French Fry Diary 675: Mission Statement

Every once in a while we should all take a moment to establish and remind ourselves what we are actually doing. I started this blog, French Fry Diary, found here and here, because of the premise of 'write what you know.' I know French fries, and I love French fries, so I write about French fries.

French Fry Diary is one man's journey into everything you wanted to know about French fries, and more - potato chips, recipes, onion rings, fast food, and good food - all aspects of the potato and fried food, and especially where the two meet. Whether it's a French fry restaurant review to pictures of fries from around the net, to odd facts to fries in pop culture, I try to feature it here.

French Fry Diary can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and fries are frequently a topic on my podcasts - The GAR! Podcast and The Make Mine Magic Podcast. Here's hoping you'll join me on my journey. Mmmm… fries…

French Fry Diary 587: Iron Hill Brewery Sweet Potato Fries

Attending a social event at the Iron Hill Brewery with the South Jersey Writers (quick plug, membership is now open!), I finally had a chance to try the sweet potato fries.

On a previous trip, I was stunned by the amount of favorite fried foods that were served at this chain, and pledged to return and try some of the variations. It was a toss up between the onion rings and the sweet potato fries, and based on the opinions of the folks I was eating with - one a dedicated Iron Hill fan - I settled on the latter.

So while talking about writing techniques and other shop talk, I got my regular, a burger, plus a side of the sweet potato fries. The burger was big, juicy, and very filling, definitely something to come back for again. The fries were also big and thick, soft hot wedges of sweet sweet potato. They were very good while hot, but not as much as they cooled, but I would definitely get them again. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 559: Writing and Onion Rings

It's been a couple years since I've been to Bahama Breeze. I've been there more than a few times, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad, but always, above it all, the Island Onion Rings are awesome. They are, with their coconut shavings and Panko bread covering among the best, period.

When my friend Marni got sick, she passed along the doorprize she won at Women 2 Women to The Bride and me, that doorprize? A free Happy Hour at Bahama Breeze, woo hoo! So we scrambled together and asked a whole buncha folks, but Tuesday being the middle of the week, and a blizzard looming, and a variety of other reasons, only a handful of folks showed up. Most of them were my writer friends.

Having just talked about inspiration and motivation over at the South Jersey Writers Blog this week, it was a topic heavy on my mind, and the company of writers is always a strong motivation to write and get work done. So amongst a barrage of appetizers, and those fabulous Island Onion Rings, we settled in for an evening of writing chat, made new friends, and just in general had a good time.

It was close company and good food. Fran Metzman, Terry Mergenthal, Maryliz Clark, her husband, Jim Knipp, his wife, and The Bride and I had a terrific time. And Jim, just for the record, those O-rings tasted just great after reheat in the oven at home. Trust me, you regret not taking them.

I have to say that Bahama Breeze in the Cherry Hill Mall went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, serve us perfectly, attend to our every need. The chef even came out and chatted with us, and we talked about how the onion rings were made.

Stuff like this goes a long way toward future visits. Our wait staff was perfection. It will be a very short time between visits to Bahama Breeze next time. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 413: Zapp's Potato Chips

I had been coming to the Market Café at our local Wegmans for regular Write-Ins with the South Jersey Writers Meetup. As the meetings are around dinner time, folks usually get snacks. I had determined to also do so on my next trip and kill two birds with one stone - get some fries at the Market Café and review them for the blog. The fries had been taunting me on previous visits, but tonight there were nowhere to be seen. I went for the next best thing.

After getting the prerequisite Mexican Coke (all the sugar, all the caffeine, all the good stuff), I went over to look at the potato chip selection. The only thing different that jumped out were a variety of Zapp's chips. If you check out their website, you'll see they make much of their Cajun flavor and crunch. I settled on a small bag of their regular flavor New Orleans Kettle Style.

They were a bit crunchier than most kettle chips yet not as thick I noticed. I did not however notice anything different or extra about the taste or flavor. This isn't a bad thing, as I enjoyed the chips, but based on the hype, I expected something more. They would be terrific for dipping.

Perhaps I might try one of the other types available at Wegmans next time like Jalapeno or Salt and Vinegar. Sadly, the flavors that had me excited on the website were not to be seen at Wegmans. I would have loved to given Spicy Cajun Crawtaters, or Baby Back Ribs, or Voodoo, or, and you know me, especially the Mesquite Bar-B-Que. Ah well, maybe next time.

French Fry Diary 01: Write What You Know

"Write what you know." That’s what they always say. It’s good advice. A few years ago I decided to put it into practice. What did I know?

I knew music. My short but agonizingly bizarre career in rock journalism is a story much too long and horrifying to relate here. The less said the better. Suffice it to say Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne are lovely people and metal bands that travel in mobile homes are usually rapists and arsonists. There has to be something else I know.

I knew movies. I know so much about movies I was able to parlay it into running my own video store and eventually working for the home office. Ask anyone. I’m a vast warehouse of useless knowledge. I love movies and I have harsh opinions and very precise likes and dislikes and so have begun reviewing the damned things.

I knew comic books. I have more than I want to admit and I’ve probably read twice that. I know comics trivia even the trivia experts don’t know. I’ve tried to break into the industry with notable rejections (so perhaps I don’t know as much as I thought) and so I’ve taken the movie route and began reviewing them. It’s much the same contempt and praise involved.

What else did I know? Most of the crap I learned in high school and college went through me like a sieve so what else was left.

French fries. I loved French fries. Hell, I knew French fries. I was an expert, what didn’t I know about French fries? I could make them, I knew where to get the best fries, I knew where not to go for the bad ones. This was something I could do.

Write what I know.

I know French fries.