Smiths Jackets Commercial

More wackiness from the folks at Smiths Crisps. Apparently ‘jackets’ are thicker crisps with the skin still on. Intriguing.

French Fry Diary 54: Comic Con Fries

I attended the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend and was surprised to see folks walking around on the con floor with cups of French fries.

Somehow a potentially greasy food is not something I would think would be sold at a convention dedicated to collectible pieces of paper of great value – especially considering what grease would do to them.

Nevertheless the snack bar was selling French fries. They were natural regular cuts and very greasy looking. Not surprisingly, I passed on these fries, for obvious reasons.

Smiths Crisps Commercial

Oh those wacky Brits.

Here’s a TV commercial from the 1980s for Smiths Crisps. For those of you late to the party – in the UK, crisps are potato chips and chips are French fries. Enjoy.

French Fry Diary 53: Boardwalk Barker Mr. Potato Head

Yes, another Disney entry, but it’s a quick one, and a silly one at that.

At the moment one of the most popular attractions at Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida is Toy Story Midway Mania. It’s good old fashioned shooting gallery fun with a 3-D twist and combined into a five to ten minute ride. The wait to get in is crazy, sometimes up to an hour, and during the wait you wind through a maze of gigantic toys from childhoods past including Scrabble, Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs. While you’re there, check out the twisted scoring for Scrabble on the ceiling.

And what does this have to do with French fries I hear you asking? Lots. Sort of. Other than the giant variety of giant toys, your entertainment for this waiting line is the one and only Mr. Potato Head. Voiced by Don Rickles, just as he is in Toy Story 1 and 2, and presumably 3 as well, he is fully animatronically alive with stunning projection animated eyes.

Mr. P (or is that R?) tells jokes and sings and keeps the time flowing throughout the experience in his guise as a Boardwalk carnival barker. It makes what could be an unbearable wait almost a joy. Quite a show, and just for the record, one hell of a ride too.

Someday, Mr. Potato Head is going to make some fantastically entertaining French fries. Mmmm... fries...

Fast Food Chain

Snedge45 offers up this brilliant (to me at least) parody “Fast Food Chain” to Tay Zonday’s internet classic "Chocolate Rain."

Hmmm... they say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I wonder if the same goes for parody?

And I further wonder if a number seven comes with fries?

French Fry Diary 52: Whispering Canyon Café, Wilderness Lodge, WDW

Atmosphere atmosphere atmosphere, with a touch of Disney magic thrown in for good measure – that’s what the Whispering Canyon Café is all about. Nestled in the majestic Wilderness Lodge resort in Walt Disney World, this restaurant is a wonderful western frontier themed experience for the whole family.

Our waitress was Goldie, alias Allison from Naperville IL, and our entertainment for the evening. A six-year Disney veteran, she was a delight in character and out. From throwing straws and napkins at us to explaining the menu to keeping the endless supply of milkshakes in various flavors coming, she was great and made the evening nothing but fun.

All that said, the food was great. The steak was the best I’ve had in quite some time. There was sweet corn on the cob and sweet corn bread as well. What’s that? Did I forget about the favorite fried food? Nope, not a chance. The natural regular cut French fries were hot and delicious. Nothing special really, but made extra special by the magical atmosphere.

Helping in the fries department was the bbq sauce that came with the ribs. It was reminiscent of the fantastic bbq sauce you used to be able to find at the now defunct Rib-It restaurant chain. It was the best I’ve had in a while and excellent for fry dipping. Now any regular readers of this blog know I’m not a ketchup guy, but – whether you want it or not, you must ask for ketchup here. Trust me.

This evening at the Whispering Canyon Café was great, the kind of dining experience Disney is known for. Fun fun fun. This place is definitely on the agenda for our next visit to Walt Disney World. Highly recommended.

National Fire Prevention Week at Red Robin

And don't forget the bottomless steak fries while you're there!

French Fry Diary 51: Yorkshire County Fish and Chips, World Showcase

This is a small fish and chips stand right next to the Rose and the Crown, the English pub/restaurant in the United Kingdom section of World Showcase at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

If you think that’s a mouthful, finding out the name of this place is even worse. It’s a bit of a word puzzle in itself. Officially, it’s the Yorkshire Fish Shop featuring Harry Ramsden’s. The sign over the shop says almost that, the sign over the window says Famous Fish & Chips. The building is attached to the Rose and the Crown. The wax paper says Harry Ramsden’s and the tray the chips lie in says Walt Disney World. The receipt says U.K. Fish & Chips Kiosk. Your guess is as good as mine.

The chips themselves are definitely British chips, almost but not quite as good as those at Cookes of Dublin. The chips are extra thick regular cuts, served quickly, hot and fresh. They’re not perfect, but damned good, a bit crisp, not a bit greasy, hot inside and out. The service is great, with an English accent, of course.

As I said, this place is right next to the Rose and the Crown. Sixteen years ago on my first trip to Disney World we had dinner there. I remember those chips being quite good, but they came with something resembling boiled steak. We came to the conclusion the food was UK authentic, as all UK food is supposedly bland. I checked the menu for the place while I was there – no boiled steak. Maybe we’ll try the place again, next time.

French Fry Diary 50: Cookes of Dublin 2009

When we were planning our latest trip to Disney World, we had to make a stop at Cookes of Dublin in Downtown Disney to get a serving of (so far) the world’s best French fries. I had been there more than a few times before, reviewing it once from my 2005 trip. This return journey was two-fold – getting some more of those fries/chips, and trying those fabulous doh-bars for dessert.

The fries/chips were as good as ever. I’m a traditionalist, so I got the chicken and chips, again – fourth time in a row, although the chicken was not on a stick this time. The Bride was brave and got something different, and dangerous – a battered and deep-fried burger which she pronounced as very good. As I said, she’s braver than me. This time we also tried the ‘doh-bars’ – deep-fried Snickers bars on sticks. OMG. Food of the gods.

Cookes of Dublin remains a must stop destination on any Disney trip, and it’s still the champion of fries/chips.

World Vegetarian Day 2009

Today, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day.

What better time to remind everyone that potatoes, the magical food from which French fries are made, is, in fact, a vegetable.

Mmmm... fries...