Halloween at MoonDog Grill

Don't forget to get over to the Moorestown Mall Food Court to try MoonDog Grill's Walking Dead Dog, an all-beef Sabrett hot dog topped with chili, cheese sauce, spicy red pepper relish, atomic BBQ sauce, jalapenos, onions, and sriracha… oooh, hot and scary. They also have new Italian sodas in ten assorted flavors, but the real reason to visit MoonDog at any time, not just Halloween, is the fries, and now there's a twist.

You can not only get MoonDog's fabulous fresh-cut and twice-fried French fries, but you can get them as a Fry Bowl. They start with eight ounces of fries and come in four varieties – Chili Cheese: all beef chili, cheese sauce, and onions, Barbecue: pulled pork, shredded cheese, and BBQ sauce, Mexican: salsa, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and shredded cheese, and Buffalo: buffalo wing sauce, jalapenos, blue cheese dressing, and celery salt.

Stop in and check them out, some of the best fries and dogs in South Jersey!

MoonDog Grill for Breakfast

Here's the new Breakfast Sandwich from site favorite, the MoonDog Grill, two eggs, cheese, and bacon - on sliced potatoes.  Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #266

This one comes from dear friend Robin Renee, who had these fries and broccoli rabe at Gallery Pizza in Atco, NJ. And if you're so inclined, please check out her fantastic Blog March, the schedule is here.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #260

Today's image is another place I miss from South Jersey. My big sister sent me this pic of her lunch at Donkey's, home of the best and most unique cheesesteaks in the area, as well as some darn good chicken tenders and fries too.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #259

Not really a tater pic, but within the realm.  This is a cheesesteak and onion rings from Pat's Select, the former being one of the things I miss most about South Jersey, besides friends and family.  Mmmm... cheesesteak...

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!

French Fry Diary 707: Donkey's Place Too 2016

One of the places definitely on my South Jersey Farewell Tour was Donkey's Place. In Florida, it's doubtful I'll be able to get a proper cheesesteak, let alone the best and most unique cheesesteak in South Jersey, so before I move away I had to visit Donkey's again.

The Dark Crystal was in from San Francisco, and my GAR! Podcast partner Ray was also down from North Jersey, so, along with The Bride, it was time for another French Fry Diary road trip. Donkey's Place Too in Medford was crowded and hopping the Saturday afternoon we went, barely a place to sit and we briefly discussed finding somewhere outdoorsy to eat our lunch, when a table opened up.

We sat in the booth below the huge picture of the legendary Bob Lucas, who ran Donkey's Place in Camden. The Bride and I got our regular cheesesteaks with onions and cheddar, and introduced Ray to the same, while Crystal bucked tradition and got a chicken cheesesteak. We of course also got fries to share while waiting for our main course to arrive at the table.

I've talked about these seasoned regular cuts before. They are always especially good while hot and good with cheese on the side for dipping. The cheesesteak is fantastic, and unlike any other you'll find, and remember, I hipped you all to Donkey's long before Anthony Bourdain ever heard of it. I am really going to miss this place and this food. Donkey's is the best.

French Fry Diary 704: South Jersey Farewell Tour

As some of you may or may not know, The Bride and I are moving from the wonderful South Jersey/Philadelphia area to the Sunshine State of Florida. By the end of the summer we'll no longer be New Jersey residents. Before we go I will be eating and enjoying the last of such wonderful foods as cheesesteaks and soft pretzels for instance.

I have a number of places I want to visit one last time before we go, a farewell tour if you will. Favorites like The Pub, Donkey's Place, The Pop Shop, and Chickie's & Pete's are all on the list, but I want your input. If you were leaving this area, where would you want to go one last time? Let me know!

French Fry Diary 677: Carolina Blue Smokehouse and Taproom

Way off the beaten path, or at least my beaten path, is the Carolina Blue Smokehouse and Taproom, all the way in Pitman NJ. I went there for a surprise birthday party for good friend, author, and current president of the South Jersey Writers' Group, Amy Holiday, so it was worth it.

Despite the outside appearance of the restaurant as a barbeque place, the food's appearance has more of a very simple Californian cuisine vibe. I got my usual, a cute little burger that was delicious, moist, and incredibly filling. I felt so stuffed after this little morsel. As a side, and also as an appetizer for the whole table, were house cut chips. Very much like the crispy thin slices in an order of fried breakfast potatoes, these were chips with just the right crisp, very good. The appetizer came with melted blue cheese crumbles that everyone loved.

While I didn't have (I know, blasphemy) the regular fries, I did get a chance to try the sweet potato fries, stylized on their menu as "SWEET! Potato Fries," dusted with a cinnamon sugar and served with vanilla cheesecake dip. These were to die for, even cold. These quite possibly some of the best sweet potato fries I've had, and I'm really not all that fond of them.

All in all, it was a great night out with friends, good friends and good discussion, and Amy was surprised, so it was all good. Thumbs up for the Carolina Blue Smokehouse and Taproom.

French Fry Diary 652: Ruffles Deep Ridged Classic Hot Wings Potato Chips

It is a rare occasion that I get to review a new flavor of Ruffles. Hell, I can't even get the flavors I like, like simple barbecue or even the ultimate. For some reason the folks at Ruffles just don't want to distribute to South Jersey. If they did, I know I'd buy them.

Anyway one new flavor did pop up in the local Wawa, not something I'd normally be interested in, but I'm in South Jersey, and beggars can't be choosers. Similar to those great Ultimate chips, these potato chips are giant Ruffles, with ridges twice as deep as usual, and also have a Classic Hot Wings flavor inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings. You might
remember I wasn't impressed with Buffalo Wild Wings, so I wasn't really looking forward to these chips.

The bad news is these are just potato chips with a barbecue taste, they also have chicken wings taste, yeah, they're meat chips. For the most part, I hate meat chips. These have that weird chicken fat taste and they are far too hot with a lingering burn. Still, the great shape is perfect for dipping. I would have much rather had a different flavor in that shape however.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #187

This Somebody Else's Fries image comes from friend and fellow South Jersey Writer, Mieke Zamora-Mackay. On the Facebook she had asked where to go for lunch, and of course many suggestions were made, including The Pop Shop and the British Chip Shop (not just from me), but she decided on The Pour House in Westmont. She got the shrimp tacos and potato chips, which she pronounced as divine. The Pour House is now definitely on my list.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #184

Here's a blast from the past for the South Jersey folks. Who remembers the Holly Ravine Farm and the Cowtail Bar?

Random Tater Pic of the Day #172

Here's another courtesy of friend and sometime contributor Robin Renee. Wow, those lucky Stockton State College students!

Wasabi Ginger Wins

While I was away, the Lay's Do Us a Flavor Contest was resolved, and a winner chosen.

The new Lay's flavor is Wasabi Ginger, and surprisingly the lady who suggested this wild flavor is actually local to me - Meneko Spigner McBeth of Westville NJ. Congratulations!

And special thanks go to Jen, and Ray, and all the other folks who hipped me to this. You all rock.

French Fry Diary 611: b. good

The South Jersey area has been invaded in the last few years by upscale gourmet burger restaurants like Elevation Burger, Smashburger, Zinburger, and coming soon, Burger Fi. The trend continues with b. good, just opened in the Promenade in Marlton. At first glance it looks like a quick service burger place, but it's much more than that, and costlier.

You order, get your drink and have a seat. The pricing is a bit misleading if you're used to menus and meal deals at fast food restaurants. There are signs that say you can add drink and fries for $5.99, but the deal isn't $5.99, for an additional $5.99 you can get a drink and fries. Add that to the pricy burger and it adds up - this is not a typical quick service burger place though, the service is quick, and the burgers are really good.

The drinks are intriguing. No Coke or Pepsi here. They have cane cola, skinny cane cola, Italian lemon, and Pennsylvania red birch beer (yum), to name just a few. I know I'm a Coca-Cola guy, but I enjoyed trying the different soda flavors, much more than the Lay's potato chip flavors I've had to try of late at least. The cane cola is awesome.

The burger was very good. The meat was local, as is everything at b. good, dry-aged, and house-ground, and it's a loose ground, which makes for a juicy chewy burger. On a softer bun, this would've been an amazing burger, but as is, it was only great. And by great, I mean better than the burgers at most other places.

The natural cut fries, also local, were very good. They were excellent hot, a little soft but still managed to have the right amount of crisp too. There's a subtle seasoning that give them a little kick, nice. I think I got the tail end of a batch as they were many small pieces and stubs. It happens. I saw some awesome sized regular cut fries on the plates of others. I also got a few sweet potato fries with mine, which was a nice surprise. All in all the fries were very good. On a later visit the fires were even better. I guess they just needed to get their groove.

The French fries bags have a lot to say. "These fries are special. They're hand-cut and oven-finished." I like that. Additionally they have the calorie and fat counts of McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King as compared to b. good's. There's also another slogan, "Food made by people not factories." Nice. I really liked b. good a lot, and can't wait to go back, and bring friends and family. Recommended.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #159

A vintage Jersey diner and a blast from the past - Ponzio's Diner in Brooklawn NJ from back in the day. I was only there once, back in the eighties, and I got, what else?, the favorite fried food.

French Fry Diary 600: Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen is one of the few big chains I haven't yet reviewed here at French Fry Diary, mainly because they have been so hard to find. The just ice cream versions of Dairy Queen are everywhere, but it's been darn hard to find one that serves hot food, a Brazier. There are a couple down in the southern South Jersey area, but you have to navigate the traffic hell that is Route 42 and the Black Horse Pike to get there, not an easy task.

Decades ago, when I was just a wee one, back in the late 1960s, early 1970s, there was a Dairy Queen walking distance from where I live now in Cherry Hill. There's a strip mall there now. At that Dairy Queen I remember, a picky eater even then, raising a fuss because I didn't want those things on my hamburger bun. After trying them however, and until even today, I like sesame seed buns better than regular seedless buns. Oddly, they don't seem to have sesame seeds on most of their burgers at Dairy Queen now.

After braving the traffic hell one day and actually finding the Dairy Queen, I got down to the business of reviewing them. The burger was good, and nothing beats real ice cream as a dessert compared to other fast food places that have dessert as an afterthought. Dairy Queen does ice cream, and it shows. Best fast food dessert, hands down and thumbs up. Sundaes are awesome, as are the shakes, and if your taste turns toward smoothies, DQ also owns Orange Julius and you can get that here as well.

Now on to the main event, I got two small orders of French fries and onion rings each, and they came in small cardboard boxes reminiscent of White Castle containers. The French fries were thick shoestrings with a slight batter covering for extra crisp, soft and very hot inside, a little greasy but not enough to be worrisome. These fries are substantial, excellent for shake dipping. These fries are good, but wow, they pale in comparison to the onion rings.

Dairy Queen onion rings are heavenly, medium sized slices of onion, with bread crumb batter just enough to make them crispy. With a hot succulent delicious whole onion inside, they have a lightly baked quality, and that's even though I know they're deep-fried. They don't taste deep-fried. Seriously, these are superior onion rings, too good for a fast food chain. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 583: The Mystery of Burger Chef

I've been doing this French Fry Diary in one form or another for over a decade. And even before then I considered myself something of a connoisseur of not only French fries but also fast food. I have always known the ins and outs and even the arcane knowledge of the fast food joints in the area. Imagine my surprise when I found out about a local chain that I not only never heard of, but I had also been inside of, and dined at. This is the mystery of Burger Chef.

AMC's "Mad Men" has brought this specter back to life recently in their final season, as Burger Chef is actually one of their potential clients. The weirdest part for me is that the local Burger Chef was a stone's throw from where I live now. Burger Chef in Marlton NJ was right behind where Kohl's is now. The big store was formerly a Bradlee's, a Jefferson Ward, and at the time of Burger Chef - a Two Guys. Man, the nostalgia is killing me.

Burger Chef started in 1954 in Indiana, and from there expanded throughout the United States until 1982 when General Foods, who owned the chain, sold off all the restaurants to Hardees. They had a very distinctive sign, stylized like McDonald's or In-N-Out Burger, instantly recognizable. They created the first fast food combo meal, and before Roy Rogers did it, they offered a bar where you could dress your own burger. They had their own animated mascot called, what else but the Burger Chef, and his sidekick Jeff. They had a ball at Halloween, and engineered some great promotions with properties like Family Circus, King Kong, and Star Wars, among others.

Apparently blocked out of my memory is the fact that I had actually been to the Marlton location, and perhaps the Hammonton one on the White Horse Pike as well, as a little boy. My big sister and her husband/then-boyfriend used to take me. Even then I was a catastrophically picky eater, and Burger Chef offered a burger called a 'Plain Jane.' It was as you may have expected, a plain hamburger that you could (if you wanted) dress at The Works Bar. I don't remember it at all, but I wish they were still around.

You're waiting to hear about the favorite fried food though, aren't you? Well, it's hard to say, as I don't remember. From fuzzy images online and even fuzzier ones on video, they look to be either shoestrings or regular cuts, and while they look good, who knows? This was several decades ago. Below is a YouTube montage of some of the Burger Chef television commercials, and if you're interested in the Marlton NJ location of Burger Chef, click here for an entire website about it, cool stuff.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #143

Ancient newspaper ad for local McDonald's...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #117

While I was away on vacation, there was another South Jersey writer filling in for me locally, taking pictures of fries.

Here's Sarah Hawkins-Miduski posing with her prize at Curley's Fries in Wildwood.

Thanks, Sarah! And don't forget to check out Sarah at The Obligatory Blog.