, then ate at a table out on the Boardwalk. Fries and wind off the beach, it was nice.

The fries themselves were slightly larger than usual regular cut natural cuts, lightly battered, soft and hot inside, and crispy outside, with a subtle seasoning. They were very good dipped in the hot cheddar cheese that came with them. The Bride really liked them, loved the Silverball Pinball Museum, and together we had a really terrific day.