Random Tater Pic of the Day #146

These were the mashed potatoes from this year's DIS Meet Weekend. They were pretty good, but much like last year, I found myself jealous of the kids who got chicken tenders and beautiful golden brown crinkle cut fries…

For more on the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, check out the Make Mine Magic Podcast's special episode on the event here.

French Fry Diary 579: Hilton Garden Inn, Bridgewater NJ

The Hilton Garden Inn in Bridgewater NJ is where we stayed for, and where we attended, the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, both this year and last. There are tables and a bar off of the lobby, and apparently a restaurant too, called The Great American Grill according to the Guest Services Directory. They also claimed a breakfast that included potatoes - so that was where I was headed Saturday morning.

For $10.95 you got a hot buffet style breakfast that included French toast, bacon, and potatoes. A chef would also make omelets or waffles at your request. The French toast was pretty good, but the bacon had that cooked earlier and sat for a while vibe. As I was there a couple minutes after the place opened, the bacon was not a good sign.

The potatoes looked good so I had higher hopes for them. They were natural cut chunks, soft, hot and succulent, and mixed with red and green peppers and possibly onions. They were very good, and lightly seasoned. I would have definitely gone back for more if I thought I could. Nice breakfast.

For more on the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, check out the Make Mine Magic Podcast's special episode on the event here.

Dining on the Disney Fantasy

We've been talking about the meals (and the potato-ey offerings) on board the Disney Fantasy ship of the Disney Cruise Line for a few weeks now. If you haven't had enough already, here's an extra special treat.

If you liked reading about the dining on the Disney Fantasy, you might also like listening to The Bride and myself talking about it. For those of you who aren't aware, we're doing a Disney-focused podcast called The Make Mine Magic Podcast, which you can hear here.

Not just about French fries, but all of the food offerings and dining options on board are up for discussion. Check out the podcast here.

French Fry Diary 508: The Crossroads at Garwood

While The Bride and I were attending The DIS Weekend Meet up in North Jersey, where we rarely go, we thought it might be cool to get together with good friends we don't see all that often. We had to pick a restaurant carefully, and not just because of my catastrophic picky eating this time, but also as one of our friends is vegetarian. We decided on the Crossroads at Garwood.

At first glance, this place is part New Orleans and part rock/jazz club. I loved it. While it was loud at points, I enjoyed the company, and the music. The one act taking the stage, that I absolutely loved, was the Garden State Saxophone Quartet. They did a killer "Sweet Child of Mine."

Now here's the crazy part, especially regarding me being a catastrophically picky eater. One of our party got, as an appetizer, grilled alligator tail, and believe it or not, I tried it. It tasted a little like slightly chewy chicken, and had a little bit of a zing in the aftertaste. It could have used a little barbeque sauce actually, but not bad.

All in all, the alligator was better than the fries. The burger I got was pretty good, but the fries that came on the side were disappointing. These were deep fried frozen regular cuts, and that's it, and not very good ones at that. For a rock club/restaurant that goes so far to have grilled alligator tail on the menu, they couldn't get just a little fancier with the fries? Loved the company, the music, and the night out, but the fries were disappointing.

French Fry Diary 488: NJ DIS Meet Weekend

This past weekend The Bride and I attended the NJ DIS Meet Weekend. More details on that can be found here, but for the purposes of this blog, we're going to concentrate on the favorite fried food.

On Saturday, the events came with a lunch. The meal consisted of Caesar salad, bread, steamed mixed vegetables, baked ziti, something that might or might not have been chicken francese, and roasted red potatoes. Come on, you knew I'd get there somehow.

The potatoes were pretty good for catered hot plate potatoes. Nowhere near as good as the crunchy sizzling ones I had the night before at Applebee's. but that's beside the point, and I'll get to them in a later entry. I did notice that the kids meals with chicken tenders had crinkle cuts French fries. That's just ageism at its worst.

The conversation quickly turned toward regional differences. It started with a discussion of Tastykake, as the winner of the Krimpet eating contest was at our table. The non-Philly folks had surprisingly never heard of them.

Talk moved on to the wonders of Wawa, another local phenomenon, and then amazingly how some had never heard of Herr's potato chips. I was stunned. Herr's is the number one chip around, most space on the shelves, etc. I had forgotten how truly regional they were. They did know Utz however. Interesting.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #12

Guess what this is.

Oh yeah, it's something so yummy, so decadent, so nutritionally nasty, that just looking at this will make any Health Nazi have a coronary on sight. This is beer-battered deep-fried bacon, with, oh yeah, fries.

The Bride found this on the DIS Unplugged Message Forums, mmmm... bacon... and fries...