Random Tater Pic of the Day #274

After meeting up with friends Anne-Sophie and her family in Norway at the World Showcase in EPCOT, The Bride and I stopped at Sunshine Seasons in The Land to split a quick breakfast. It had to be quick as we were on our way to the Disney Cruise next.

The Adult Breakfast included, obviously, breakfast potatoes with red and green peppers, eggs, overdone bacon (apparently that's the only way it comes at The Land), sausages, and delicious French toast bread pudding with a spicy kick of cinnamon. Yummy!

French Fry Diary 670: Landscape of Flavors, Breakfast 2015

As we headed to Landscape of Flavors that first breakfast at the Art of Animation resort on our most recent WDW stay, I was not looking forward to it. Honestly I was thinking of sneaking across the bridge to Pop Century for the better breakfast. Landscape of Flavors hasn’t been kind to me in the past, especially with breakfast, and I am sooo staying away from those tandoori potatoes.

As I was looking for some sort of potato-ey thing for breakfast I spied these big baked red potatoes. Despite the accompanying image, they looked so good, but wow, what a disappointment. They also looked (and look) seasoned but they were quite bland, seriously needing butter, salt, or even cheese… and if I'm asking for cheese on my potatoes, you know I'm desperate.

The great bacon boycott of WDW continues, as I was provided with two whole slices of bacon. Two whole slices of bacon!!! There is apparently some terrible bacon shortage that Villa Italian Kitchen at the Philadelphia Airport is blissfully unaware of. Two slices per customers is ridiculous!

For breakfast, I also had two pieces of semi-warm challah French toast from under a heat lamp and just enough syrup for one regular slice. Let me be clear, if you're not an egg guy, either in omelet or sandwich form, you are going to be screwed by breakfast at Landscape of Flavors.

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.

French Fry Diary 538: Landscape of Flavors, Breakfast

This place was a bit of a shock, made more so because we were at Disney. I really hope this is an anomaly. From the moment the day before, when I had FourSquared from Landscape of Flavors, I had a few folks email me and Tweet me that I had to try breakfast there, especially the breakfast potatoes and/or the tandoori potatoes.

Indeed, I have only heard good things about this food court since it, and its hotel, Art of Animation, opened. The more remarkable tales tell of folks coming all the way across the bridge behind it from Pop Century for the food. I admit my curiosity was piqued, because I like Pop Century.

The customer service was abysmal. Skipped lines, forced to buy items not wanted, and just a total crap attitude. No one was going to get a 'What Would Walt Do? pin here, that was for sure. So it must be the food, right? Once breakfast was gotten back to the table, I'm really not so sure.

I was planning to get the tandoori potatoes but quite frankly, that did not look all that appetizing. Maybe I missed out on a serious potato delight, but really I just didn't want to even try them. I opted for the regular breakfast potatoes instead, along with some barely warm, dry, overseasoned Challah French toast. What a waste of Challah bread.

The potatoes were of the shredded variety, not the usual tasty diced throughout most of Disney, and over at Pop Century. These shredded potatoes are then baked a la kugel, sliced up and served in squares.

Sounds good, right? Not really. For the most part it's a soggy mess, with occasional a pepper speck or two for flavor. The only good part is the top skin which took most of the heat baking. What good is a breakfast potato dish without a little crisp to it? These needed crisp, they needed seasoning, and after a few moments it was like eating cold mush. Suddenly the tandoori potatoes didn't seem like a bad choice.

This was by far one of the worst breakfasts I've had at Disney. Maybe they deserve a second chance, but it will take quite a bit to get me to come back. Just say no to Landscape of Flavors.

French Fry Diary 519: Plum Crazy Diner

Usually on the agenda for Sunday mornings with the Maryland in-laws is breakfast at Bob Evans. But just for a change of pace, we tried the Plum Crazy Diner in Westminster, a place our hosts had not been to in some time.

The outside has a very bright pop modern look but inside it's a pretty typical looking diner - only bright pink and purple on the outside. I really dug the sign near entrance that read: "If you are grouchy, irritable or just plain mean, there will be a $10 charge for putting up with you." Although, it should be noted, my mood that morning dictated I owed them at least twenty dollars, maybe more.  I'm not really a morning person.

I wasn't very hungry either, so I just ordered one piece of French toast, and of course, home fries. They were large diced natural cut potatoes, just warm, as if they'd been under a heat lamp rather than baked or deep-fried. The French toast wasn't bad at all, but like the potatoes, only just warm.

The brother-in-law as usual got his home fries well done. They looked the same except that they had probably been in the deep fryer for a flash fry. They looked well done, which they were, but also looked greasy, which they were not.

We pretty much all agreed the breakfast was at best mediocre, but like the night before, the company was good, so the food wasn't all that important. Maybe next time we'll come down for lunch or dinner, as the Plum Crazy's claim to fame seems to be steaks and shakes.

French Fry Diary 350: The Pop Shop 2012

I love the Pop Shop in Collingswood NJ, but that's probably evident to regular readers and eaters here at French Fry Diary. I love the Pop Shop for their fries, their great food and service, and not just because The Bride used to babysit the owner - yeah, I went there. We go there all the time with family and friends, and that's what it's all about - just a terrific restaurant for family and friends, and food.

I haven't written about them for a while and felt it was time to remind folks, and inform new folks how really cool a place the Pop Shop Cafe & Creamery is.

Our latest visit was with The Bride, her folks and two friends from out of town. We had intended breakfast on a late Sunday morning but, as usual, the place was packed. I think at one point there were as many folks waiting as there were sitting, but it moved rather quickly. Business is good, but business is always good because the food and service are so terrific. We had a bit of a wait - Sunday mornings are always busy - but eventually we were seated, and it was so worth it. As always.

It was close to noon though after the wait. Now I had a choice to make as breakfast is always served at the Pop Shop. I could get the deviously decadent Cinnamon Bun French Toast or my usual Deluxe Burger Platter. While the former is wonderful, I decided to be good and get the burger.

The Pop Shop burgers are always terrific and the Deluxe Platter comes with the Pop Fries, great natural cuts that are perfectly crispy and hot. They come in a variety of styles (Maryland, Gravy, Whiz, Mozzarella Pizza, Louisiana, Spicy, Chili Cheese and Collingswood - mostly toppings on their already amazing fries), but I'm a purist, I like the regular fries. I hadn't had them in a bit so they were extra good.

The Bride got breakfast, and those are her home fries with cheese in the pic. Mmmm... cheese... One of our friends, Deb, on the other hand, put sour cream on hers. To each their own, I suppose.

Another great meal was had with family and friends. I have to give you one warning though, folks, Collingswood now has 24/7 parking meters. Sad to have to interrupt your meal to feed the meter, and it's a hefty price, but for the Pop Shop it is sooo worth it.

French Fry Diary 276: Whispering Canyon Café, Breakfast

Circumstances collided and we ended up hitting the Whispering Canyon Café for both breakfast and lunch one day of our vacation. Not a problem though, we like the place. We've been twice before on our two previous trips to Walt Disney World.

For breakfast they had a very tempting, very fattening raisin bread French toast with cinnamon icing, I had to have that. The Bride ordered some potatoes, and promised I could have some. I also ordered a Coke, as I'm not a coffee drinker and orange juice just doesn't wake me up. Check the photo to see what they brought. Even being almost all ice, it was still almost as much as a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola.

The French toast was to die for, even before the syrup, and fantastic when you get a raisin. It's not as good as say French toast made with raisin challah bread, or the Pop Shop's cinnamon roll French toast, or even the French toast my big sister used to make me on Saturday mornings for breakfast while watching cartoons, but it's damn good. The potatoes were roasted red potatoes, cut into wedges, and were gigantic -

Sorry, I had to stop writing on my iPhone notepad, someone other than The Bride needed the ketchup. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, ask for ketchup while you're here at Whispering Canyon.

As I was saying, before I got interrupted, the potato wedges are so gigantic that you have to cut them up to eat them. They are soft and hot on the inside like baked potatoes and have a nice seared outside. The maple syrup also adds a nice flavor as well. Aces on the potatoes. I can't wait for lunch.

French Fry Diary 235: Klondike Kate's

We came down here to Klondike Kate's in Delaware with the family for Mother's Day brunch. It was chosen because of its equidistance between family members' homes, and was worth the trip. It's a pretty nice place, a TGI Fridays vibe in decor and regular menu. However, most of us were eating from the special brunch menu, a little removed from their regular fare.

Looking at the regular menu, I noticed that they have quite a selection of the favorite fried food - fries in regular and waffle and sweet potato, as well as tater tots and onion rings. I will definitely have to come back. My bro-in-law and my nephew wandered off the brunch menu and got beer-battered onion rings and natural cut fries. The rings were better than average according to the bro. Good for him as I'm not fond of the beer-battered type most of the time.

In the meantime, while we waited for our entrees, we got fantastic sticky buns as appetizers. I wish they had given us more but they were a bit stingy with them. This was a theme that would return throughout the meal.

I got the Texas Toast French Toast, which sounds much better than it actually was. It was terrific, but I was expecting huge Texas sized Texas toast - nope, much smaller than expected. It came with a side of home fries, also a very small helping. These were quartered natural cut potatoes fried in a sauce, similar to the kind sometimes found on the Disney Cruise. They were very succulent, but again, a skimpy serving.

This isn't a bad review, mind you, especially when my chief complaint is that I wanted more. All in all, a great brunch with great company, and as it was Mother's Day, all that really counts is that Mom had a great time.

French Fry Diary 184: Burger King Onion Rings Flavored Snacks

I saw these at Five Below and couldn't resist. Burger King makes semi-decent onion rings so I figured I'd give them a try. At first glance, these are Burger King onion rings, but not quite. Let's be specific. These are onion rings flavored snacks, made from corn meal and formed to look sort of like Burger King onion rings.

The taste is, well, interesting. Everyone who tried them had the same sort of reaction. A few bites and then a look came over their face, and then they didn't have or want any more. It was similar to when someone eats one of the less appetizing flavors of Jelly Belly. Yum, um, ew.

Well, at least they are zero percent transfat, but then again, so are rocks. They have a blandish flavor with an extra mild kick to them, but they are nothing like real Burger King onion rings. Five Below also had snack varieties of BK's French Fries and Ketchup, and also their French Toast Sticks, but I don't think I'll be running to the store to get them any time soon.

French Fry Diary 172: Triton's, Disney Wonder

Day four brought us to both brunch and dinner at Triton's. For our late brunch I had the French toast, bacon and roasted red potatoes. At Triton's there were a bit better and hotter than they had been up at Beach Blanket Buffet, and in a much larger portion. Also the bacon was reasonably cooked, not crunchy like glass as it has been most mornings up there. I guess it is a matter of where you go.

For our last dinner on board the Disney Wonder I had the best meal of our cruise. French bread as an appetizer, aged Angus beef tenderloins, bacon (yes, bacon!) wrapped green beans and side order of French fries - because it's a French restaurant after all.

These larger than usual regular cuts were the exact same delicious and nearly perfect fries from our first aboard ship at Animator's Palate. Dessert was an old-fashioned ice cream sundae. This definitely made up for last night. Not just the best meal on the cruise, but the best meal - not to mention service, Stafford and Myriam were first class - I've had in a long time.

French Fry Diary 155: The Pop Shop, Breakfast

I have talked about the Pop Shop before and how it's one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Of course, until very recently I was not a big fan of their breakfast, preferring instead their lunch and dinner fare, which feature those fantastic Pop Fries of theirs.

One very decadent but highly addictive new menu item has brought me around to their breakfast offerings - the Cinnamon Bun French Toast. Oh yeah, baby, just imagine it. Trust me, it the best thing you will ever taste for breakfast that doesn't include the favorite fried food. This is a breakfast item to die for. I can't recommend this enough. It's a masterpiece.

Now of course, while you're at the Pop Shop for breakfast, you might as well have some of their home fries as well. These shredded potatoes are lightly fried with salt and pepper and sometimes in need of a bit more seasoning, but keep in mind they can be cooked to order and you can season them yourself. I always like my shreddeds a bit well done and they will do it if you ask. They go great with bacon, and bacon at the Pop Shop is always perfect.

The bacon, the home fries, and the Cinnamon Bun French Toast are a killer combination and always a terrific breakfast. Check it out.

The French Canadian

After the blog was removed from My Yahoo! mysteriously, it took a while to find This Is Why You're Fat again, but here it is, back again.

Here's an entry called The French Canadian, it's a poutine sandwich filled with those awful gravy fries the Canadians like so much, using two pieces of French toast as the bread and topped with maple syrup.

Yep, it's very patriotic if you're from the Great White North, but it is definitely why you are fat...

French Fry Diary 89: Bob Evans Home Fries

When we visit in-laws out in the wilds of Maryland, we usually will hit Bob Evans for breakfast one morning. It’s just about tradition. They always have good breakfast food – bacon, hotcakes, French toast, and breakfast potatoes. And of course, free refills on Coke.

Beside hotcakes and bacon (and Coke) I also ordered a side order of Bob Evans Golden Brown Home Fries. These diced and fried red potato chunks have been quite good on previous visits, but were only semi-warm this time. Still they were good. Someone else got them well done and they looked good (almost blackened, but not burnt) as well, and were reported as tasting that way too. Bob Evans knows how to do breakfast potatoes.

Based on previous trips to this Bob Evans I recommend the home fries, especially when they’re hot. Good stuff.

French Fry Diary 20: Wawa

For those of you outside of the local Delaware Valley area, Wawa is sort of like 7-Eleven, a convenience store that is literally everywhere here, approximately one every mile or so in every direction, open 24-7 and has just about everything one could possibly need at three in the morning or just before a big snowstorm. Yeah, that’s right, it’s French toast central – milk, eggs and bread.

They also specialize in quick on-the-run food, including coffee that some say beats Starbucks by a mile, a wide variety of deli items, hot dogs, hot pretzels, and yes, even pancakes. And speaking of breakfast foods, they even have hash browns.

The Wawa Hash Brown is similar to the McDonald’s Hash Brown in that it is (supposedly) diced potatoes fried in a patty form. As you can see it’s much smaller and squarer than the Mickey D version, although these too are kept under heat lamps to keep them hot. Who knows how long they’ve been under these lamps however. The one I had was kind of tasteless at first, which was weird because I was tasting that tastelessness for quite some time afterward. I don’t know what’s in these things (I’m not sure it’s a potato product even) but I won’t be having another.


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French Fries and Toast

The fine folks at October Road Films not only supply us with this cool music video, but also accompanying recipes for the subjects of the tune.



FRENCH FRIES:
Ingredients: * Potatoes * Oil for deep frying

PREPARATION:
Peel and cut potatoes into even strips. Soak potatoes in cold water for 1 hour. Fry in deep fat at 325° for 5 minutes. Drain. Increase heat to 375° and fry until French fries are tender and nicely browned.

TOAST:
Ingredients: * Bread * Toaster

PREPARATION:
Take two pieces of bread out of the bag and place them in a toaster. When ready, it will automatically pop up. Grab you some jam and maybe some sugar. Smear that mess onto the toasted bread and eat up!

(Serve both with chocolate milk)