French Fry Diary 224: The Original Saratoga Chips

On a recent trip to the Cracker Barrel, I picked up a box of The Original Saratoga Chips. Reputedly these are the original potato chips. The real thing, baby.

The story goes that George Crum was a cook at Moon's Lake House, a resort in Saratoga Springs NY. One August day in 1853 a rather annoying customer complained that Crum's French fries were too thick and kept ending them back.

Crum, angered by this customer finally cut his potatoes paper-thin, over-fried them and over-salted them - then sent them out to the man. Much to Crum's surprise, the customer loved them and so did others. These Saratoga chips became so popular that Crum was able to open his own restaurant. They remained local until a man named Lay discovered them, but that's another story.

At least that's what the legend says. I was surprised to find this cardboard box at the Cracker Barrel general store. It was almost like finding the chip Holy Grail. These even had the "Moon Brand" trademark on the box, and were from Saratoga Springs NY.

The box also has wonderful sayings printed on it like "A delicious delicacy," "an excellent lunch food," "may be served with any beverage if desired." the back of the box also recounts the tale of George Crum and the Saratoga chips.

This treat is brought to us by the Saratoga Specialties Co. in Saratoga Springs and contains just potatoes, vegetable oil and sea salt. No transfats, baby.

Inside the box there was a more traditional potato chip bag, but sealed and unmarked. I carefully opened it and poured some of these babies out. I have to say I was more than a bit disappointed. The chips were pretty standard kettle chips, not bad, but not great either. The Bride liked them a lot more than me it should be noted.

What disappointed me the most was the $5.99 I paid for this little bag in a box. Well, I guess the anticipation and entertaining box were both worth the price of admission.

French Fry Diary 223: Cracker Barrel

The Cracker Barrel in Mt. Laurel is almost completely hidden on Route 73, unless you know it's there, you will completely miss it.

Now I used to come to Cracker Barrel all the time but not to eat. Most Cracker Barrels have old-fashioned general stores in them, their Old Country Store, in their words. Before these chips went out of business (or out of the area) the stores used to carry delicious Charles Chips. These chips were fantastic, many folks might remember they came in a big cookie can sometimes. Well, when Cracker Barrel stopped carrying Charles Chips, I stopped coming. I think they carry Route 11 chips now.

The Bride and I had planned an excursion to the Elevation Burger at the Moorestown Mall but when the hours given on their phone message didn't match the hours on the door we ended up looking at a sadly dark and locked Elevation Burger. On the dejected drive home we decided on the hidden Cracker Barrel.

I was brave and in a living-dangerously mood so I ordered a hamburger steak and steak fried. I know, I'm daring. The food came very quickly and was warm, not hot so I wonder if it was cooked to order.

The fries were natural cut steak fries, warm and kind of soggy, but as good as they could be in that condition. The food was not bad, but then again, it wasn't that good either, you know?

Bonus points - while they serve Coca-Cola products, they also serve ice cold Stewart's root beer from the bottle. Nice.

On the way out, as you have to pay your check in the Old Country Store, we ended up purchasing a few old timey items - Moon Pies, coconut patties, a bottle of Sioux City Sarsaparilla root beer and a box of original Saratoga potato chips - but that will be for another FFD entry, folks, be patient!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #1

I'm kinda borrowing this idea from my buddy Rob Kelly of the amazing Aquaman Shrine where he occasionally does the "Random Panel of the Day," here's my first "Random Tater Pic of the Day."

This is late night breakfast at the Medport Diner, including hash browns, bacon, English muffin and Coca-Cola. Mmmm...

French Fry Diary 222: Andy Capp's BBQ Fries

I have disliked these things for a long time. First of all, they're not even really fries, but a corn and potato snack similar to a cheese pug with neither the cheese nor the puff.

Originally created by Reg Smythe, Andy Capp was a bit of a misogynist, if still amusing, comic set in the north of London, and it ran for decades. In the early seventies the character became the spokestoon for Andy Capp's Fries. They came in many varieties, including the newly returned BBQ flavor.

The 'fries,' and I use the term loosely, are covered in a strong smokey barbecue dusting, but other than that they are very unflavorful. The cornmeal and processed potato score high on the bland meter. They truly lack even the you-can't-eat-just-one concept that even the worst potato chips have. These are really bad.

French Fry Diary 221: Elevation Burger, Moorestown Mall NJ

As I've mentioned before, I get a lot of recommendations for French fries to review. Some, like Whataburger and In-N-Out Burger, are just too far away for me to get to. Some, I have just been waiting for them to open a restaurant nearby - such is the case with Elevation Burger at the Moorestown Mall. I was so excited when I saw they were coming, I even made a blog entry of just the 'coming soon' sign.

Finally, finally after many delays, Elevation Burger finally opened just before Groundhog's Day this year. I was there the day after that. They were a bit slow, and there were more folks behind the counter than in the seating area, but that was just fine. I've been there several times since and things have definitely picked up.

The first excursion I got my regular - plain burger, fries and a soda. The soda selection, fountain style, also offered Mr. Pibbs Xtra and Wild Bill's Root Beer, besides the regular run of Coca-Cola products. Always nice to have new stuff to try, so I tried the root beer and then went back to my normal Coke selection. I'm a catastrophically picky eater, remember?

The ordering is similar to the new Gino's and the meal is brought to your table. It came on a unique metal tray, with the burger in a paper sleeve and a sizable serving of fries, all steaming hot. The fries were fresh cut natural cut shoestrings that didn't seem quite done and needed seasoning. The burger was delicious, also needing a bit of seasoning so I put some fries on it and it rocked.

The customer service at Elevation Burger this first trip and all following trips was top notch. The first time, five different employees asked how my meal was as I ate, and they seemed genuinely concerned. It's the little things that count, ya know?

The fries are supposed to have been cooked in olive oil, and while I don't doubt that, they didn't have the usual taste other Spanish fries I've tried have had. The Elevation fries had a cleaner, less greasy (if at all) taste. Still they needed an extra kick.

Now these weren't great fries, but the burger was fantastic so I had to go back. Addict that I am, I also got fries too - because not-so-good fries are better than no fries at all. Now here's the problem, and the reason this review has taken so long to be posted - I have been conflicted. The fries on trip two were amazing. Further visits proved only one thing, Elevation Burger's fries are at best inconsistent. Sometimes they are meh, and sometimes they are terrific. This much is sure, the longer they cook, the better they are. So a blurry decision from me on the fries but a definite thumbs up on the burgers.

All things considered, the burgers, the fries, the absolutely incredible shakes, and the customer service - I really really like Elevation Burger. Highly recommended when the fries are done right.

French Fry Diary 220: Bob Evans 2011

"Blue Ribbon Apple Pie Fries: lightly battered and fried, our miniature apple pie fries are dusted with powdered sugar and served with our very own caramel dipping sauce." Mmmm… and only $3.99. This is what the table foldee said that teased us this last visit to Bob Evans for breakfast in Maryland. Maybe we'll get them next time. They sound very good, and very decadent, and far too much after a big breakfast. Oh well, if nothing else, it's a reason to come back to Bob Evans.

As usual when in MD visiting the in-laws, we hit Bob Evans for breakfast, and I've reviewed their home fries before, but this time, the bro-in-law, knowing of my potatoey obsession, hipped me to Bob's new hash browns. So of course, I had to try them.

They were better than standard shredded hash browns, but I ordered them well done. The bro did as well, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to get those orders right. Just goes to show you, I guess. They were better than average, needed some seasoning, but still good. Next time, I'll definitely go back to home fries though... and I'll also save room for those apple pie fries too...

French Fry Diary 219: The Brooklyn Diner

Here's another installment of Somebody Else's Fries from The Bride. She recently attended a conference in fabulous New York City and as always, when dining where French fries were around, she pulled out her iPhone and snapped those fries.

The Brooklyn Diner is at Times Square and outside has all the shine and glitz of the city that never sleeps, but inside it's just a diner - a good diner a step above most, but looking like a standard Jersey diner.

The fries she had were very good, natural cuts typical of diners, but with an extra kick. From the picture I can see there's rosemary in there, but maybe a few other mystery herbs as well. The Bride said it was busy and the waitress didn't come by much so she couldn't ask. Can any regulars to the Brooklyn Diner let us know?

Snoop Dogg Makes Mashed Potatoes

A couple years back I featured a video of Paul McCartney making mashed potatoes. Now here's Snoop Dogg making his version, with a little help from Martha Stewart.

French Fry Diary 218: Passover Surprise

I attended Pesach the other night with The Bride's family. This was actually a big deal as I'm not Jewish, and The Bride was out of town. However I married into a wonderful loving family so they brought the goy along to share in the holiday. I love these folks a lot. Sometimes they even put up with my Christmas tree and Easter egg silliness.

The big surprise, and the reason I'm talking about this here, was finding French fries on the table. Just for the record, for those who don't know, the favorite fried food is not standard operating procedure for Passover, even though they were kosher. Suddenly amidst some strange and exotic foods (yes, even after almost two decades) was a plate of familiar fried friends.

These fries were natural cut Russet potato wedges, tossed in olive oil, seasoned and baked - all courtesy of a family friend who's also a wonderful cook. They were crisp on the outside and soft and hot on the inside - the perfect combination for any fry. They were great, and for this naive goyim boy - no offense to the cook, the brisket, the gefilte fish, or the terrific company - they were the best thing on the table.

Thank you and Happy Pesach!

French Fry Diary 217: Kelsey's Irish Pub, Ellicott City MD

We took a weekend away and met friends for a late dinner. When I heard that the place we were going was an Irish Pub, I got my notebook and cameraphone ready for a French Fry Diary review, as Irish Pubs notoriously have the bestest chips this side of Ireland, or at least this side of Cookes of Dublin or the British Chip Shop.

We were there on a busy late Saturday night and sat in the restaurant area. The bar area was hopping with live entertainment but where we were seated was fairly quiet - next to a beautiful fireplace with ESPN on a widescreen over it. The place had lots of Irish flavor, lots of wood, lots of green, Irish music playing overhead, a wide variety of beers - all in all, Kelsey's Irish Pub, in appearance and atmosphere, is very Irish Pub.

The first thing I noticed when perusing the menu was a notable lack of chips. French fries were listed and even at times called frites, but no chips. I was determined however, and ordered the fries. There was something called the Saint Joe Fry Tower on the menu that came with cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, old bay seasoning and gravy - but none of us were brave enough to get it.

When the favorite fried food did arrive, I have to admit disappointment. These were thin-sliced natural cut steak fries, similar to the new sea salt fries at Wendy's actually, but with a disturbing batter covering, yep, you guessed it - Invisicoat. They were also deep fried, and they tasted like they were as well. If they had salt, pepper or any other type of seasoning, it was deep fried out of them. To bottom it all out, they had a warmed-under-a-heat-lamp vibe as well, and that's not a good thing.

The fries looked good, despite not being chips, but they were epic fail on so many levels. Still, it was a nice night out with friends, good times, if not good food.