French Fry Diary 782: Wise Finger Lick'n Ribs Potato Chips

I love Florida, and I'm glad we moved down here from South Jersey.  Florida has many awesome things going for it like Disney, sunshine, and grilling - but it's not all good.  There are also alligators, sand hill cranes, Trump supporters, and a seriously sad variety of potato chips.

I was very surprised by that last one.  Tom's is a company we didn't have in NJ, and generally Wise chips are easier to find - except for that elusive potato chip grail, the Wise BBQ Ridgies - but other than that, it's pretty pitiful.  It's so bad that sometimes on a late night snack run, you'll just skip the chips.  Yes, it's that bad. 

These chips, the Wise Finger Lick'n Ribs BBQ Flavored Potato Chips (crazily not even shown on the Wise website), were found in a Dollar Tree.  A dollar for a 4.5 ounce bag of BBQ meat chips?  What could I lose?  I could only gain a review for the blog, right?  The bag promised no preservatives, gluten, MSG, or transfat, awesome. 

Upon opening the bag there was a faint BBQ aroma, but nothing as pleasant or strong as the Wise BBQ or Honey BBQ.  The chips are good and thick, but not as darkly seasoned as the two mentioned above, if anything they appeared sparsely seasoned, maybe a dozen flecks per chip. 

There is that meat flavor, but not overwhelming or unpleasant like some meat flavored chips.  This is more barbecue than ribs, but it's good, and if I'm being honest, a bit addictive.  And that's kinda the problem, in that the more you eat, the more cumulative the ribs taste is.  Still, I would definitely get these again, good chips. 

French Fry Diary 456: Little Louie's BBQ

A family member took a bad fall, so they was rushed to Cooper Hospital in Camden. I went up Haddon Avenue past the Pop Shop, as this was the most direct route to the hospital, I past a restaurant I had never seen before. Once the emergency was over, and everything had settled down, I had more time to investigate this new find. So something good did come of it.

Little Louie's BBQ is up the road a bit from the Pop Shop, just outside the bustling heart of Collingswood. It had its own parking lot so no outlandish parking fees, plus number one, and I had heard the ribs were very good. That put it high on the list for the mother-in-law, my favorite rib connoisseur. So The Bride, her mom, and I made plans for dinner at Little Louie's.

We went in on a Saturday night, didn't need reservations, and I was quite surprised to see that it wasn't crowded. Folks from out of the South Jersey area might not know, but Collingswood is a hot bed of trendy popular restaurants. If it's a restaurant in Collingswood on a Saturday night - it should be packed. And honestly after our meal, I have to say again - it should have been packed. Hope this review can get the word out.

The place has a stark but warm atmosphere, with old western movie posters on the walls, and a great view of Haddon Avenue. Like at Famous Dave's, they had a roll of paper towels at the table as opposed to napkins. Also at the table they had mild and hot barbeque sauces. In my opinion they needed one in between those two extremes.

I got the foot long hot dog, on a toasted long roll. The dog was just the way I like them, very crunchy, very juicy and very good. It was big, not just long, but thick. Well done as if done on a grill, as was the roll, it was a big meal. As sides I got fries (of course) and baked beans, although I got coleslaw instead. No harm, no foul, I guess.

The fries were awesome. These are hand cut, as in individually hand cut, natural cut fries. These were unevenly cut, some thick, some thin, like you would make at home if slicing them up yourself. They were soft and hot on the inside, and crisp on the outside - serious, nearly perfect fries. I couldn't get enough. They come in a larger portion, which will be what I order next time we come here.

All in all this was a wonderful dinner with The Bride and her mom. Terrific big servings on everything, although I could have definitely had more fries. Like I said, these were fantastic fries. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 408: Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored

Yeah, I know that's quite a mouthful, Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins Flavored potato chips. I've tried a lot of different bizarre flavored chips like the various rib chips, the steak chips, and even the chicken chips. There's even a hot dog flavored chip from Herr's I've been trying to track down. At least these are sorta tater related.

I had only a couple chips. I'm not a big fan of sour cream or Romano cheese and those flavors jumped right out immediately. There is also bacon and cheddar in there, but the former two flavors are overpowering. These chips were definitely not my cup of tea, and so not my bag of chips.

I had initially picked them up for The Bride, but she only thought they were okay. If you're into this kind of thing, go for it, but Ruffles Loaded Bacon & Cheddar Potato Skins were just not for me.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #40

Today's Somebody Else's Fries come from my friends Taryn and Brian who recently visited South Carolina. While they were there, they went to Sticky Fingers and got some fries, along with their Memphis Dry Rub ribs and cole slaw. Mmmm... they look tasty...

French Fry Diary 337: Flippers

We have a special treat for folks this week. While I'm busy running the Virtual Book Tour for THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES by my friend author Fran Metzman, another good friend of mine, Terry Willitts will be guest blogging here at French Fry Diary this week.

Today, Terry checks out Flippers...

FLIPPERS WINGS & BURGERS - DeLand, FL

Flippers Wings & Burgers opened in the second half of 2011, and though I'd been meaning to check it out (several volunteers at the humane society I work at had been there several times, singing their praises) I didn't make it until New Year's Eve evening. I'd called in an order for take out - Bacon BBQ Burger, fries and side of macaroni salad.

The burger was most excellent – very thick (easily over 1/2″ thick) and the bun was definitely not your low-end burger bun. The burger was cooked well, but still was juicy enough to appeal to everyone. The fries, while certainly frozen, were cooked to perfection and salted just right (not too much, not too little), and the macaroni was a bit of a surprise – I’m used to the creamy/mayo based mac salads, this was more of a pasta salad – oil based with bits of ham in it as well – quite good, once I got past the initial surprise.

This obviously was the complete opposite experience from Burgers in Paradise and I will most assuredly be returning - I hear their ribs are very good, and I look forward to trying them out. Also, being a wings fan, I'll have to try them as well. The food came to less than nine dollars, easily worth it.

Thanks, Terry! If you'd like more of Terry online, check out his regular blog here, his daily year long journey through "Doctor Who" from the very beginning here, and his eBay page here.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #23

These are so-called "Jo-Jo Potato" fries from Cheska's Deli at the Berlin Farmer's Market (known to the locals as the Berlin Auction). They appear to be batter-fried potato wedges with an option for cheese.

Cheska's Deli specializes in chicken and "bar b-q" ribs. Down the market from Cheska's Deli are two different Cheska's Snack Bars, which have deep-fried crinkle cut fries. I've never tried any of them, maybe someday, but for now, just not in the stars... or the fries.