Paul's Fresh Cut Idaho Fries

We saw this place on South Street in Philly right after we'd had a full meal at Burger.Org. Curses. Too full. Couldn't eat another bite. I will be back however. I must try the Flutter Fries...

French Fry Diary 343: Burger.Org

For various reasons, four games in, and The Bride has yet to make it to a Philadelphia Wings home game. She also hasn't gotten to see our friends Judy and Marc who are also season ticket holders. Actually Judy is an old friend, went to high school with The Bride, and some college with me. Her husband Marc and I have become quick new friends. Although I think he was puzzled the first time he saw me taking photos of fries.

The Bride's first attend-able game was a day game so Judy and Marc planned a lunch get together beforehand. Knowing of my peculiar food fetish and catastrophic pickiness, they chose a burger place in Philly that also had, you guessed it, the favorite fried food. And that's how we got to Burger.Org.

Burger.Org has a healthy edge, serving all organic meats and offering a heavily vegan and gluten free menu. The meat had no artificial ingredients, antibiotics, or preservatives. 100% organic they claim, and that even includes stuff like the shakes and the fries. So basically everything you, ahem, I could possibly want, only healthier.

So what do you think I ordered? I got the burger, a Coke (yeah, I know, I was surprised too) and fries what else? The Bride was a bit disappointed that she couldn't get a cheeseburger, and we both were as they didn't offer shakes until summer. Notably the fries are considered Basary, which basically means meat. In other words, it's like the McDonald's beef tallow oil secret - fries cooked in the same oil as the meat.

I got the plain fries but they also had spicy, which I wish I'd gotten, and sweet potato. Marc got the sweet, and let me try one or two. Well, one, he didn't actually see me take the others. They were spiced with cinnamon, which was to die for. We have a new sweet potato fry champion.

The regular fries are fresh cut natural cuts and quite tasty but needed a little something something - a dipping sauce, some spices. And get them while they're hot, do much tastier hot, and excellent with malt vinegar.

The burger was awesome, one of the best I've had in a while. And the bun was homemade and terrific. The Bride enjoyed her sausages, and Judy and Marc enjoyed their wings. Really, there's not much that wasn't recommended, and the portions were huge. Cheese and shakes aside, this place rocked.

And the Wings? Yeah, they finally won. I guess The Bride is a good luck charm, and she'd better stop missing games...

Oil Change

Nothing as drastic as the shenanigans at Wendy's or Burger King, Chick-fil-A has made a change in the favorite fried food at their restaurants recently. They made an oil change. Chick-fil-A now cooks their Waffle Potato Fries in 100% canola oil, as opposed to the peanut oil previously used.

French Fry Diary 342: The Chopped Challenge

A while back I talked about an episode of "Chopped" where frozen French fries were one of the mystery ingredients. My buddy Ray, who initially turned me on to "Chopped," noted several things about the episode after I posted my review of it.

Ray said, "I'm glad you picked up on how dull those chefs were with the French fries. There were so many things they could have done with them. I'm surprised someone didn't try remashing them, or coating them in Japanese bread crumbs to restore the crunch, or something other than what they did.

"I have a brilliant idea - you should recreate that Chopped event. Buy the four ingredients, get someone to film you making a dish, and then put it up on YouTube. I'll even eat it."

Now I'm not so keen on filming me cooking, but I think Ray's got a hell of an idea, and I think I might take him up on it. Let's call it the French Fry Diary Chopped Challenge. What do you folks think? Should I do it?

French Fry Diary 341: Wendy's Vs. McDonald's

Wendy's is very proud of their new (are they still new at this point?) sea salt natural cut fries. They are/were so proud that they reached out to the online food blogger community several times to have us try them, compare them, and write about them. On occasion they even sent gift cards so we wouldn't have to pay for the fries and got a free meal of it. For the record, I am not always so swayed by the promise of a free meal and stay honest in my reviews. If you recall, I am not so fond of Wendy's new fries.

Quite some time ago, Wendy's ran a promotion and again reached out, this time to have folks compare their fries to those at McDonald's. They also asked that we take several folks along for the ride and compare them too. Now I ran into a problem. Most of my friends are fairly health-conscious. Me, I do it for love and so you don't have to. So it was very hard to find enough people to not only have one order of the favorite fried food, let along two. The gift cards, and the pending blog entry sat undone for some time.

Recently I decided, in the spirit of "I do it, so you won't have to," I decided to do something about it and do the comparison. I used the cards and quickly found out they had expired - not a problem, I completely understand. Wendy's probably thought I was a deadbeat for not doing the review - it's cool, I would have done that to me too. But anyway, I got my butt in gear and did the comparison. As I thought, Wendy's did not do all that well.

Here are the results...

Staying hot - The Wendy's fries get cold when they get old, and by old I mean about ten to fifteen minutes. McDonald's fries stay hot for some time, and even taste good warm, or cold. Win McDonald's.

Crispiness - While a few limp fries sneak in to both, for the most part they are both crispy. Wendy's do have a more potatoey taste, probably just because they are wider in shape. It's a tie on this one.

Dipping - This where the new Wendy's fries fail miserably, and their old fries would have beaten McDonald's easily. The new fries break and bend when you try to dip them in a shake or Frosty. Mickey D's don't do either, even in the extra thick Frosty, but of course, Wendy's older fries, being bigger than either contender here, could hold more shake. McDonald's for the win.

Sandwiching - McDonald's fries are always good for this type of sandwich planking, but Wendy's fries being flat and steak fry-like are perfect for sandwiching. Win Wendy's.

Reheating - McDonald's fries will reheat once in the microwave, and also bake pretty well in the oven once you've gotten home, and they have gotten cold. As I've noted before the new Wendy's fries, unlike their old ones, and their competitor here, do neither. Win for McDonald's.

That's an overwhelming win for McDonald's French fries over Wendy's new sea salt natural cut fries. Sorry, folks. It would be a whole different story if you had not changed your fries...

French Fry Diary 340: ShopRite Panko Breaded Onion Rings

When I saw these in the freezer section of my local ShopRite, I was really excited. Panko bread crumbs are the gold standard for onion rings, and being a store brand meant they were cheap. Also being frozen, it meant easy prep. I immediately snagged two bags of these babies.

First impressions were not great when I opened the bag. They looked pretty average, not covered in big crunchy Panko bread crumbs or made from giant whole onions as I had come expect from places like Red Robin and Bahama Breeze. And now I'm aware that 'Panko' is a way of cooking bread but it still bothered me a bit that word appeared nowhere in the ingredients.

I still couldn't wait to try them out and I was thrilled to see directions for both deep frying and baking. Feeling both industrious and hungry, I decided to do both.

I only did five rings of varying sizes in the deep fryer. They cooked very quickly and came out with a very crunchy outside and a hot juicy oniony inside. They were a bit greasy, but they were cooked in oil. Again, not what I expect in a Panko, but pretty good.

The baked batch, on the other hand, were like Baby Bear's bed, just right. Still crunchy, but tender as well, and not one bit greasy - ah, the wonder of baking. I put some seasoning on them, dipped them in BBQ sauce and they were great. Easy and great.

French Fry Diary 339: Guys With Fries

Okay, I gotta say right up front here, this website is not for the kids, not work safe, and is probably not for everyone. While some folks might get a chuckle, get turned on, and/or enjoy it immensely, there's also a lot of regular readers of French Fry Diary who might be offended. I'm looking at you, loving enabling sister and caring mom-in-law, as well as quite a few others.

Okay, you've been warned. Me, being secure with my own sexuality, and being a French fry fanatic - I think this site is a hoot.

My Twitter friend @lisaluluquinn turned me on (not that way) to the Guys With Fries website, which features, well, hot guys holding fries, usually McDonald's French fries, ahem, among other things. Peruse at your own risk. I think it's great.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #35

While it is about a week too late for Valentine's Day, this is still a great picture and a great potato, heart-shaped potato, that is. Found on the Coast to Coast AM website.

Traditional Fish and Chips

Recipe courtesy Grant MacNaughton, Mac's Fish and Chip Shop

Show: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Episode: Global Traditions

Prep Time:30 min
Inactive Prep Time:8 hr 0 min
Cook Time:40 min
Level:Easy
Serves:6 servings.

Authentic British fish and chips consist of a high-quality flaky white fish deep-fried in a thin, crispy batter served on a bed of large, twice-cooked chips (think fat fries). The key to avoiding an overly greasy product is to use a fry pot large enough that the addition of the fish doesn't reduce the oil temperature too much. Realistically, in a home environment, this will mean cooking each fish individually, but the results will be well worth the staggered serving required. Remember, never leave oil unattended and never fill any cooking vessel more than halfway with oil. Use any oil with a high smoke point and relatively neutral flavor such as canola, vegetable or soybean.

Ingredients

Twice-Cooked Chips:
12 large russet potatoes
Enough canola oil to half fill your largest cooking pot or deep-fat fryer

Dry Dredge:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Beer Batter:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons kosher salt
One 12-ounce bottle lager beer (the lighter and fizzier, the better)

Fish:
3 pounds skinless, boneless large-flake white fish (we use wild Alaskan cod because of its quality and sustainability)
Enough canola oil to half fill your largest cooking pot or deep-fat fryer
Kosher salt
Good-quality malt vinegar, for serving

Directions

For the chips: Peel the potatoes and cut them into approximately 5/8-inch-thick chips (i.e. 5/8-by-5/8-inch-by-potato length). Store them in water.

Heat the oil to 275 degrees F. Thoroughly drain the chips and add them to the oil. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry the chips until they are soft to squeeze but not yet browned, about 10 minutes.

Once all the chips have been blanched, spread them on a sheet tray and store them in the fridge overnight.

For service, heat the oil to 375 degrees F and fry the blanched chips, in batches if necessary, until golden brown and crispy on the outside whilst still fluffy on the inside, about 5 minutes.

For the dry dredge: Mix the flour, salt and black pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

For the beer batter: Thoroughly mix the flour, paprika and salt in a large bowl. Whilst constantly whisking, add enough beer to stiffen up the mix. Whilst still continuing to whisk, add cold water until the batter resembles heavy cream consistency and contains no lumps.

For the fish: Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fillet the fish into six 8-ounce portions, removing any bones, skin or blood lines that are present.

Dip the fish into the seasoned flour, tapping off any excess. Dip the fish into the batter, briefly allow the batter to drain off, and then gently place the fish into the oil, allowing the fish to float away from you. Cook in batches if necessary. The fish is ready once golden brown and trying to float, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the fish from the oil with a spatula and allow to drain on a cooling rack before serving on a bed of chips with lashings of kosher salt and malt vinegar.

This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional and may have been scaled down from a bulk recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

French Fry Diary 338: Cook's Cafe Downtown

Welcome to the last day of our special week. While I'm busy running the Virtual Book Tour for THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES by my friend author Fran Metzman, another good friend of mine, Terry Willitts will be guest blogging here at French Fry Diary this week.

Today, Terry writes about Cook's Café Downtown…

COOK'S CAFE DOWNTOWN - DeLand, FL

Cook's Cafe Downtown has been in DeLand for many years, and I've been there before, though it's been a handful of years or so. A couple weeks ago, one of my helpers at the animal shelter offered to make a lunch run and we settled on Cook's. I had him get me a mushroom swiss burger and fries, and have no complaints whatsoever.

The burger was thick and juicy (not quite as thick as the Flippers' burger, but almost), the swiss cheese was melted to perfection, the slices of mushroom were fresh and HUGE (like onion rings, size does matter) and that perfect halfway point between soft and crisp.

The fries were excellent crinkle fries, well salted, warm and crisp, soft inside. I can't speak on the value, as I was treated to lunch, but I'm sure they're comparable to Flippers and most other burger joints.

Thanks again, Terry, for lightening my workload, and as always for being a friend of French Fry Diary, and me too!

If you'd like more of Terry online, check out his regular blog here, his daily year long journey through "Doctor Who" from the very beginning here, and his eBay page here.