French Fry Diary 739: Whataburger

After over a decade of French Fry Diary, and literally over a hundred requests and recommendations for Whataburger, certainly the chain is on my French Fry bucket list. So when we made the move from New Jersey to Florida, and Jacksonville was on our route, we definitely had to stop at the Whataburger there and try it out.

Whataburger was started in 1950 by entrepreneur Harmon Dobson, whose idea "to serve a burger so big that it took two hands to hold, and so good that after a single bite customers couldn't help but exclaim, "What a burger!"" Starting in Corpus Christi, TX, the chain expanded to nearly 800 restaurants across the country, mostly in the south, but pretty much except for the northeast where I formerly resided.

The GPS was a bit wonky finding Jacksonville's Whataburger, but eventually our caravan found it. Besides The Bride and myself, we also had along friends David and Johnny, who were helping us drive our cars to our new home in Florida. Snowy the cat sat in his box in the car while we had burgers and fries, but don't worry, the windows were inched open, and I brought him some burger afterward to munch on. Snowy is a tough bruiser of a cat, and well loved and cared for - if he ate fries, I would have gotten him those too.

We ordered - burgers, fries, and onion rings - and got a number for the table just like Chick-fil-A also does these days. We got our sodas (Coca-Cola products) and they brought our food to us. I got a plain burger as I usually do, and was impressed that there were code words - 'plain and dry' - for the special order. Places where there are such names (like off the grill for Krystal, natural for Red Robin, or plain jane at the old Burger Chef, etc.) have lesser chance of screwing it up, which I like. The burger was also quite big, and very good. I was impressed.

The fries were shoestrings similar to McDonald's with a good crisp to them. They came in standard paper sleeves, and if you 'Whatasized' your meal, you got a box similar to a popcorn box full of fries. The onion rings looked beer battered, but they probably weren't - sweet but a little greasy, but not as greasy as they looked. I wanted to try the root beer milkshake they were advertising, but I was too full.

I suppose we could go back, but Jacksonville is far enough away at this point to warrant an airplane flight so maybe not. At least I got there once, but if it was closer, I'd definitely go more often. And I get to cross Whataburger off my bucket list now.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #228

More proof that dipping French fries in milkshakes is not just a fluke that a small minority are into. This admittedly unflattering screen capture is from a recent episode of Showtime's "Shameless."

French Fry Diary 675: The Pop Shop, Medford NJ

Divorce is a terrible thing, truly it's a tragedy, but sometimes, just sometimes, something good can come out of it. For the foodies of South Jersey, divorce in the family of one of my favorite restaurants - The Pop Shop - has resulted in two Pop Shops. This was my first visit to the new one in Medford. The building used to be an old bank, but the Pop Shop has really revamped it, but there's still a giant safe in the middle of the restaurant. Kinda cool, kinda kitschy, I like it.

The Bride and a friend visiting from out of town, Lisa, decided to go there for dinner on a recent weeknight. I was excited, as it had been almost four years since I had dinner or lunch there. Usually when we go to the Pop Shop, the agenda is breakfast, not that I mind breakfast (it's really great there, and served all day), but I prefer their lunch/dinner.

I like the new venue in Medford, an older two-story building that seems very open and welcoming. There's even an elevator and ramp for handicapped folks. I also liked the new Pop Shop shirts the employees were wearing that said either "fries with that shake?" or "got 08055?" Guess which one I liked best?

As I hadn't had it in a while, and it's what I wanted, I got the burger and fries. I was surprised by the small differences when my order arrived. I'm not sure if they're because of the time lapsed since last I visited or the different venue, but it was different. First off, the burger was big, juicy, and perfect, but not on a sesame seed bun as expected. No worries, it still rocked, and thankfully it made up for the fries.

More changes came with the fries. Rather than natural cut regular cuts, these Pop Fries were natural cut shoestrings. Ordinarily I would say that's a level up, as natural cut shoestrings are a rarity and hold a crisp very well, but that was not the case here at all. These fries were a little underdone and soggy, not good. Our friend Lisa had ordered the Parmesan Garlic Fries, simple and quite tasty, but they were done and crispy, nearly perfect. Based on the fries I saw on nearby tables, mine were sadly the exception - the other fries looked awesome.

For dessert (as always, with so much food, it's rare we order dessert at the Pop Shop) The Bride and I went decadent and split a Shakin' Bacon - a breakfast milkshake in a Mason jar with vanilla ice cream, pancake syrup, and crispy bacon. Pretty tasty, but it was a little weird having bits of bacon come up through the straw - still very good.

The power mysteriously flickered off and on a few times, but all in all it was a fun night out with friends. I look forward to visiting again to verify my faith in the Pop Fries. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 606: Farewell to Little Shanty

There's nothing more heartbreaking for a foodie like me than when a favorite restaurant closes. It's even worse when it's someplace that you can't get to on a regular basis to support them if they're not doing well, because hell, you would be in there every day if you could. Such is the case with Little Shanty in Warren NJ.

I love this place. I've only been there three times, and I love this place. You want the best onion rings and some awesome fries? Here they are. Great burgers, shakes, desserts, and terrific service? It's all here. And sadly they will be closing this weekend.

We played hide and seek missing each other the first two times I had been to Little Shanty, but the third time was a charm and I finally met the owner, Jonathan Lidz. He's a great friendly guy, full of enthusiasm and has his heart in the right place - and knows his fries (a big plus as far as this blog is concerned), but he just couldn't make it work at that location. Jonathan has hopes to re-open at a new location. Let's hope it's closer than an hour and a half away.

If you want to stop by in the next few days and experience great food and service, please do while you can. Little Shanty cannot be beat. Please check out the website, the Facebook page, and the Twitter for re-opening news, and look back on my reviews of Little Shanty here, here and here. Thank you, Jonathan, and hoping for the best for you.

French Fry Diary 569: Weber's Famous Drive-In

Weber's Famous Drive-In is an old fashioned drive-in restaurant chain, much like A&W, or Mel's in American Graffiti or Arnold's in "Happy Days." This particular Weber's is probably the most famous in our area, it's the one on Route 38 in Pennsauken NJ.

Why is it famous? Because it's got Mark the Shark out front by the highway entrance with a microphone and full costume. I think overweight Elvis Presley impersonator Mark McMichael has been there for years, waving to cars, holding a mike to his face, and singing (or pretending to sing). It might be a real mike, or it might be a Mr. Microphone, but he was quiet the day we were there, but still doing his thing by the road.

The Bride and I remember Mark the Shark from karaoke at the Diamond Diner back in the 1990s. He was famous then as now for his trademark Pete Townsend-like windmills. The Diamond at the Cherry Hill Racetrack Circle is long gone, now replaced by a Walgreens, and the Circle now an intersection. Mark the Shark keeps on rocking. His appearance at Weber's is a sign that the season is open, and summer is here. Mark continues to entertain at Weber's all day Sundays while the drive-in is open.

One particular good memory I have of this Weber's is getting out of the hospital at the beginning of summer, after being bed bound and tortured by bad hospital television for weeks. The TV was punctuated by commercials for Weber's, which had just opened for the season. On the way home from the hospital, The Bride, my good buddy Q and I stopped there for dinner. I was so glad to have real food, as opposed to hospital food… and especially a thick chocolate shake. Even Elvis was there that day too. Good times.

The day of this visit, Mark was rocking, and we pulled in a turned on our lights, the signal to place our order. Our waitress skated out to take it, and when it arrived, the tray was balanced on the car window - told ya it was old school, but it was/is cool. There were a lot of folks coming in for just take out - something to consider for next time. The Bride got a pizza burger, I got a hot dog, we each got fries and a drink. Orange melted cheese for her fries, and another big frosty mug of chocolate shake for me. Warning ahead of time, this is a cash only business, don't come with just cards.

The French fries were deep-fried shoestrings. They were not great, but not all that greasy either, as one might expect. Actually once you start eating them, they become quite addictive, kinda like that old potato chip adage - you have just one. And they are great for dipping in the shake as well. These fries are not a bad deal at all, a good bargain for two and a half bucks.

French Fry Diary 560: The Treehouse, Audubon NJ

I love The Treehouse in Audubon NJ. They have been very good to us at the South Jersey Writers' Group. It's where we hold our monthly Blogfests as well as many other functions. They are really nice to us, and besides that, it's a terrific coffeehouse, and Rob always makes a killer chocolate milkshake that is just awesome.

We got to talking one afternoon and he hipped me to Donkey's, which is now my favorite cheesesteak place. I had also promised that sooner or later I would try the potato-ey product that he served up at The Treehouse, their hash browns. I finally got around to it one Sunday I arrived extra early for one of the SJWG's Blogfests.

The hash brown is a pretty standard frozen square variety, but it was served hot and was quite tasty. But look close at the picture - yeah, baby, grill marks. Grill marks are decoration, frills, and basically proof that a food item sat on a grill. It's that extra touch of cool. But really, it's the difference between a mediocre steak or burger and a great steak or burger - and in this case, a hash brown. The grill marks make this hash brown. It rocked.

The Treehouse, come for the atmosphere, come for the coffee, the service, the Blogfests, the milkshakes, and come for the hash browns. Great stuff.

French Fry Diary 455: Smashburger 2013

Here it is, the report from the annual trip to Smashburger on New Year's Day. I had anticipated this year getting together a whole expedition to go from folks at the NYE party the night before, but it didn't work out. Hangovers do that. And the couple we had wanted to come with us passed because of vegan issues.

I countered with the argument that Smashburger had a wide variety of vegan and/or vegetarian offerings, including a veggie burger and several flash-fried veggies as sides. I was told that just going to Smashburger, and giving them their business, would be like saying what they do is okay, and for them - it's not.

I understand completely. No harm, no foul. We're cool. But it did get me thinking. I suppose there are a lot of folks who feel that way, and it made me wonder. Are the fast food burger outlets just wasting their time by making vegan/vegetarian offerings available, when those folks won't be coming in any way? I would love to hear the thoughts of folks out there in the foodie blogosphere.

Now, on to the regularly scheduled annual Smashburger visit. Unlike the last two years we had been here to the Riverside Square Mall location, the place was packed, and hopping for New Year's Day lunch. After placing our order and sitting down, The Bride and I busied ourselves on our iPhones playing the BurgerSmasher game. You can test your skills here making burgers the Smashburger way.

Our shakes came to the table first. I got a big thick chocolate shake, as thick as McDonald's used to have, and Sonic still does. The Bride thought her Oreo shake was very good. They come in a glass, with more in the mixing cup so you know they did it right. In hindsight, this was the best part of the meal right there.

After the last two trips here, I elected to skip the Smashfries this time, in favor of the delicious Haystack Onions. These thinly sliced and deep-fried onions are a bit greasy, but very good. I ordered my Smashburger plain, as usual, but piled some of those onions on top of the patty. Both the burger and the onions were awesome. The burgers are always good.

Of course, the burger and onions only brought to mind the lunch of the previous day, and I have to say, Smashburger paled in comparison to Little Shanty in nearby Warren NJ. Now I hope to get there sooner, but I think next year we'll have a new tradition, lunch at Little Shanty both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Sorry, Smashburger.

Daym Drops Goes to Shake Shack

Since I haven't had a chance to get over to the fairly new Shake Shack in Philly yet, I figured I'd give you the next best thing. Here's my brother from another mother, Daym Drops, and his review of Shake Shack. Enjoy.



I think he likes the fries. They are solid gold UFC fighters and busted him all up in his mouth. Yeah, I think he liked 'em.

Don't forget to subscribe to his YouTube channel and Like his Facebook page. The man rocks.

French Fry Diary 361: Checkers

Checkers and Rally's are the same place, and essentially the same food, but here in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, we only have Checkers.

Checkers is predominantly a drive-thru and/or walk-up restaurant, even though there are a few tables outside, I don't think they get much use - its not Sonic. The lunchtime I visited the place was dead, no drive-thru traffic even - which is a shame because the food is pretty good. And notably, the customer service is also very quick, and usually pretty accurate too.

The burgers are big and tasty, although this time it did take some effort to get a plain burger. Speaking of Sonic, I think the shakes at Checkers are thicker and better, and excellent for fry-dipping. They also have the usual fare of chicken, fish, and hot dogs as well, but it's the favorite fried food we're here to talk about.

The French fries at Checkers are long (sometimes very long) regular natural cuts with a thick crispy batter coating, salted and black peppered. This orange colored spicy skin gives them an extra zing and crunch that contrasts the soft hot potatoey insides. These are darn good fries, but make sure you have a beverage handy to balance the heat. It's a good heat though. They're also great for sandwiching and, as I said, shake dipping, which will also cool some of that spicy fire.

The Checkers fries also nuke well in microwave once you get home, at least twice, sometimes three times, making them an excellent drive-thru fry that can be had later. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 341: Wendy's Vs. McDonald's

Wendy's is very proud of their new (are they still new at this point?) sea salt natural cut fries. They are/were so proud that they reached out to the online food blogger community several times to have us try them, compare them, and write about them. On occasion they even sent gift cards so we wouldn't have to pay for the fries and got a free meal of it. For the record, I am not always so swayed by the promise of a free meal and stay honest in my reviews. If you recall, I am not so fond of Wendy's new fries.

Quite some time ago, Wendy's ran a promotion and again reached out, this time to have folks compare their fries to those at McDonald's. They also asked that we take several folks along for the ride and compare them too. Now I ran into a problem. Most of my friends are fairly health-conscious. Me, I do it for love and so you don't have to. So it was very hard to find enough people to not only have one order of the favorite fried food, let along two. The gift cards, and the pending blog entry sat undone for some time.

Recently I decided, in the spirit of "I do it, so you won't have to," I decided to do something about it and do the comparison. I used the cards and quickly found out they had expired - not a problem, I completely understand. Wendy's probably thought I was a deadbeat for not doing the review - it's cool, I would have done that to me too. But anyway, I got my butt in gear and did the comparison. As I thought, Wendy's did not do all that well.

Here are the results...

Staying hot - The Wendy's fries get cold when they get old, and by old I mean about ten to fifteen minutes. McDonald's fries stay hot for some time, and even taste good warm, or cold. Win McDonald's.

Crispiness - While a few limp fries sneak in to both, for the most part they are both crispy. Wendy's do have a more potatoey taste, probably just because they are wider in shape. It's a tie on this one.

Dipping - This where the new Wendy's fries fail miserably, and their old fries would have beaten McDonald's easily. The new fries break and bend when you try to dip them in a shake or Frosty. Mickey D's don't do either, even in the extra thick Frosty, but of course, Wendy's older fries, being bigger than either contender here, could hold more shake. McDonald's for the win.

Sandwiching - McDonald's fries are always good for this type of sandwich planking, but Wendy's fries being flat and steak fry-like are perfect for sandwiching. Win Wendy's.

Reheating - McDonald's fries will reheat once in the microwave, and also bake pretty well in the oven once you've gotten home, and they have gotten cold. As I've noted before the new Wendy's fries, unlike their old ones, and their competitor here, do neither. Win for McDonald's.

That's an overwhelming win for McDonald's French fries over Wendy's new sea salt natural cut fries. Sorry, folks. It would be a whole different story if you had not changed your fries...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #34

Here's a t-shirt I got from Woot quite a while ago.

Snazzy, huh?

French Fry Diary 312: Burger King Chicken Fries

Running around holiday shopping, I needed a break, and decided to kill two birds with one stone - I went to Burger King. I was hungry, wanted to give the new fries a second chance and I also wanted to give the Chicken Fries a review. I went through the drive-thru and got a #7, the Chicken Fries meal.

The henhouse (my term) the Chicken fries come in was designed at the same time as the FryPod, and comes with a built-in slot for the dipping sauce - but its bottom is square so it doesn't fit all that well in the cup holder.

Speaking of dipping sauces, Burger King offers buffalo, barbeque, zesty, honey mustard, ranch and sweet and sour varieties. That said, I prefer the dip of my choice for most BK foods - the black and white shake. Your mileage, and flavor, may vary.

The fries themselves resemble mini mozzarella sticks more than they do fries, and while they are tasty, they have more breading than actual white meat chicken. The breading also has a bit of a spicy kick to it, not unlike the breading on the chicken sandwiches I love so much at Burger King.

That brings up another point. I wouldn't normally order these as BK has so many other great offerings. The Chicken Fries are great for a snack, a side, or to share. My assessment of the new Burger King fries however, has not changed. I wish I had gotten onion rings instead.

French Fry Diary 308: The Original Burger King French Fries

When I was a kid, fast food was slow coming to my hometown. In fact, even today, Atco has no fast food restaurants in its city limits. The first to show up in the area was Gino's in Berlin, the next town over, which I've talked about before. We'd had McDonald's up in Lindenwold and down in Hammonton, but that was it as far as choices until the mid-seventies. That's when the McDonald's opened in Berlin, and everything changed.

Where there was McDonald's, there was Burger King, because the burger wars always escalate, and Burger King opened right across the White Horse Pike from the McDonald's. Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arby's, Roy Rogers, etc. all followed in Berlin, but when it comes right down to it, it's always about the big two.

Today, we're talking about Burger King however, the Burger King of my youth, and their original French fries. Burger King recently changed their fries, ending a reign of crappy fries they had had since the early nineties, but before that, they had really good fries, really good fries. When I first encountered BK, I fell in love with their charbroiled burgers, so much better than McDonald's. This is also where I started dipping my burger in my milkshake, BK being best for this practice, and notably best with a plain burger and a black and white shake. This remains the case to this day.

Burger King is also where I started stacking or planking. Those two words might mean something else these days, but to me, and in reference to French fries - stacking and planking, also known as sandwiching is the act of putting fries on your burger, creating a layer of potatoey goodness across your burger. In my years of doing this blog, I have happily found I'm not crazy, and I'm not the only one who does this, or shake dipping for that matter. BK's original fries were perfect for sandwiching.

About those original BK fries, they were shoestrings, similar to McDonald's, only less crispy and slightly more greasy. They were just short of a limp shoestring French fry, but unlike Wendy's new fries, BK's were substantial enough for dipping in shakes without breaking or bending. They were also delicious, and addictive. Whereas the old BK fries, I could barely eat one or two, the originals I would sometimes finish off two orders in a sitting. They were that good. They are still very much missed. I wish they'd bring them back.

Unfortunately, the original Burger King fries, being pre-internet, are extremely hard to get images of, so I have compensated with this blog entry. Find below a vintage BK commercial from the 1970s, plus above a glass featuring the old animated and much-less-creepy Burger King, as well as one of the BK ashtrays that everyone in my high school had snatched from the restaurant and had one in their bedrooms - smokers or not. Enjoy the nostalgia.

French Fry Diary 306: Burger King Onion Rings

When Burger King changed their French fries for the worse several years ago, that left me in a quandary. I loved Burger King, loved their burgers and their chicken sandwiches and especially their shakes, and sadly their introduction of Coca-Cola products over Pepsi coincided with the crappy fries. So much to enjoy, but no sides to enjoy them with.

Fear not, unlike many of its major competitors, Burger King also has onion rings, and they're not bad. These aren't traditional onion rings however as they're composed of diced onion and shaped into rings approximately the size of a half-dollar and deep fried with a crunchy breaded coating. Over the years the size has varied, getting smaller at times and now the sizes go from dime to half-dollar size in one offering.

As a bonus, because they are cooked at the same station, sometimes a fry will find its way into an order of rings and vice-versa. This is known as a 'ringer.' Once again, like the FryPod, much thanks to Burger King for adding to the lexicon and vocabulary of the mythology of the favorite fried food.

It should be noted that the BK onion ring is also excellent for dipping in milkshakes (although fries and burgers are preferred), and also for stacking in sandwiches. Great stuff. I would rather have had the old original BK fries but their onion rings are a great substitute. Thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 250: Arby's

I've already talked about my unpleasant experience with the onion rings at Arby's but I haven't actually reviewed the place yet. Arby's has changed quite a bit in the last few years when it comes to the favorite fried food. They used to have very good natural cuts, and as noted previously, terrific Onion Petals, but no longer. No Onion Petals, and the lack of a burger product are why I usually don't come to Arby's. And I'm really not a big roast beef guy.

Arby's started back in 1964, as old as I am, in Ohio. The RB in the name stands for Raffel Brothers, the founders, not roast beef, as most folks think. They are known for their roast beef sandwiches however, and their big cowboy hat logo and their 'horsey sauce.' They're part of the Wendy's company and they serve Pepsi products, and at the beginning, they served potato chips, not fries. They haven't been very successful in my area, however, as many of the restaurants that have opened, haven't stayed open more than five to ten years. Just sayin'.

Usually when I would come to Arby's I would get one of the chicken sandwiches, which is sometimes a pain in the neck to get the folks behind the counter to understand the concept of plain. "Just the chicken, and the bun," and still they get confused. Their shakes are pretty good too. They used to have shake it up chicken nuggets with bbq sauce that were great but no longer. And I would get the aforementioned Onion Petals quite often but they don't have them any more either.

What they do have, and have had for some time are Curly Fries. I believe these are among the first fast food franchise curly fries. They are natural cut and well seasoned. They are very good when hot, but this order, gotten on a Sunday afternoon at the nearly empty Arby's in Oaklyn, were barely warm. The cuts are very nice, lots of corkscrews. I like the corkscrews. I still wish they had the old natural cut fries too - it was nice to have a choice, or to have both.

They also have something called Loaded Potato Bites. Little triangles of potato product stuffed with sour cream, cheese, chives and God only knows what else - these were so not my thing. I did not like them. Sometimes they also have Potato Cakes, sort of a poor man's McDonald's Hash Brown, but not for breakfast. I'll review them on another trip I guess, as this one was not good so far.

Not a pleasant experience this stop, guys. Arby's, please bring back the natural cut regular cut fries and the Onion Petals.

French Fry Diary 204: Red Robin Burger 2003

Here's a French Fry Diary flashback. Red Robin Burger was the first official French Fry Diary road trip. We were lured to the restaurant, quite a distance away at the Oxford Valley Mall, by their website that promised 'legendary bottomless steak fries.' There was a .gif of a moving image with constantly falling fries that said b.s.f. and nothing else. Bottomless Steak Fries? Oh, come on, you knew I had to investigate.

So we selected a night, and my friends Marni, Ken and Laurie came with on the trek to the closest Red Robin Burger location just outside the mall. It was a nice trip if a long one, but with friends, it goes by fast, and besides there were fries waiting at the end of this journey.

The onion rings were crispy and tasty. The shakes were good as were the sundaes. The burgers were big and juicy. The main event - baskets of steak fries with the skin on, were not very hot, but at least warm, slightly greasy, and if you ask, the waitstaff will refill the basket.

It's no wonder they're bottomless, you can only eat so many of these sub-par fries.
Maybe we went on a bad day but I've a hunch not. I probably won't be going back.

Now the above was my impression of eight years ago. I have gone back, and I have been impressed, as you can see from subsequent reviews... to be featured this week...

French Fry Diary 140: More Shake Dipping

Something a bit different this week for Food Network Friday, I'm going to talk about something I saw on "Chopped Champions" last week.

"Chopped Champions" is the a trumped version of "Chopped" for the new season. In this reality television competition series, four chefs go up against each other in three rounds - appetizer, entree and dessert - using four mystery ingredients they find out about just seconds before they start. Sometimes the ingredients make sense, and sometimes they are as twisted as say - celery root, chicken wings, salt water taffy and a pickle. The chefs have to produce something amazing, creative and tasty in a limited time using all four ingredients. Hilarity ensues.

In "Chopped Champions," the competitors are all chefs who have won on the show before and are going for a bigger cash prize and more difficult challenges. The first round of this new competition aired last week and featured in the dessert round two specific mystery ingredients - fingerling potatoes and some type of chocolate. So guess what one chef made? Yeah, you got it. Matchstick fries, and some sort of chilled chocolatey sauce in which to dip them in.

Nope. I'm not crazy. Mmmm... fries... and shake...