French Fry Diary 308: The Original Burger King French Fries

When I was a kid, fast food was slow coming to my hometown. In fact, even today, Atco has no fast food restaurants in its city limits. The first to show up in the area was Gino's in Berlin, the next town over, which I've talked about before. We'd had McDonald's up in Lindenwold and down in Hammonton, but that was it as far as choices until the mid-seventies. That's when the McDonald's opened in Berlin, and everything changed.

Where there was McDonald's, there was Burger King, because the burger wars always escalate, and Burger King opened right across the White Horse Pike from the McDonald's. Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arby's, Roy Rogers, etc. all followed in Berlin, but when it comes right down to it, it's always about the big two.

Today, we're talking about Burger King however, the Burger King of my youth, and their original French fries. Burger King recently changed their fries, ending a reign of crappy fries they had had since the early nineties, but before that, they had really good fries, really good fries. When I first encountered BK, I fell in love with their charbroiled burgers, so much better than McDonald's. This is also where I started dipping my burger in my milkshake, BK being best for this practice, and notably best with a plain burger and a black and white shake. This remains the case to this day.

Burger King is also where I started stacking or planking. Those two words might mean something else these days, but to me, and in reference to French fries - stacking and planking, also known as sandwiching is the act of putting fries on your burger, creating a layer of potatoey goodness across your burger. In my years of doing this blog, I have happily found I'm not crazy, and I'm not the only one who does this, or shake dipping for that matter. BK's original fries were perfect for sandwiching.

About those original BK fries, they were shoestrings, similar to McDonald's, only less crispy and slightly more greasy. They were just short of a limp shoestring French fry, but unlike Wendy's new fries, BK's were substantial enough for dipping in shakes without breaking or bending. They were also delicious, and addictive. Whereas the old BK fries, I could barely eat one or two, the originals I would sometimes finish off two orders in a sitting. They were that good. They are still very much missed. I wish they'd bring them back.

Unfortunately, the original Burger King fries, being pre-internet, are extremely hard to get images of, so I have compensated with this blog entry. Find below a vintage BK commercial from the 1970s, plus above a glass featuring the old animated and much-less-creepy Burger King, as well as one of the BK ashtrays that everyone in my high school had snatched from the restaurant and had one in their bedrooms - smokers or not. Enjoy the nostalgia.

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 514: Burger King's French Fry Burger

Burger King announced yesterday that they were coming out with a new burger next week, called the French Fry Burger, it's a burger, (you ready for this?) with French fries on it.

Perhaps Burger King thinks it's reinvented the wheel here, but really, putting French fries on your burger is as old as burgers and fries themselves. I've been doing it since I was a kid, and know dozens of other folks personally who do it. It's officially called planking (no, not that planking) or sandwiching, and I've talked about here on the blog many times before. What is ironic is that Burger King's new fries are as conducive to sandwiching as their older fries. Too little too late, BK.

Now there may some novelty in having someone else do it for you, but that doesn't work for everyone. A catastrophically picky eater would never be able to order this burger plain at Burger King. The clerk's head would explode. It's hard enough getting just a plain hamburger, I can't imagine trying to get one with fries on it…

And it's not just customers who have been doing the planking, some restaurants are also getting into the act besides BK. Rally's/Checkers have been doing it for a while with their Fry Lover's Burger, and fancier places have been doing onion rings and strings on burgers for decades. There's nothing new under the sun, or ahem, under the bun.

Special thanks to my GAR! Podcast partner Ray for hipping me to the BK news.

Introducing the Fry Lover's Burger

Whether you call it sandwiching or planking, putting French fries on your burger has now hit the big time. At Checkers and Rally's they will now do it for you with the Fry Lover's Burger.

"What do you get when you take a perfectly seasoned Checkers & Rally’s burger and top it with our famously seasoned fries? You get flavor awesomeness ... that’s what! Introducing the Fry Lover’s Burger. This bold burger starts with a 100% beef, hand-seasoned hamburger patty, then we top it off with Checkers & Rally’s fries, a slice of American cheese, pickles, ketchup, mayo and mustard. After that we toss it on a toasted sesame seed bun and serve it up to you hot and fresh. Getting hungry? Swing by your favorite Checkers & Rally’s and order one from our money-saving, flavor-craving Cha-Ching menu today!"

French Fry Diary 676: Cool Dog Cafe 2015

Friends came in for lunch from out of town, and looking for a great local place to eat, we of course thought of the Cool Dog Café, a favorite of friends and family. We hadn't been there in a while, but checking their website, I saw that one of the specials was the Cheese Fries Burger, I had to try it. I was happy to see they were doing a brisk business. Ira and the folks there are always nice, and customer service is the best.

The Bride got the Stuffed Tater Dog, with tater tots, bacon, sour cream, and scallions, which she really enjoyed, and why not, it had tater tots! Believe it or not, the dog had a real stuffed baked potato vibe. And we of course split an order of Cool Dog's famous fresh cut fries.

I got the burger of the week, which was the aforementioned Cheese Fries Burger. I have always loved Cool Dog's hand-formed Angus beef burgers, so this one with shoestring fries, bacon, and cheese sauce sounded good. I wasn't really in the mood for cheese so I got it sans cheese. Special orders are never a problem.

The burger had a nice thick roll, and the burger was great as always. The art of sandwiching is one I've talked about here before, and these guys do it right, and how can you go wrong with adding bacon?

The shoestrings were nice but I think I would have rather had yummy regular Cool Dog fries, and as a matter of fact, on my next visit to Cool Dog I did just that, sandwiched with those, awesome. Try it, you'll love it. As always, a great time at the Cool Dog Café, thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 188: Roy Rogers

To quote Tommy Kiefer and Cinderella, the local glam metal band of that sadly lost era, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone," and that's kinda how I feel about Roy Rogers restaurants and their fries.

They used to be everywhere, and I enjoyed them a lot, but then a few decades back, they all disappeared, except for on the turnpikes and on the way to Baltimore and Washington DC. Founded by the singing cowboy actor of the same name, Roy Rogers used to be the number three fast food place behind McDonalds and Burger King, a slot now held by the fry-switching folks at Wendy's.

I have fond memories of Roy Rogers, believe it or not. I played Dungeons & Dragons there. I read my comics there after picking them up on payday. I took dates there, yeah, I know, I was a cheap bastard. It was where I went with friends after the funeral of another dear friend. And the local Berlin Roy Rogers was once a Gino's where I got one of my first jobs. Roy's was a mainstay of my youth.

Roy's also has a special place in my heart if for only one non-favorite fried food reason - they serve their hamburgers plain. Being a catastrophically picky eater I like my burgers plain, 'regular grill' as some fast food places call it, just the burger and the bun as I have to stress whenever I go through a drive-thru or even go inside. As anyone who has asked for a special order at a fast food place will tell you - I might as well be robbing them at gunpoint, they don't want to hear it.

McDonalds is a major offender for getting orders wrong, White Castle is almost impossible, and despite what their ads say about 'having it your way,' Burger King has a shoddy record as well. And Checkers, just don't even bother, it ain't happening. Roy Rogers is the plain hamburger godsend in an apparently incompetent world.

Roy Rogers Restaurants have some of my favorite fast food French fries. They are golden brown regular cuts, crispy on the outside, and soft and hot on the inside. They're good for sandwiching, dipping and especially for running through a drive-thru for a quickie snack. Don't forget to get some of the bbq sauce from Roy's Fixin's Bar for dipping, some of the best.

These fries reheat well at home either in the microwave or the conventional oven, same for the burgers, I might add. They're terrific sandwiched in your burger and Roy Rogers bbq sauce is the best for dipping. And best of all, in true western tradition, the fries come in a holster. Now really, how cool is that?

In recent years, Roy Rogers has also gotten into the curly fry business with standard natural cut curly fries covered with that also standard spicy orange seasoning. Nothing special here, but I don't care as long I can still get their regular fries.

Come back to South Jersey, Roy Rogers, and I don't mean to the turnpike, back to somewhere we can actually get to when we want to, and with a drive-thru too. We miss you, come back!

French Fry Diary 416: Herr's Potato Chips with Old Bay Seasoning

Frequently in potato chips circles, the various Herr's products are identified by color. The regular chips are blue foil, barbecue are gold foil, ripples are pink foil, and so on. Today, we're talking about the rare silver foil, Herr's Potato Chips with Old Bay Seasoning.

Old Bay is a frequent seasoning for the favorite fried food and sometimes for chips as well. What many folks don't know is that it's a brand name, and marketed by McCormick & Company. It's a blend of various herbs and spices mostly used for cooking seafood and specifically crabs. That's possibly where the crab taste comes from. It's good stuff. Sometimes I put it on my fries at home.

Here we have it on potato chips. It's a bit stronger than I would like but it does keep you from eating one right after another, just like, well, just like potato chips. That's not a complaint by the way, it's an advantage. A bag of chips lasts longer that way.

These chips are good for sandwiching as well, more fun on a burger than just putting Old Bay seasoning itself on it. I like these a lot for a change of chip pace. Rock on, silver foils with the red crabs on the bag. Thanks for bringing the taste of Maryland to the Philadelphia area.

French Fry Diary 400: McDonald's

One of the biggest questions (after where are the best fries) I get is why, after almost four hundred entries and reviews at French Fry Diary, why have I never covered McDonald's? It's simple. It's a big entry. McDonald's is the big one. McDonald's French fries are the gold standard when it comes to fast food French fries - simple, consistent, and delicious, they are literally the world's number one fry.

This is from the text on their Small Fry: "What's the secret? It's the potatoes. Only the best potatoes make it into our World Famous Fries." And they are world famous. Everyone knows McDonald's French Fries. In fact, The official Fry Box Design (trademark), that special red fries holder, is what most people think of when they think of not only fast food fries, but fries in general. It's like the Coke bottle. It is that distinctive.

From the early days of McDonald's, founder Ray Croc was insistent on how the French fries were prepared, knowing how important a compliment they were to the meal. The shoestrings in the beginning were fresh cut from Russet Burbank potatoes on the premises, and Croc always strove for consistency. Every time you had a McD's fry it should taste just the same, and just as good as the last time, and the next time. He was looking for consistent quality.

When the chain expanded, costs had to be cut, measures were taken to insure that consistency, so in 1966, McDonald's turned to frozen French fries. The product was now peeled, sliced, par-fried and frozen in factories then shipped to restaurant locations to be finished in deep fryers and served hot to customers. Even today, McDonald's is the biggest consumer of potatoes in the world.

For decades the fries were cooked in a roughly 90/10 mix of beef tallow and cottonseed oil. After flack from vegetarian lobbies and nutritionists, the formula was changed to 100% vegetable oil in the early 1990s. This new style made the fries devoid of cholesterol and transfats, and also made them more palatable to folks who could not or would not eat meat. At that time McDonald's may have added things like a sugar additive or possibly a chemical that makes them smell delicious, but that's one for the conspiracy theorists.

In the early 2000s there was some dispute regarding whether the ingredient called 'natural flavor' may or may not have a beef extract in it. That battle still continues. On another front, McDonald's fries in the rest of the world except for America are gluten free, because they have dedicated deep fryers. Unfortunately the same can not be said here in the States, as sometimes, a Fry fryer will be used for something else in an emergency.

Now I've talked about consistency, and that's important. Wherever you go to a McDonald's, you are guaranteed to get the same great taste, texture, and appearance. Every once in a while you'll get undercooked and limp, or overcooked and crunchy, but those are the exceptions, not the rules.

MacFries are always crispy, hot and golden brown. They come in a variety of serving sizes - small, medium, large, and the miniature kids size that now comes with Happy Meals. They reheat well in the oven, but not so well in the microwave. They are excellent on roadtrips with a quick jump through the drive-thru. They are amazing for shake dipping, and being shoestrings great for sandwiching.

The McDonald's French Fry is truly the gold standard for fast food French fries.

French Fry Diary 361: Checkers

Checkers and Rally's are the same place, and essentially the same food, but here in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, we only have Checkers.

Checkers is predominantly a drive-thru and/or walk-up restaurant, even though there are a few tables outside, I don't think they get much use - its not Sonic. The lunchtime I visited the place was dead, no drive-thru traffic even - which is a shame because the food is pretty good. And notably, the customer service is also very quick, and usually pretty accurate too.

The burgers are big and tasty, although this time it did take some effort to get a plain burger. Speaking of Sonic, I think the shakes at Checkers are thicker and better, and excellent for fry-dipping. They also have the usual fare of chicken, fish, and hot dogs as well, but it's the favorite fried food we're here to talk about.

The French fries at Checkers are long (sometimes very long) regular natural cuts with a thick crispy batter coating, salted and black peppered. This orange colored spicy skin gives them an extra zing and crunch that contrasts the soft hot potatoey insides. These are darn good fries, but make sure you have a beverage handy to balance the heat. It's a good heat though. They're also great for sandwiching and, as I said, shake dipping, which will also cool some of that spicy fire.

The Checkers fries also nuke well in microwave once you get home, at least twice, sometimes three times, making them an excellent drive-thru fry that can be had later. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 453: Little Shanty

I was actually invited to Little Shanty by the owner Jonathan Lidz via the Facebook, and he promised to reimburse gas money if I didn't like the fries. If there's anything I like more than a challenge, it's a man who's confident in his fries. Or in this case, they're his Grandma's fries.

The Bride and I normally spend New Year's Eve with friends in North Jersey. The last few years it's become a New Year's Day tradition to hit Smashburger and then take a look at the always-closed American Bandstand Grill on the way home. I figured since it already was sort of a FFD road trip anyway, why not stop in to Little Shanty on the way up? Thanks to various social media and a GPS, it was a done deal.

We finally found it on New Year's Eve afternoon, in a strip mall in Warren NJ, a small but cozy place. And right there on the sign, there it was, "Grandma's Fries." Yep, I couldn't wait. There's a simple but very varied menu available, with vegan and gluten free options as well. I went for my usual, a burger and fries, and a side of onion rings. We ordered and took a seat where we could see our food being cooked in the kitchen, and before long the friendly waitress brought it out to us.

After trying the fries, rings, and taking a bite of the burger, The Bride and I both said to each other, "We're not getting our gas money." The food was just not that good, the meal was fantastic.

The onion rings, properly named Angus & Patty's Almost Famous Onion Rings, are truly among the best, if not the best o-rings I've had, period. Thin and thick at once, very crispy, I think these sweet onions were beer battered, but they didn't taste like it, a good thing because I don't usually like that. These are the best.

Grandma's Fries were thinner than usual natural cut shoestrings with fried onions mixed in - a great combination. The fries were hand cut, pan-fried, crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. I loved the addition of the onions, a simple thing, but the just the right zing for the fries. These perfectly crispy fries were great for sandwiching on the burger, which was big and juicy, the best I've had in a while. It was cooked to order and served on a brioche bun. I loved this entire meal, they even had Coca-Cola products, bonus.

The Bride would have liked her burger a bit more well done, but hey, that's her. And even still, she thought it was excellent. She also thought the fries a little salty, but again, there was nothing left on the tray at the end of the meal if you know what I mean. If I had any complaints, it would be I hadn't tried the fry dipping sauces, or the homemade chips, or the hot dogs, or the shakes. They also have Funnel Cake Fries, as well as Deep-Fried Oreos and Milky Ways. Oh well, I know we'll be back. Little Shanty is too good to stay away for long.

I loved Little Shanty. It gets my highest recommendation. I have found a new favorite restaurant. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and their own website. I just wish they weren't so far away. Hey, Jonathan, any thoughts on opening a Little Shanty down in South Jersey?

French Fry Diary 175: Wendy's Flashback

After my reports on Wendy's changing their fries and then my initial review of Wendy's former fries, I was contacted by someone who worked with the Wendy's company who urged me to re-try the old fries, and then when the new fries came out, try them as well, and compare and contrast. Well, let's be serious here, no one has to twist my arm to eat the favorite fried food, so I went back to Wendy's.

I like Wendy's old fries, heck, I love 'em, regular cuts that simply rock. They're good for sandwiching and especially for dipping in your Frosty. I'm really not sure what else I can say. I could note that over the years, if I had to complain, I have noticed that sometimes they either come too salty or with no salt at all. That could be a complaint of any fast food place but I have noticed it consistently more at Wendy's. But again, I really like Wendy's fries, saying otherwise is just looking for a problem. Even gold bricks are heavy, you know what I mean?

Rather than belabor the point I will instead bore you with a vivid memory of Wendy's from the past. In the mid-nineties I spent a year unemployed. Too picky when looking for work, and too stupid to think I could make a living writing, I took to delivering flowers for a very generous local florist who paid me under the table. It was good work, hard work, and I learned to use a map (in the days before Mapquest and GPS) better than anyone should ever need to.

In all my deliveries criss-crossing two counties to make secretaries and birthday girls and boys happy, I kept passing the same Wendy's restaurant, the one on the Route 38 circle, over and over again. It became a haven, especially around lunch time, for both bathroom breaks and a snack. Strapped for cash (I was still unemployed), I would always get the same thing - a small Coke and a small fry (yeah, I was addicted even then).

A dollar and seventy cents - I still remember that to this day because I got it so much. My stop at Wendy's was always a highlight, an oasis in an otherwise lousy day. And the fries from this one Wendy's were always perfect.

I'll be back tomorrow with my review of the new French Fries at Wendy's. See you then.