Random Tater Pic of the Day #264

From friends Brian and Taryn's recent visit to Florida, this is the Full English Breakfast from Raglan Road, featuring Roasties, their crunchy and thick breakfast potatoes.

French Fry Diary 673: Ichiban Buffet

Recently some old friends and The Bride and I got together at a new buffet where the old Old Country Buffet in Cherry Hill used to be - the Ichiban Buffet. In Japanese, 'ichiban' means 'number one' or 'first,' but I think in this case, I think they're just being hopeful, as this was less than satisfying.

I'm not a big fan of buffets to begin with. I dislike the idea of not knowing who has been touching my food, maybe multiple times, for who knows how long, perhaps getting it on their plate, then changing their mind and putting it back. It's just not sanitary, no matter how many employees and cooks are watching to make sure that kind of shenanigans doesn't happen.

This buffet was $16.00 per person, and they seemed to have a good variety, as well as (boo) Pepsi products. One big highlight was the 'donuts,' or more accurately the little chunks of fried and sugared dough, but I was disappointed at there being no soft ice cream, usually a buffet staple. I was a bit irritated by this seemingly professional place in all other effects having the ingredients of the trays written on signs below in Magic Marker. Tacky.

But of course, I wasn't there for the signage, or the donuts, or even the ice cream, I was there for, among other things, the French fries. They were only warm, probably baked frozen seasoned fries, seasoned to the point of being as dark golden brown as the sweet and sour chicken, whose sauce was great on the fries. The mashed potatoes only okay, and I didn't see any onion rings.

There was one puzzle I couldn't figure out. Why won't they trust us with knives? We can cut our own meat at the serving station, dish our own hard ice cream, but they won't trust us with knives at our seats unless we flag someone down and ask for one? Weird. I probably won't be coming back, the company was excellent though.

French Fry Diary 654: Guinness Potato Chips

My friend Taryn had hipped me to this on the Facebook just a few days before I saw them in a store and picked them up. What are we talking about? Beer flavored potato chips, or more specifically Guinness/Burt's Thick Cut Potato Chips Hand Cooked With Care.

I picked them up at the English Gardener Gift Shop, right across the street from the British Chip Shop in Haddonfield NJ, along with other wonderful stuff from across the pond like fudge, boxty, and The Bride's favorite, Ribena. Seriously, when you go to the Chip Shop, don't forget to cross the street afterward.

The chips themselves comes in two flavors, Guinness and Guinness Rich Beef Chili. I got the first one. The second seems a little scary, even for Do Us A Flavor. And just for the record, the Guinness flavor isn't beer or even alcoholic, but a unique blend of roasted barley and hops. Honestly I'm not fond of either, but some folks might dig it.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #81

These disco fries came from a recent meal at the Medport Diner with friends Brian and Taryn.

French Fry Diary 406: Irish Potato Nachos

I was hipped to this concept by friends Brian and Taryn, who visited Toronto recently and posted on the Facebook about one place they had seen that served them. The idea is basically nachos, but with some variation of potatoes instead of chips - called in some places Irish Potato Nachos. This restaurant, in Toronto, has sadly apparently since closed.

But never fear, most Irish pubs serve some version of this dish. Pictured is the style of Irish Potato Nachos served at The Druid Irish Pub in Edmonton. Hmmm... Edmonton, Toronto, maybe this is a Canadian thing?

French Fry Diary 378: The Killer Potato

This past weekend news reached me of a particularly dangerous white potato. While being peeled alive, this potato cut my friend Taryn with a potato peeler.

Fearless to a fault, she got a Band-Aid on her pointer finger and went back to peeling. Again the potato forced the peeler to bite her, this time on the middle finger. After another Band-Aid and some tender loving care from her husband Brian, Taryn recovered nicely.

The offending veggie was subdued after the second attack. No one is really sure what happened to the killer potato after that however. Rumor has it the potato was put on eBay, but that's just rumor. Evidence does seem to suggest that it was in fact *gasp* devoured for its crimes.

Thanks to Taryn and Brian for the image, and for risking their lives in the pursuit of a potatoey good meal.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #41

Friends Taryn and Brian are back today with another Somebody Else's Fries from their recent trip to South Carolina. This time they took a pic of more fries not local to my area, at Zaxby's. Check 'em out.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #40

Today's Somebody Else's Fries come from my friends Taryn and Brian who recently visited South Carolina. While they were there, they went to Sticky Fingers and got some fries, along with their Memphis Dry Rub ribs and cole slaw. Mmmm... they look tasty...