French Fry Diary 713: The Sunroom at Borgata

Usually when going to the Borgata in Atlantic City, it's mandatory to visit Fatburger in The Cafeteria (now the vastly inferior by all indications Marketplace Eatery, but since the Borgata has seen fit to remove Fatburger, there might not be any reason to visit any more. There is still the Sunroom however, the last restaurant standing when it comes to good fries at the Borgata.

The Bride and I have visited the Sunroom three times in the past and have always enjoyed ourselves. This restaurant, whose menu was designed by Food Network favorite Geoffrey Zakarian, is unique in the hotel casino, a oasis mirage in a desert of glitzy decadence. There is a giant water wall, trees with lights, skylights, and the constant sound of running water (though not enough to make one have to use the restroom). If you look up, it's like you're in a jungle, A+ for atmosphere, though it can be a bit dark, but apparently all the good restaurants are.

Looking at the menu, the truffled fries with Parmesan were $10 and the classic fries were only $8. Wow, these better be good fries. There were also tiny little ketchup bottles, as if regular sized ketchup bottles had a baby, and the Coke was served in small aluminum bottles for $4 each, the aluminum supposedly keeping the cold in. The Bride got the Water Club Sirloin Burger, which she liked, and I got the dry aged steak skewers with tamarind, which were awesome - but you're here for the fries, the main event.

The Bride got the classic while I went for the truffle fries. They came in a brown paper cone, very elegant display. These fries were fresh cut regular cuts and were not really greasy, but soggy and limp. I think they might have been much better with one more shock fry as they needed a serious crisp to them. There was a heavy but even dusting with large granules of Parmesan, not too much but a lot, giving a good cheesy taste. Each fry was dusted, even as I dug deeper into the cone. There might also be a bit too much truffle oil - it has be used sparingly.

These fries would be amazing and close to perfect if I took them home and reheated them in an oven for three to five minutes - just enough to crisp them. And despite the positive reaction I got from many folks after I Tweeted a then-live image of these fries as we were dining at the Sunroom, these were far from perfect. Yeah, they look good, but they need a little work.

They were very good while hot, even if over-cheesed and over-truffled, and the portion-size was huge. I would definitely get them again, and definitely come back to the Sunroom, especially now that Fatburger is gone. Damn you, Borgata.

French Fry Diary 700: Fatburger

According to their advertising, Fatburger is the last great hamburger stand. And they are. This stuff is addictive, and, important to note, all cooked to order. Started in the 1940s by Lovie Yancy. The original restaurant was in her garage, and it's been franchised since the 1980s. They have become well known for their progressively bigger and bigger burgers, but their French fries are just as famous.

Fatburger has steak fries (Fat Fries) and shoestrings (Skinny Fries), perfectly deep fried 'til crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. And as I said, cooked to order - no heat lamp fries - they don't drop 'em until your burger's done and ready to go with 'em. The same goes with the Homemade Onion Rings. These thin crispy beauties are probably the best of the fast food onion rings, big and thin and crispy - yum!

The Skinny Fries are similar in look to McDonald's French fries, but that's where the similarity ends. These are significantly crispier, excellent dipping into one of Fatburger's awesome thick shakes. The Fat Fries however are the best, vastly superior to many of the standard steak fries out there, very recommended.

The burgers are good, made to order with a variety of ways and patties and toppings, including fried eggs. Always hand formed and cooked medium well at their open grill as you watch. Great burgers with only one complaint from this camp - a bit too much pepper, but you can always ask them to go light on it.

Either of the two kinds of fries, or the onion rings, are good for planking on the burger. And as I said, all of the above are good for dipping in the wonderfully thick shakes that Fatburger makes - also to order. A bonus order when I was there last was a fries and rings combo for half the price of a large order of either. And rumor has it they also have hash browns for morning breakfasts and brunches.

This all goes to show why Fatburger is so big and loved in some parts of the country. Despite there only being a few in this area (the one I frequent is in the Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, and is always the highlight of any trip to the place), it is still widely unknown around here. It's a secret well worth keeping, after we don't want everyone to know where the good stuff is, right?

The customer service is top notch at the Borgata Fatburger. Tenacity and friendliness of the counterstaff is a great shield against what one might suspect in a late night casino food court filled with possibly loud drunks. And then there's also those pesky rewards cards and discounts that casinos have. They handle it well, and with a smile.

Thumbs up all around for Fatburger, highly 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.

French Fry Diary 33: The Winner

The very clear winner of our “What Are Your Favorite Fast Food French Fries?” poll is McDonalds. Twenty-nine out of ninety-three votes went to Mickey D’s golden fries. Granted they are very consistent, very tasty and very very famous, as well as convenient (where isn’t there a McDonalds nearby?)

I’d really like to hear from the folks who voted for McD in this poll. Let me know why you voted the way you did. Contact me here. Remember, curiosity killed the cat, not the French fry fan. That was cholesterol ;-) but we’ll let the Health Nazis take care of that diatribe.

Second place with eight votes belongs to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and most deservedly should. Their fresh and hot natural regular cuts are always terrific. Check out my review of their fries here.

Also with eight votes is the ‘someplace else’ category. Obviously I couldn’t list every fast food place in the country so I just went with a handful. Eight folks chose ‘none of the above,’ and just like above here in this article, I’d like y’all to please contact me and let me know who does actually have the best fast food French fries. You’ve got me curious, let me know! ☺

Now on the other end of the spectrum, it should be noted that Sonic (whose fries are not the best), White Castle, Jack in the Box, Nathan’s and Stewart’s received zero votes. I’d love to know why on that point as well. Are those fries really that terrible? I would take serious issue with Nathan’s unique thick crinkle cuts getting no votes as I think those are pretty special. Not the best, mind you, but up there pretty high.

In-N-Out Burger, which I’ve never had, and those spicy long fries at Checkers and Rallys both got seven votes each for third place. Bringing up a tie for fourth place were Burger King, Wendy’s and those tasty waffle fries from Chick-fil-A. Fifth place with four votes belongs to Popeyes which leads me to believe that a lot more folks like those long and spicy battered fries than I thought. Me, I can only have them once in a while. Too much aftertaste.

Sixth place, Fatburger, was what I personally voted for. Whether you get the Skinny Fries or the Fat Fries, I think they are the best of the fast food fries, followed by probably by Nathan’s, Five Guys, Chick-fil-A and maybe Roy Rogers. But what do I know… about French fries?

Whataburger took two votes for the distant seventh place, and Arby’s, KFC, Carl’s Jr., Hardees, Roy Rogers, Dairy Queen and Long John Silver all received one vote each. We’ll do this again at some point and see how folks’ minds may change (or not). Please feel free to comment below, or contact me directly. Until then, mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 22: Sonic Drive-In

Sonic Drive-In is a unique dining experience that used to be everywhere in the 1950s and 1960s but has since receded into the depths of time – the drive-in. Sure there are still drive-ins around, but finding a good one is harder than it sounds. Sonic is easily at the top of that list.

Sonic has taken the drive-in experience to the heights of ‘fast’ food the same way McDonald’s pioneered the drive-thru concept. You pull up to a parking spot with an entire drive-thru menu next to your car, then you stay and eat. Place your order (when you want, there’s no rush here) and a carhop (for lack of a better word, but it is the correct term) will bring your food out to you. And it happens fast, really fast, and on an equally impressive level, your order is accurate. As someone who normally has special requests on his order, I can tell you this is an admirable talent. Special orders really don’t upset them. Some fast food places will say that, but Sonic means it. All A-plusses for service.

The food is much better than I thought it would be. As a Jersey resident, I had heard fabled stories of Sonic, which up until very recently none existed anywhere near me. Opportunity knocked with the discovery of one nearby Philadelphia Park on Street Road in Bensalem. The burgers are very good, the desserts amazing and the drink selection (they claim 168,000 possible flavor combinations, woo-hoo!) is unparalleled – but what I’m sure you really want to hear about is the favorite fried food.

The sad news is that Sonic fries are unimpressive. They come in shoestring variety, just a bit larger than McDonald’s and Burger King, thankfully not very greasy, but unfortunately not very hot either. Not awful, mind you, but neither are they spectacular. They are great for putting on your burger, and I wouldn’t turn them down, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for Sonic fries either.

Sonic also has Tator Tots (spelling in context from the receipt). While an interesting and unique choice as many fast food and franchise restaurants don’t carry them, Sonic’s tater tots (my spelling, and I’m sure the correct one) are only adequate, even with cheese added. Honestly, frozen tater tots from your grocery are better than these baked in your own oven. Not of interest to me of course, being a purist, but both the Fries and the Tots can come in a cheese or chili cheese variety. Beat that, McD’s and BK.

But we can’t shut Sonic out completely in the side dish category as they also have more than a few other selections. Among them apple slices and bananas (to make the Health Nazis happy), mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, popcorn chicken, and even French toast sticks as their breakfast is available 24-7. Topping the list of alternative sides are the Sonic onion rings. Similar to Fatburger’s o-rings (and that’s good thing), these are hot and very tasty. Unlike Sonic’s fries, I would go out of my way for their onion rings. Yep, they’re that good.


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Favorite Fries Poll - Status Update

The stats so far in French Fry Diary's "What are your favorite fast food French fries?" poll are as follows...

In first place is McDonald's, followed by a second place tie with Wendy's and Five Guys, and a third place tie with Checker's and Chick-Fil-A.

Come on, McDonald's? Really? Yes, they're good, but come on - ease, availability and consistency don't count for everything, do they? If Fatburger or Sonic were on every other corner, would they be number one?

Be original, be selective, look to your left and get your vote in! Who's got the best fries?


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French Fry Diary 05: Maoz

Yep, I went to a vegetarian restaurant.

The big thing was that my friends Crystal and Anthony just couldn't wait to tell my wife that they had taken me to, and that I had eaten at, a vegetarian restaurant. Me, who never ate right and especially never ate my vegetables, and here I was at Maoz, a quirky cool tiny little vegetarian restaurant take out place on Philadelphia's eclectic South Street.

Maoz, just for the record, is an international franchise with locations all over the world, but only a handful here in the States, and we're lucky enough to have two in Philly.

Back at the vegetarian restaurant. The fix was that Glenn was there for the fries. Heck, you could lure me through the gates of Hell with the temptation of French fries. Now the fries at Maoz had an additional allure - they were Belgian fries (at least on the menu), and Belgian fries are the gold standard of French fries.

Other than the tasty selection of Coke products, these classic pomme frites called "Belgian chips" here at Maoz were the only dangerous item on the menu. Everything else was the usual healthy fare that every good vegetarian restaurant should have.

While I was at first excited by the prospect of Belgian fries, and I did enjoy them, I was a bit disappointed on closer inspection. They were really steak fries - par-fried, frozen and store bought. While they were in fact cooked and served in the traditional manner - they were still steak fries. They tasted quite similar in taste to the steak fries (called Fat Fries there) at Fatburger.

Now like I said, this doesn't mean they weren't good - they just weren't Belgian fries is all. I'd still go back, and now I can say I've been to a vegetarian restaurant. Believe it or not, it's true.


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