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!

French Fry Diary 18: The Pop Shop

Owned and run by friends of the family Stink Fisher and his wife Connie, The Pop Shop is the gem and highlight of the upper class Collingswood NJ neighborhood.

The Fishers set out to re-create a classic 1950s malt shop and succeeded many times over with this wonderful meeting place and restaurant. The Pop Shop is a destination for my family and friends on many occasions including weekend breakfasts when guests are in town and sometimes on regular Monday night trivia competitions that are always a blast.

Breakfast served all day and the ice cream and dessert menu, as well as the fantastic selection of grilled cheese sandwiches are the prizes of the food fare presented at the Pop Shop, as are the activities and events all week long, but for our purposes we’ll be concentrating on the favorite fried food.

French fries at the Pop Shop are something to behold. From their menu: Our fries are awesome! We make them ourselves - every single one. Home-made spicy ketchup available upon request or you can have Heinz, if you’re a purist.

So even the ketchup is special. The Pop Shop Fries are always natural cuts, made fresh and cooked to order. Always served hot and delicious, and in more than generous portions, if you get them plain, they will be the best part of your meal for the French fry aficionado, but that’s not all. There are several different variations at the Pop Shop.

You can get them with Old Bay seasoning, brown gravy, cheddar, mozzarella, Jack, tomato sauce, jalopeno peppers and onions, chili of the day, bacon, Cajun spices and also with a remoulade sauce. Each particular combination has its own name and hometown flavor. I told you these just aren’t any fries.

The Pop Shop Fries are highly recommended, as is the entire restaurant. Check them out here.


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