French Fry Diary 721: Foodies, Parx Casino 2016

I had kinda promised I'd never come back to Foodies again, but trapped at Parx Casino in Bensalem PA, with Chickie's & Pete's closed due to a sporting event, and the promise of Foodies being completely redone, I gave it a second chance.

Now there's an Earl of Sandwich and Bambu Noodle House there, and of course, Foodies. Looking at the menus for the other two places and then the average selection at Foodies - I had to wonder why it was called that. Foodies is apparently not for foodies.

The fries were heat lamped natural cuts, but at least they didn't have any foreign debris as they did last time. They tasted like they had been under a heat lamp for quite some time, even though all food made to order as promised on a sign by the ordering station. I really wish I had gotten chips.

The more these fries cooled off, the less appetizing they became. I ended up tossing more than half of them out. This was not much better than my last foray into Foodies. Maybe I should have tried the onion rings, but then again, I thought that might have been pushing my luck… Not recommended.

French Fry Diary 669: Tony Luke's Onion Rings

On a trip to the Borgata in Atlantic City some time ago, we visited The Cafeteria, basically a big food court in the bottom of the casino. While I was munching down on Fatburger (yum, I will post a proper review someday), The Bride went to Tony Luke's.

She got the prerequisite cheesesteak, and as part of the meal deal, she got a drink and fries. The Bride said that the battered natural cut fries didn't look so great, so she got onion rings instead. As you can see from the picture, they didn't look all that great either.

After a couple bites of these greasy looking beer battered babies, they didn't taste that great either. Nobody really wanted them and we ended up throwing them out. For the record though, the cheesesteak was great, but stay away from those rings.

Now this isn't anything against Tony Luke's. We've been there before, and love the cheesesteaks, but the onion rings are iffy at best - perhaps they should concentrate on what they're good at.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #100

Today's Somebody Else's Fries come from my buddy Ray and his lovely wife, who recent had dinner at the Valley Forge Casino.

They dined at the steakhouse there, Pacific Prime, and Ray took a pic of these fries. From what I hear, the rest of the dinner was pretty sensational too.

Sarah at 6ix: A Bistro

Today's Somebody Else's Fries come from my friend and fellow writer Sarah Hawkins Miduski.

On a recent trip to Atlantic City she and her husband visited 6ix: A Bistro, a place I was not too fond of when I was there.

They seemed to enjoy their meal, so maybe I was there on a bad night. Perhaps I'll give them another try. Don't forget to check out Sarah's Blog here, she's a terrific writer.

French Fry Diary 347: The Waterfront Buffet, Harrah's, Atlantic City

Because of The Bride's understated gambling addiction, we come to Harrah's in Atlantic City a lot. If you're a regular reader of French Fry Diary, you know that one of my biggest complaints about the casinos is their weirdness about the hours their restaurants are open. Some are pretty easy, like the late lamented Deli, almost always open - and others, like The Waterfront Buffet, never seem to be open.

I've been to this Buffet twice, twice in the literal years we've been coming to Harrah's while the Buffet been in business. It seems like they are never open when we're here, and if they are, they're open for like two hours at six in the morning, and then blocked off for three days. It's maddening. It's not like I really want to go to a buffet, it's just that as human beings, we always want what we can not have.

On our latest trip to Harrah's, Columbus Day weekend, surprisingly, we found The Waterfront Buffet open for breakfast. First things first, the place is huge, and the offerings to eat are many and varied. If you wanted, it could take some time to try everything available - longer than the place is ever open if I may be allowed one last jab about their hours.

The breakfast potatoes were of the cubes variety, fried and left under a heat lamp. They were lacking salt and pepper and any other spices. I could add the first two myself of course. The bacon was good, as was the other breakfasty items. I guess in my obsession I was expecting more potato products, but no go. They did have corned beef hash, which does have some potato in it, but I am suspect of it already as it actually has no corn in it.

When it came to seconds, which I thought I should have because of the price, but they were out of potatoes. Horrors. But then again we did arrive just as breakfast was ending. Maybe we can make an appointment for the next time they're open...

French Fry Diary 245: Chickie's & Pete's Crab House and Sports Bar, Parx Casino

Stuck at Parx Casino again while The Bride gambled, I swore I wouldn't go to Foodies again but this time I decided to try Chickie's & Pete's in the casino. This was my first time having their World Famous Crabfries in a restaurant setting as opposed to counter service at a sports event.

Notable from seeing the Crabfries on a menu for the first time it's worth mentioning that they have zero trans fat, and are cholesterol free and gluten free. I ordered the Crabfries of course, plus the Onion Ring Tower. We didn't get the Crabby Sweets, but were intrigued by these Crabfries made from sweet potato. Maybe next time. Also, no Coke, but Pepsi, but I'll live.

We were served a rather large serving of the Crabfries, which I think is bigger than the same priced serving in a cup at the Wings games. There was the added bonus of an extra cup of the cheese. They were as delicious and hot as ever. If I haven't mentioned it before, these pixie crinkle cuts with spicy hot old bay seasoning are fantastic. And while I could have dug on in with my fingers I ate them off a plate with a fork, just for the different experience. No difference, the Crabfries were still rocking.

The Onion Ring Tower arrived, reminding me a bit if Red Robin's version, only bigger. These thick rings came with three dipping sauces - barbecue, ranch and cucumber wasabi. The last was a bit overpowering but I really liked the barbecue for both the rings and the fries. The rings also seemed to have a hotness of their own, but it might just be aftermath of the spicy hotness of the fries.

This was a terrific experience, as I expected it to be, and there are many reasons to return - including quick friendly service (thanks, Shannon) and new food items to try. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 232: Foodies, Parx Casino

At most casinos they don't want you to eat, much less know what time it is. Their concern is getting you to gamble, nothing else. That's the reason for the quirky restaurant hours in these 24/7 casinos. They don't want you there eating, just shoveling your money into their pockets. Heck, I have spent huge chunks of my life at Harrahs in Atlantic City and still haven't been to every food place there.

Parx, the newly revamped version in Bucks County has a few places to eat, including one of my faves, Chickie's & Pete's, but since I was bored with nothing else to do (longtime readers know I don't gamble), I wanted to amuse myself by writing a FFD review - so I chose the intriguingly named Foodies. Sadly, the name was the only thing intriguing about this wannabe cafeteria.

Simply midnight snack fare was on my mind - a hot dog, small fries and, as preferred Coke was unavailable, a Pepsi. The all beef hot dog was pretty good, but then again I have been spoiled for hot dogs since the Cool Dog Café opened. The Pepsi was, well, Pepsi. And the fries were... well, let's just say it's a good thing they give you Utz potato chips with every sandwich - so I had some potato with my meal.

These grocery frozen shoestrings are freezer burned and deep-fried, perhaps too much. Most are too crunchy to eat and many are stuck together. There's too much salt and what at first I thought was pepper, on closer inspection, really put me off of these things. I don't think its black pepper - I think it's debris from the deep fryer. Thank heaven for the factory sealed snack bag of Utz.

Next time, I'm going to Chickie's & Pete's. Promise.

French Fry Diary 210: Taste of the Shore, Harrahs, Atlantic City

Double jeopardy here, folks, it's two, two, two reviews in one. The 'new' Harrahs has a low rent food court called Taste of the Shore, trying to replicate the old time Atlantic City Boardwalk snack fare, and features a Ben & Jerry's, Pretzel Factory, Sack O' Subs and Walt's Original Primo Pizza. The slogan - "Endless flavors. One place."

Being a food court, however small, it gave members of my party a chance to pick and choose from the four different places. That way, I was also able to sample the favorite fried food from both Sack O' Subs and Walt's Original Primo Pizza.

Sack O' Subs delivered batter fried regular cuts sprinkled with salt and pepper. These actually had a Tasti-Fries vibe, those vertically striped defunct unique fries from Birdseye, in that they had a soft hot mashed potato-like interior. But unfortunately the outsides were that usual crusty Invisicoat. These weren't terrific, but they were way better than the other offering.

From Walt's Original Primo Pizza, we got their 'Spicy Curly Fries.' These were Invisicoated natural cut curly fries, golden brown with salt and pepper, and wholly disappointing. While we were sure we saw them take them from the deep fryer, these were overcooked, warm and seemed like they'd been under a heat lamp for a while. Fail.

French Fry Diary 209: Reflections, Harrah's, Atlantic City

I had been here before, more times than I want to admit actually, but when I came to Reflections the last time it was for breakfast, and at that time had seen a sign for bottomless fries and vowed to return. It took a long time to come back, but then again, those of you who know how I feel about casinos, you know that's a good thing. Sadly, the menu has changed since then.

On the good side, our waiter, Joseph, was extremely helpful, courteous, friendly and knowledgeable. He knew his stuff and got our orders quickly and accurately, always a plus and high marks as far as I'm concerned. He even taught us about the cooking term "Pittsburgh well" which means well done inside and blackened outside as well for beef. Good to know for future use.

Unfortunately, while my burger was near perfect, the fries were much less so. These regular cuts were deep-fried, battered Invisicoated crunchies. Hot and very crispy on the outside and what potato was left inside was soft and hot as well. I ate less than a third of the generous portion on my plate. Not good fries in my opinion. If you need fries at Harrahs in Atlantic City, and can't leave the casino, go to The Deli.

French Fry Diary 97: Reflections for Breakfast, Harrahs, Atlantic City

Reflections is one of the main casual restaurants at Harrah's in Atlantic City. Again, as with any trip to the casinos, there is the problem of when any given restaurant is actually open. The hours are so sparse and confusing that each restaurant has a sign in front of it with its hours for that particular day. I kid you not, it’s that bad. I have an image in my head of a monkey with a hat full of numbers and that’s how the opening and closing times are chosen.

I’m beginning to think that there is really only one dining and kitchen staff here at Harrah's because when I called the concierge to find out what was open for breakfast – Reflections was our only choice. And when confronted lightheartedly with my monkey analogy, the man at the end of the phone became Queen Victoria with a "We are not amused" attitude. Gotta love Harrah's.

Breakfast, I ordered pretty much my regular, including home-fried potatoes and bacon. These breakfast potatoes were diced potatoes, well cooked and not greasy, and soft and tasty. Actually very good breakfast potatoes for this type. There were mystery strands of grass throughout them though that I could not identify. Harmless but unidentifiable.

The bacon however was mostly inedible, crispier than kettle cooked potato chips. That’s the petrified bacon to the right of the potatoes there in the pic. After mentioning it to the waiter, these charcoal crisps were replaced by slightly less crunchy bacon. Sigh. This must be how the chef cooks bacon I suppose. If I come back for breakfast, maybe I’ll just ask for my bacon raw and see what I get.

Speaking of coming back, I probably should, though for dinner or lunch next time. The menu mentioned something that made me perk up immediately – 'endless fries.' Next time, friends, next time.

French Fry Diary 91: 6ix A Bistro, Bally’s Atlantic City

The thing that I will never ever figure out about casinos is that they are, at least the gambling part, open 24/7, but the restaurants are only open for small windows here and there during the day. So when The Bride wants to hit the casinos, usually late at night, I, the non-gambler, am either left twiddling my thumbs for the night or eating at the last-choice-possible-café.

One such eating establishment, unless I wanted to walk the mile to the Boardwalk, is called, oddly I might add, 6ix A Bistro, and it’s at Bally’s. Like most sit-down restaurants at the casinos they strive to look a bit more upscale than your average diner yet barely manage to do so with their food. The potato and side selections relevant to this blog are no exceptions.

When the favorite fried food came to the table I was surprised by the presentation, but little else. The 6ix fries were natural cut shoestrings served in a wide paper cone. Portion size gets high points but the Invisicoat ruins the rest. They taste only meh and are suitably crispy but little else to talk about. These could have been really good were it not for the wretched Invisicoat. And the choice of Pepsi over Coke didn’t help.

Their onion rings were huge slices of onion, beer-battered and looking a tad greasy. But the truth was worse. They were much greasier than they looked and nowhere near as crispy as they looked. Another sad side serving at 6ix. The waiter who was incredulous at me for ordering both fries and rings might have gotten a bigger tip had he mentioned the portion size and asked if I was sure that’s what I wanted – but he didn’t. Maybe it was a bad night, or maybe he was just rude. Hope he enjoyed his appropriate tip.

A return visit in the morning hours (same problem as during the late night – how about a good twenty-four hour eatery at a twenty-four hour casino?) gave me a chance to sample their home fries, which actually looked quite good. They were scalloped potatoes sliced very thin, with some onion, scallion and bits of green.

I was delighted when these were served as they had the potential to be near-perfect breakfast potatoes. One forkful however was all it took to find the truth. They were soggy, undercooked and greasy. Had they been crispy, well done or even deep-fried they would have been perfect, but I was told they don’t do that. Well, I didn’t eat them. Shame.

Pretty much low marks all around for 6ix A Bistro at Bally’s. This is mediocre diner food at best, and just awful crap at worst. The appearance of the place is nice, but the food is just not good. Avoid at all costs.