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 575: Raglan Road

Usually every trip to Walt Disney World for me includes a journey to Downtown Disney and Cookes of Dublin, which until recent years has had the best French fries, pardon me, Irish chips I have ever had. Lately though, they haven't been so great. Whether it's because of changes in the cooking process or just general laziness in prep, I don't know, but they ain't what they used to be.

As a change of pace, this trip, we decided to try the big fancy sit-down restaurant attached to Cookes of Dublin called Raglan Road this time. It's the same folks doing both places, but rather than a walk-up counter service, this was a nice sit-down place. We had planned on having a whole group of folks with us, friends and family, but one by one, people dropped out for various reasons. I was beginning to wonder if I should change my deodorant.

At first, as it was just myself, The Bride and her mom, we were thinking of just going to Cookes of Dublin as Raglan Road was so much more expensive, and Cookes was easier. Thinking of the folks who couldn't make it, we bit the bullet, and went to Raglan Road for a full meal and experience - and it was an experience. Absent friends and family don't know what they missed. No regrets.

The restaurant is pretty big, like most places in WDW, it's like a TARDIS, bigger on the inside than it looks outside - a large dining area and bar area, with one big stage and a center stage as well. We had heard there were shows, and bands, but we did not think, being so early (it was five-ish) we would see them. We were wrong.

I got my usual, a plain burger, as well as an order of the chips and an order of the onion rings which I had been told I should definitely try. The burger was very good, and came on a weird roll that had strips of ham? Or onion? Baked and threaded through it, very very tasty. As far as the food goes, it needs to be said. They may be next to each other, and they may be the same operation, same management etcetera - but Raglan Road is not Cookes of Dublin. Raglan Road is vastly superior.

As we were beginning to enjoy our meal, the entertainment began. It was as if Riverdance erupted around us, on the large stage in front of us, and a small center stage spot behind us. Propelled by the music of Creel, the tap group known as Our Darlin' Dancers put on an amazing show. So terrific, and later kids from audience were brought up on stage, shown moves, and danced along. Everyone had a great time especially the two little kids who were dancing next to our table.



Back to our meal, especially the French fries and the onion rings, the stuff you're here to read about. Both the rings and the fries (I mean chips) came in proper paper cones, although other tables had them dumped on to plates, which was also kinda cool. The onion rings were fine in the cone, but the fries were kinda wedged in there pretty tightly. The cheese was like a glue holding them together. Note the shape of the pile once we dumped them onto a plate ourselves.

My friend Dom was dead on about the onion rings. They had the same wonderful batter as the Cookes of Dublin onion rings, with big thick and juicy onions, and a very crunchy exterior. To die for, these were fantastic. However the fries were a bit different from the fare at Cookes. These natural cuts were bigger than usual shoestrings, with good amounts of cheese, garlic, and something that always needs a careful measure - just the right amount of truffle oil. Near perfect fries. Raglan Road more than makes up for Cookes of Dublin's recent decline.

Since it was The Bride's birthday, we also got as a dessert the bread pudding that one of our absent friends had recommended. We didn't order it, it came on its own - that's just how Disney rolls. This was a luscious dessert, and the vanilla and caramel cream over it was sweet heaven. What a wonderful birthday gift. Thank you!

There was a lot of food, so we ended up taking some of it back to our happily microwave equipped hotel. The onion rings were a bit soggy the second time around, but based on my experience, I think these would have been awesome if baked when reheated, rather than nuked. I might say the same about the fries, but for the record, they were an inedible disaster in the nuke. Definitely bake leftovers.

Raglan Road is awesome, one of my favorite restaurants in WDW, and it gets my highest marks. Very highly recommended, and I would definitely come back. As a matter of fact, I look forward to it. Raglan Road rocks.

French Fry Diary #387: Pop Shop Pancake Fries

The family and I visited the Pop Shop for breakfast this past weekend and I was surprised to find one new item on the menu in particular - Pancake Fries!

They are described in the menu like this: "Our fresh made Bettys, cut into strips, deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with cinnamon cream cheese for dipping."

The Pancake Fries are wonderfully presented in a paper cone and fry holder, with the aforementioned cream cheese in one side dipping cup holder, and pancake syrup in the other.

Not only did they give the illusion of looking just like the Pop Shop's great Pop Fries, they were delicious. A crunchy pancake delight, just another of the so many reasons to go to the Pop Shop for breakfast!

French Fry Diary 382: European Republic

One of the problems with doing this blog is finding folks to go try new restaurants and fries with. Most of my friends who live around here are always like, "Fries again, really?" So it's always fun when a friend visits from out of town. We get to go on new fry excursions. My friend Ken is always good for that, even though I think his lovely wife doesn't appreciate his waistline when he returns home. But that's not all my fault. The boy does have a weakness for Tastykake as well, and stocks up while here in the land of the Tastykake.

After picking friend Ken up at the airport we had firm plans to go to Paul's for lunch. You remember Paul's Fresh Cut Idaho Fries on South Street, they tempted me a few months back with their flutter fries, also known down the shore as tornado fries, just without the stick.

So there we were on South Street, walking on our way to Paul's when we saw a sign over our heads with a picture of fries, frites even, in a paper cone. We had to stop, just had to. Well, I had to. I was mesmerized. Fries. Paper cone. I was inside before Ken knew I was gone. The place was called European Republic. They specialize in wraps, but notably they also have European style fresh cut frites with over twenty different toppings.

Three guesses why we stopped, and the first two don't count. Paul's flutter fries could wait. We decided lunch was going to be here. Also since Paul's was only fries and funnel cakes, not a great balanced lunch, we decided to do lunch at European Republic. Inside, it was a cozy narrow place like most on South Street. The music playing overhead could have easily been Eurovision, completing the atmosphere. I ordered the small frites, and got the BBQ sauce. I know, I played it safe, but still I couldn't wait to try those frites. Ken got the peanut sauce for his frites and a wrap as well.

The frites were real frites. Fresh cut, thick cut, deep fried and golden brown, they were wonderfully hot and crispy on the outside and hot, soft, and potato-ey on the inside. These fantastic frites were served in paper cones and were, as I said, very crispy. I was in heaven with these nearly perfect Belgian frites. Ken said the wrap was pretty good too. I can't wait to go back! Highest recommendation.

It should be noted that their website only lists a Chestnut Street location, but there still is the restaurant on Sixth and South. Definitely get there, either place, and try these terrific frites.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #48

I guess Burger King is really serious about making fast food just a bit more upscale. These pics adorn the entrance of my local Burger King. Notice the fries served in paper cones the European way. Hmmmm... please, somebody let me know when Burger King actually starts serving them that way. That's when I'll believe it.

French Fry Diary 367: Helsinki Street Fries

I just recently was writing again about my trip to Finland in 2007, this time for my new gaming blog (The Non-Gamer's Gamer's Blog, shameless plug, clicky-clicky), and it got me thinking about the night of the 2007 Eurovision Final, and my encounter with Helsinki street fries.

The Bride and I went to Helsinki, Finland in 2007 to see Eurovision, as I said. There was only one ticket so I sent the wife to see it live while I watched on television with a group of friends. We agreed to meet up at the gigantic train station in the middle of the city and rude back to the hotel together.

Well, Eurovision is a big deal in Europe, especially in the city where it happens so afterwards the streets were full of people celebrating and having a good time. Picture New Year's Eve in Times Square at midnight, but without the crime, the attitude, or the confetti. The train station and the street outside it were packed, so walking was slow.

As we shuffled slowly past a food cart, we decided to get a snack, mostly because the aroma was so tempting. The Bride, brave thing that she is, got some sort of mystery meat on a stick. I suppose she liked it. I saw what I wanted right away - you guessed it - the favorite fried food.

Gloriously they came in a small paper cone with a plastic fork. These were skinless diced potatoes, cut into one inch by one inch cubes and deep fried. Best of all, they were very hot, almost too hot to eat. They were very good and made the rest of the walk to the train a treat - more than any walk hand in hand with The Bride usually is, you know. Wink wink. I would love go back to Helsinki again someday, and maybe get some more street fries.

Photos by my friend John Donges, who also took the trek to see Eurovision, thanks, man!

Paula Deen's Disco Fries

Today's edition of Food Network Fridays comes from Paula Deen - Disco Fries!

A delicacy up in the New York City/North Jersey area diners, this recipe comes from the Food Network's southern queen. These even come with the signature cheddar cheese and gravy. Paula even put them in paper cones for the picture!

Check it out here.

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.

French Fry Diary 78: Fleming’s Steakhouse & Wine Bar

After more than a few recommendations of the fries at Fleming’s Steakhouse & Wine Bar, I decided to give it a shot. Although, I went just for the fries. As many good reviews of the fries I had gotten, all the reviews of the other food, the wine and the prices were not so complimentary. So planning a quick bite The Bride and I only intended to grab a stool at the bar and just get snacks – but surprisingly there was no wait for a regular table, so we were seated quite quickly.

The Rosemary bread we started with was quite interesting. Hot tasty bread with some intriguing spreads was good but left an uninteresting aftertaste in your mouth. It’s a good thing our waiter Adam was very good with refilling our waters and soft drinks. Fleming’s is a wine bar and it should be noted that the menu is mostly wine, and comes with another wine list as well. Adam wasn’t bothered however when we said we wouldn’t be having wine.

I ordered the seven and a half dollar Double-Cut Shoestring Potatoes, and The Bride got the nine-dollar French onion soup. When he asked if that was as our entrees, Adam seemed genuinely panicked at our yes. He was nothing but nice and courteous however, and was left a healthy tip he definitely deserved – even though we refrained from ordering steaks and wines in the couple hundred-dollar range.

The fries arrived in a wax paper cone and wire frame holder in the Belgian style. Inside however, were not Belgian fries. These were extra-thin (thus the 'double-cut') natural cut shoestrings and in a huge portion – the cone was filled completely. They were a beautiful golden brown, but nowhere near as crispy as they looked. Had they been that crispy, they would have been perfect. A bit greasier than I would have liked, but had they been crispier, I wouldn’t have minded that. All in all very good, but not great.

French Fry Diary 73: McCormick & Schmick’s, Atlantic City

McCormick & Schmick’s is a relatively upscale seafood restaurant that has popped up in my area in the last decade or so. There’s even one in Cherry Hill now, but this review is of the one in Harrahs in Atlantic City.

We visited the casino the night before Christmas Eve when the hours most of the restaurants were open severely limited our choice as to where to eat. It’s not just the holidays, most of the AC casinos have screwed up hours. I have personally never found anything open when I needed it. I just think this is odd for a city and a business that supposedly runs 24/7. I guess it just includes everything but food.

Anyway we ended up at McCormick & Schmick’s, not a great place for this catastrophically picky eater as the only seafood I like are fried scallops. I have to admit this really wasn’t a problem as I’ve found over the years that seafood restaurants frequently have the best steak and chicken – and such was the case here as well. A delicious filet mignon was served up to perfection. And with it, I got, you guessed it, French fries.

These natural cut, slightly-larger-than-regular cuts came Belgian style in a paper cone, and were very hot. Like there had to be cooling time very hot. The outsides are extra crispy as if they were shock-fried twice rather than just once and inside they are delicious soft and hot. Definitely A plus on these fries. If I had to have a complaint about McCormick & Schmick’s fries, it would be how long we waited for them in a barely busy restaurant – nearly forty-five minutes! Did they go to Idaho for them?

French Fry Diary 62: Short Hills Restaurant & Deli

I visited the Short Hills Restaurant & Deli in Cherry Hill NJ for dinner with family recently. It was the first time I’d been there since a fire gutted the place a few years back. I was impressed by how everything had been restored almost perfectly, and even better. But you don’t care about that stuff, you want to know about the favorite fried food, right?

Short Hills has a variety of potato products – potato skins, shredded breakfast potato home fries, many different flavors of Herr’s potato chips, even sweet potato fries, all with the standard toppings – but the French fries are something else.

The Short Hills fries are natural cuts, thinner than regular cuts but not quite shoestrings, neither crispy nor soggy but just right. They lack salt but you can apply that yourself to your pleasure. The best part is the presentation – in a wax paper cone, Belgian style. How can you go wrong with that? A tasty treat well worth the trip, check them out. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 55: Maisy’s, Baltimore

While attending the Baltimore Comic Con, we thought we would also do some fry hunting as long as we were also looking for a place to eat dinner.

My initial choice was a place called Tir Na Nog, as it had been recommended by a regular reader of this blog. When we mentioned it to someone at the hotel front desk, we were turned away because they were overpriced and had much too small portions. She instead suggested a similar Irish pub-like place around the corner called Mick O’Shea’s. Once we checked out the menu we found they alas had no fries.

On our walk back to the hotel we decided to try a place called Maisy’s, a cozy little bar/pub/restaurant that did, in fact, have fries. We were sold.

First came the onion rings, which magically were served in a French fry cone. They were only okay, breaded but greasy, but I have to give them points for presentation, just not for the food itself. The start of the meal however was ruined by a smoker just outside the open window by our table. Maryland outlawed smoking in restaurants and bars, but apparently not just outside open windows.

I was wildly original, being the catastrophically picky eater I am, and ordered the burger and fries. The burger was Angus beef and very good, juicy, so juicy it squirted my shirt – but it was so worth it. Very delicious. The fries were natural cut shoestrings sprinkled with parsley flakes – a little soggy (maybe from the burger) but quite tasty. Good friends, good conversation and good food, a great night out in Baltimore.

French Fry Diary 14: McLoone’s Pier House, Long Branch NJ

I visited a great restaurant today for a surprise party for my sister-in-law - McLoone’s Pier House. It’s an upscale place specializing in mostly seafood, with a terrific view of the ocean, and was the first restaurant in New Jersey to be Certified Green by the Green Restaurant Association.

Now you’re wondering what all this has to do with the favorite fried food, right? You knew I would get to it eventually. They have fantastic fries, traditional steak-cut fries, done a perfect golden brown crisp on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. I got them as a side with my burger and another diner as part of her fish and chips. That would have been enough, but then someone ordered an extra order of French fries – and it came in a paper cone.

Like I said, it would have been enough just having great fries, but presentation counts. The traditional way to serve British chips, the paper cone is a sign of class especially in the better restaurants. These folks even had the metal holder to sit the cone upright on the table. The Pier House in Long Branch NJ – great food, great fries and an A+ for presentation.

Thanks, Dan, for hipping me to this place, and a happy birthday to Tish too!


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