Random Tater Pic of the Day #261

Grilled cheese and fries from the non-Brazier Dairy Queen here in Lakeland Florida.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #260

Today's image is another place I miss from South Jersey. My big sister sent me this pic of her lunch at Donkey's, home of the best and most unique cheesesteaks in the area, as well as some darn good chicken tenders and fries too.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #259

Not really a tater pic, but within the realm.  This is a cheesesteak and onion rings from Pat's Select, the former being one of the things I miss most about South Jersey, besides friends and family.  Mmmm... cheesesteak...

French Fry Diary 728: Bojangles

On the way down to Florida, driving our cars down with friends David and Johnny, The Bride and I stopped at Bojangles. We made the trek on the day a hurricane was coming up the coast toward us, but scheduling being what it was, it was unavoidable.

We made North Carolina by lunchtime and we were starving and needing a potty break. At the time, North Carolina was making headlines for their insane bathroom laws. We had no choice but to stop there, we did not want to - get your head out of your ass, North Carolina. Nevertheless we ended up at Bojangles, a place neither native to New Jersey or Florida.

I stayed in the car with Snowy the cat, he'd had a rough time of it, with the long car ride and the constant rain and wind, which was still going on outside. I got a Country Ham Biscuit to split with the kitty, as he loves ham. The biscuit was heavenly, the ham was fatty but good, and either way Snowy loved it. With him happy and content, and acting more like himself than he had been the first leg of the trip, I moved on to the fries.

The fries at Bojangles are natural cut mini-steak fries, flat like Wendy's latest and not-so-great fries. They were spicy - paprika maybe, definitely pepper and Cajun seasoning - with a bit of a kick.

It was a pretty good meal all things considered. And while I had to eat in the state, I did not use the bathroom, even though I had to go, holding it for another two hours until we hit South of the Border. Screw you, North Carolina, but thumbs up to Bojangles.

French Fry Diary 727: Copper Crisper

This As-Seen-on-TV product promises to transform your oven into an air fryer. There's no added oil or butter, it eliminates turning food, and allows heat to circulate around food. No sticking, no burning, sounds amazing, right?

Well, maybe. I am always skeptical of this infomercial stuff, especially when pitched by loud obnoxious after-midnight infomercial guys like this Copper Chef dude. That said, this copper color painted basket raised over a copper color painted bake pan does kinda do what it says it does.

Like a convection oven the hot air circulates around the food cooked all sides and eliminating the need to turn it. Five to ten minutes more is needed however to cook the food. That's just what I got from the two batches of steak fries I tried to cook this way. The slight crisp on the outside and fluffy potato on the inside works well for the thicker fries like steak fries, but I immediately wondered what shoestrings might be like in this thing, so the next time that opportunity came, I tried it.

Over the next few days, there was much experimentation. If nothing else, shoestrings worked better, and chicken nuggets and other breaded goodness worked as well, even refrigerated dough biscuits. Onion rings however, and anything you might want a bit of a crunch to - not so much. Five to ten minutes longer than directions tell you is the hard and fast rule though, sometimes longer.

The Copper Crisper is no air fryer, and neither is it a convection oven, but for an infomercial product, it is pretty darn good. I'm happy with it.