French Fry Diary 733: The Fries of the Camden Comic Con

Now I've talked before about how French fries and comic cons don't go together, the idea of collectible paper and grease mixing, even though they entail two things I love - comics and fries - are simply not compatible.

Now at this year's Camden Comic Con things were a bit different.  This year outside the con there was an awesome assemblage of food trucks, and it should be noted that as a podcaster at a table, it's not as easy to mix the two elements as it is for a attendee walking around with a bag full of comics.  We were free to sample the wares of the food trucks and record our reactions for both French Fry Diary and The GAR! Podcast. 

Outside the Convention there were three food trucks serving the needs of the event - My Four Sons, Wahlburgers, and family friends The Pop Shop in their new food truck, The Pop Shop aGoGo!, I love that name.  My co-host Ray Cornwall and I had planned ahead of time to have lunch 'on air' in a special FFD segment to try each of their fries. 

Wahlburgers was a major disappointment.  First because I was looking forward to trying their stuff, as they had already escaped me once, opening in Philadelphia a mere week after we had moved to Florida.  And now at the con, their food truck came only prepared to deliver tater tots, and not fries.  When one of the other two food truck choices has some of the best fries in the South Jersey area - Pop Fries - we skipped Wahlburgers completely, their loss. 

While I chatted comics with my friend Robert Repici, Ray went to lunch, and The Bride got my lunch from The Pop Shop aGoGo.  For herself, she got the buffalo chicken fries, and for me a burger and those great Pop Fries.  Now here's the difference between Wahlburgers and The Pop Shop - burgers weren't on the menu, but family friend Stink Fisher, who was running the truck, made me one special anyway.  That's why The Pop Shop rocks.  Thanks, Stink, you rule!

Friends Jeff Milliman and Jessy Lukens, who sat in with the recording, also happily partook from The Pop Shop aGoGo.  Ray on the other hand, got his lunch from the My Four Sons, including kimchi fries.  I did not try them.  I'm not sure if it was how they looked, whether I was already full from The Pop Shop, or if it was the conversation we'd had earlier about what the word kimchi really means - but I just wasn't brave enough. 

Looking at the My Four Sons menu however, I wish I had known about, and ordered their Tornado Potato, always wanted to try one of those.  Maybe next time, and maybe next time Wahlburgers will bring their fry game. 

For those not familiar, The GAR! Podcast is the Glenn Walker and Ray Cornwall weekly podcast where they talk unrehearsed about whatever happens to come to mind. It's an audio-zine for your mind, a nerd exploration of a nerd world, coming to you from the suburbs of New Jersey and the sunny lakes of Florida via Skype.

GAR!163: Lunch at the Camden Comic Con, the episode in question was recorded live at this year's Camden Comic Con and also features discussion with the mythical David Lisa, Janel Miller, Robert, Jeff, Jessy, The Bride, Ray, and myself talking comics, libraries, malls, and yes, the favorite fried food.

You can listen here. Enjoy!

French Fry Diary 696: Lay's Korean Barbecue Potato Chips

So. Lay's Flavor Swap. What the hell, right?

It's one thing to look for new flavors, or to have contests to find new flavors, but why would a company plan to retire a potato chip flavor? That's the gist of this contest, one stays, and one goes.

Of the four pairings going to war - cheddar & sour cream vs. smoked Gouda & chive, flamin' hot vs. fiery roasted habanero, and sea salt & cracked pepper vs. olive oil & herbs - only honey barbecue vs. Korean barbecue concerns me. Now I'm biased but why take a major potato chip flavor like honey barbecue off the table? It's almost like a New Coke trick.

Now the voting is over, but the results have yet to be posted, so who knows what will happen? In a world where I can't find physical proof that BBQ Ruffles exist (they're that hard to find), why eliminate flavors?

The Korean Barbecue flavored potato chips aren't bad, thin, with not much heat, except for a light sting in the aftertaste. Too thin to dip properly, and with sort of a meat chip vibe, not that that's a bad thing, these aren't bad, they're actually quite good - but I wouldn't trade them for Honey Barbecue, ever.

Honey Butter French Fries

McDonald's in South Korea has relented to a craze going on in that country recently. Last year Calbee made huge sales with their honey butter potato chips.

These chips had the taste of sweet bee honey with rich French gourmet butter, which caused sellouts and one bag per customer policies at many stores.

And now, McDonald's has come out with Honey Butter French fries. Seems like a natural choice. You can read about it here.

How do you feel about Honey Butter French fries? Something you'd try, like, or ignore?

French Fry Diary 649: Lay's Stax Korean BBQ

As far as potato chips in a can go, I'm a big fan of Lay's Stax over Pringles. Other than Pringles having easier access to the chips, Stax is the overall winner in my book. The BBQ Stax in some cases are better than the standard BBQ chips - thick, tasty, and uniform, always good for dipping.

Now while I am a fan of meat on the street on a stick, I have never actually had real Korean BBQ. So this flavor - Korean BBQ Stax - was an adventure for me. When I opened the can, there was a distinct meat chip aroma. Checking the ingredients, I found beef fat among the chemicals, and notably MSG. I would still try these.

These are close to the regular mesquite BBQ that Stax has but with a bit of a kick to them. Not unpleasant and not too much of an aftertaste either. These are pretty good and with their thickness they are excellent for dipping, with the dip cutting any heat. I liked these quite a bit.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #145

Awesome potato-ey bar food from Korea.

French Fry Diary 557: O!Karto

These 'Italian Potato Chips' were part of my Christmas present from friends Dom and Cindy, a selection of rare and exotic chips.

They are not really chips, more a potato concoction like Munchos or Pringles. Made from dehydrated potato flakes, starch, and granules, they are square shaped tubes, looking like regular cut French fries at a distance. This is apparently 'Italian style.'

The fact is they are not Italian at all. These Orion O!Karto Italian Potato Chips are Korean. They come in this flavor, Italian Gratin, and Chili Chili. The cartoon mascot on the bag, Mr. Karto, says, "O!Karto is unique and amazing type of potato snack. This Italian style snack 'O!Karto' is from high quality potato and fit for everyone."

The bag says they're cooked in sunflower oil, I guess that's the fit part. Although it's worth noting the ingredients also list vegetable oil, as well as palm and soybean oil. Your guess is as good as mine - much like the best by date, which is in Korean.

The Bride expressed interest in trying them, so I made her taste one first. She commented on how sweet they were. There's that, they are sweet, but I wasn't really getting the gratin. They could have used a bit more seasoning, even though I suspect the Chili Chili might have been too seasoned.

Because of their shape, these 'chips' might be interesting for dipping, especially in milkshakes or ice cream. They're a bit thin so maybe not. Taste wise, not bad, I would definitely try these again. Thanks, Dom and Cindy!

French Fry Diary 141: Squid Fries

Twitter friend and Philly foodie LucindaLunacy, also known as Jen Walker, no, not The Bride, the other Jen Walker, turned me on to this for the inaugural edition of Somebody Else's Fries - Squid Fries.

In several Tweets, she not only described the fries, the restaurant, and also provided a pic. Here you go, as I asked her where she got those fries:

"At a Korean place called Cafe Soho. Standard steak fries, but instead of a seasoned salt it was a spicy seasoned pepper...

"It came with ketchup and a soy/pepper sauce to dip. On top also were squid strips cut in fry length and deep fried...

"Like a thicker, meatier calamari. SO GOOD. The chicken wings were the hit of the table though...

"Here is where the place is: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-soho-philadelphia...

"The place also has a great beer and wine selection and all kinda neat Asian frozen drinks, bubble tea, etc. Mod and kitsch...

"The music was all K-Pop and Korean hip hop too. Lol."

Sounds like a ringing endorsement to me. Well, except for the squid, that is. Thanks, Jen!

French Fry Diary 29: Tornado Fries

Traditionally a treat on the streets of Seoul, South Korea, the infamous Tornado Fries have finally made it to the States.

For those of you who don’t know about the tornado potato, we’re talking about an entire potato, thinly spiral-cut, and deep-fried on a skewer. Check the pic for further illumination.

According to Serious Eats, it will be available at the Minnesota State Fair this summer, as well as being available in this French fry lover’s back yard, on the New Jersey Boardwalk.

The Original Tornado Fries is now open on the Wildwood Boardwalk and doing a brisk business. You can get them with a variety of seasonings and toppings.

So if you get down to the Wildwood shore, and you’re an aficionado of the favorite fried food, don’t forget to stop by and get your Tornado Fries.


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The French Fry Dog

Grateful Seoul, a travel blog about Korea, unearthed this intriguing photo…

Here is the description from the site: "Pictured above is, simply put, a heart attack on a stick. Look closely, what you are seeing is a hot dog that has been battered and then coated in French fries before taking a dip in the deep fryer. This lovely treat was on display at various stands throughout the Dongdaemun Market area in Seoul. No, I did not try one. It really doesn’t look that good in real life."

Mmmm... actually that does sound pretty good, despite being a heart attack-on-a-stick. I still wouldn’t mind trying it at least once.


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