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 736: The Garden Grill, EPCOT

Every time I've gone to The Land in EPCOT in Walt Disney World, I have always heard the same thing, that the food served in the restaurants at The Land is where possible grow and prepared right there at The Land. For those not in the know, The Land has an amazing horticultural, agricultural, aquacultural community. They grow everything there onsite.  And since I see potatoes on the Living with the Land omni-mover boat tour, one might assume, ya know? 

First things first, the Garden Grill is a revolving restaurant, set on a dais that turns ever so slowly as you eat over top the aforementioned Living with the Land.  The restaurant, like many in Walt Disney World, also features character meals, or more appropriately, a character breakfast.  Those in question here included Chip and Dale, Pluto, and Farmer Mickey.  For the uninitiated, a tip, Chip has a black nose and Dale has a brown one. 

What initially attracted me to the restaurant for breakfast, besides the promised "Hash Brown-style Potato Barrels" which I wrongly assumed to be fresh from the garden potatoes of The Land, was probably the ham, the bacon, the Mickey waffles, and cinnamon buns.  When we received our family style skillet full of breakfast, we were surprised, and not for the better.

Don't hit him, Jenn, it's probably not his fault...

The ham steaks had mysteriously vanished from the menu, and our skillet.  And while the warm and gooey cinnamon buns were to die for, not much else was.  The mini-Mickey waffles had done their time under a heat lamp and bacon was much too burnt and crispy for my taste, but that's okay as that's how The Bride likes it.  None for me though. 

And the hash brown-style potato barrels?  They were tater tots.  Frozen Ore-Ida or Ore-Ida knock off tater tots.  Disney had tricked me.  Not only were they really crappy heat lamp tater tots, they certainly were not grown in The Land.  At least Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale were fun, but I don't think I'll be coming back. 

Random Tater Pic of the Day #270

Casey's Corner in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, where The Bride and I had a quick dinner before the Fireworks Dessert Party this past weekend.  And yes, they have changed their fries, new review forthcoming...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #253

This pumpkin is one of those atop the roof of Casey's Corner in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, carved to look like, what else, French fries... mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 671: Yorkshire County Fish Shop 2015

Ever since I visited this place a few years back I have wanted to return. Considered a quick service on the Disney Dining Plan, this tiny little counter tucked away in the United Kingdom section of EPCOT's World Showcase is indeed a little treasure. And their outside dining area is the perfect place to see Illuminations, or just chill and listen the Brit Invasion bands across the way.

So I got my chips and sat down, as seating was at a premium I sat at a table with a couple from Wales. They immediately wanted to know why I was taking pictures of my chips with my phone. I explained about the blog, and we had a nice conversation about accents, and chips, and fries. The gentleman called up French Fry Diary on his phone and was reading some of the entries. It's true, he had notes for me.

These chips at Yorkshire, or Cookes of Dublin or Raglan Road for that matter, aren't authentic. They are just what Americans think British chips are. I'm the victim of a tourism conspiracy. Real chips come from chip trucks or holes in the walls. And as far as fish for fish and chips, real fish is cod or haddock. As I was getting schooled, an older Scottish couple joined us at the table. This is what is so great about Walt Disney World - you can make friends quickly.

The conversation turned to accents and language again, and the two couples teased me by speaking real Welsh and Scottish, proving that neither is anything like what Americans would call English. The new couple agreed about the chips, not authentic at all - quite good, mind you, but inauthentic. Next we talked about American food - what is American food anyway? It's all stolen from other countries. We have good bacon, of that everyone was in agreement, but let's face it, bacon is Canadian.

I had a wonderful afternoon eating chips and chatting with new friends. This was great. So if you want to talk authentic chips, the Yorkshire County Fish Shop is the place to be.

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.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #186

Here's another from friend, fellow writer, world traveler, and FFD contributor Sarah H. Miduski. On a recent trip to WDW, she went to Tamu Tamu in Animal Kingdom and took a pic of her lunch including some amazing homemade BBQ potato chips. You can read her complete adventure, including the chips, here.

French Fry Diary 578: Landscape of Flavors, Lunch

Breakfast at Landscape of Flavors may have been a disaster, but lunch was another story altogether. While waiting for our bags and bus, etc., I had time to kill in the common areas of the Art of Animation resort, including Landscape of Flavors, and at lunch, well, one gets hungry.

I got a really good pulled pork sandwich, which I enjoyed, and I'm not a fan. The sandwich came with these fabulous homemade potato chips. Some were seasoned lightly with a smokey barbecue, and they were excellent both hot and later when cold. Great crunch and thickness.

These chips win the resort, for me at least. I would come back for these in a second. Thumbs up.

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 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 516: Cookes of Dublin Onion Rings

At one time if you had asked me where the best fries are, I would have said Cookes of Dublin in a heartbeat. Even though on the last few visits the quality has gone down, every time I've gone, I have been more than a little fry-centric and never tried their onion rings.

Friends Dom and Cindy recently visited Walt Disney World, and other than proving that Friar's Nook does in fact open, they also went over to Cookes of Dublin. This time they tried the onion rings. Cindy says, "The fries are great, but the onion rings are to die for! Very crisp, and they don't do that thing where you take one bite and the entire piece of onion slides out leaving you holding only batter."

Hmmm... I guess I'll have to try their onion rings on my upcoming trip down there. Thanks to Dom and Cindy!

French Fry Diary 515: The Myth of Friar's Nook

If you're a regular reader of French Fry Diary, you know that I have attempted to review Friar's Nook on two different occasions, only to be foiled both times by it being closed, once by rain, and once by the seasons.

This tiny quick service counter in the Magic Kingdom area of Walt Disney World has eluded me as if it knows I'm coming. It's no Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill, but it has become a white whale for me in its own right.

Dom and Cindy and their family, who have traveled with The Bride and me before to the wilds of Disney visited again in the last few weeks, and this time, Dom found Friar's Nook open, purchased their infamous homemade potato chips and even produced photographic proof that Friar's Nook does actually open from time to time.

How were they? Cindy says: "They were good but not great. They were cut very thick. Most were very (very) hard and crisp, except for a few that were oily and chewier. They were slightly too salty." Word is they should be open when we go for our vacation in less than two weeks, although I have been advised to try them around lunchtime. Hopefully they will not elude me again. Thanks, Dom and Cindy!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #114

 

This one was sent to me by friends Dom and Cindy and their family while on vacation in Walt Disney World. Coming soon, they also sent proof that Friar's Nook does in fact actually open sometimes. Look for it, and thanks, guys! :-)

"Best French Fries in the U.S."

Some folks may think differently, but I've never been that good at this shameless self-promotion thing. But here's something I think you folks might enjoy.

Way back in March when I visited Walt Disney World with the family, I gave a phone interview to writer Laura Kiniry. She's a great lady and a terrific writer, and we talked at length about French fries for about a half-hour - Laura in comfortable San Francisco, and myself in the only quiet spot I could scope out in the middle of Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom. Oh, the wonders of technology!

Last week, the article appeared at Travel + Leisure online, co-written by Laura, and Brendan Spiegel. Not only does it quote yours truly, but it also features several places in the United States where the best fries are to be found, a few of them we've even talked about here at French Fry Diary.

Check out the article here. Mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 430: The Disney Food Blog Podcast

Those of you out there who know me know that I've dabbled in podcasts in the past, and currently participate in two on video, the All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast and the Biff Bam Popcast, notably, neither about French fries. I also enjoy listening to the podcasts of others.

One that I have been listening to lately actually does talk about French fries from time to time, that's the Disney Food Blog Podcast. It's hosted by A.J. Wolfe of the Disney Food Blog, which I've mentioned here once or twice, and Brad Johnson of WDW for Grownups, also a very cool site. Regular readers know how often I'm in Disney, so of course I'm digging the Podcast.

In episode 5, something was mentioned that I had never heard of but sounded right up my alley - Figaro Fries at Pinocchio's Village Haus in the WDW Magic Kingdom. My ears perked up until they mentioned they had been discontinued. Sigh, too late. Apparently these were natural cuts covered in lettuce, cheese, ranch dressing and tomatoes. You can check them out at the DFB here.

That was where I went after I heard about them on the Podcast. See what else is there? Isn't that cool? They did a report on the favorite fried food available elsewhere in the parks, including a few I have yet to sample myself.

And if that's not enough, in the next episode, they go into a rather lengthy discussion about poutine and Le Celier in EPCOT's Canada. I love these guys!

French Fry Diary 405: Pepper Market Breakfast

One of the last mornings of our family Walt Disney World trip this March I went with the parents-in-law to breakfast at the Pepper Market, the home restaurant at Coronado Springs. I already told you about dinner there here, and couldn't wait to try their breakfast.

Now while the entrance to the Pepper Market is guarded by a creepy giant pink rabbit, the dining area is watched over by, among others, a giant Latin American bird god. The décor of Mesoamerica is thematic to the resort so it fits, but let's be real, these giant sculptures kinda freaked me out a little. The bird god especially. It was like the sensation of being watched while you eat, only a hundredfold. Creepy.

It's a good thing the food was really good. Much like dinner, there are numerous serving and buffet stations where different types of breakfast were available. This fine morning I was able to get both wonderful red potato wedges with onions and red and green peppers, and the same terrific diced breakfast potatoes that Disney always does so well. These were steaming hot and near perfect, as were the strips of thick bacon I got to go with them. This was a great breakfast, and an excellent coda to another wonderful WDW trip.

French Fry Diary 403: Cookes of Dublin 2012

This has just become tradition. Every time we come to Walt Disney World, we have to make the trek out to Downtown Disney to experience Cookes of Dublin, simply the best fries, or more accurately, chips, that I have ever had.

This trip however, I had been put on the spot. Previously on the trip, at a dinner at the Maya Grill, I was asked who has the best fries. I answered immediately Cookes of Dublin. When the bro-in-law found out this place was in town, we had to go, I guess to prove it. I had no problem with it, they are the best, and screw him, if he doesn't agree, after one of those doh-bars for dessert, he'll forget all about it.

Some background on Cookes of Dublin, as I don't think I've talked about that before. The original Cooke's of Dublin was actually in, duh, Dublin City, Ireland and founded by George Edward Cooke in 1934. The same traditional Irish cooking methods used then are the ones used today in the Walt Disney World, Downtown Disney location.

Like the last trip to Cookes, this was a family and friends excursion. We again met my friend Terry at what's left of Pleasure Island. We walked around a bit, finally regrouped our wandering party and went to a late lunch at Cookes.

I got my usual, the chicken and chips. The Bride got a fish sandwich that had chips on it. I have to confess that the chips were not so great this time, definitely not their best, nor my favorite as they have been every time I've been here in the past. The chips were only warm, and the problem is they are best hot. To reiterate if you've missed all the previous times I've reviewed Cookes of Dublin, the chips are thick cut fries, double fried and toss salted. Still, even just warm they beat the heck out of most fries out there. But on the bad side, I don't think my Anglophile brother-in-law was impressed. Shame.

On a side note, when I last wrote about Cookes of Dublin here, commenter JustinM, from the very cool Barbecue & Baseball blog, asked about what dipping sauces were available. When I asked I expected the usual, but the answer was a bit more exotic. Cookes has a curry dip, and an Irish vintage bacon and cheese dip. How 'bout that? The Dalkey mustard, a white spicy not-hot mustard, on the table also seemed quite popular. It was used on the fries, and Terry also had some on his battered sausages too. The doh-bar for dessert was perfection.

I would liked to have tried some of the other fried treats they have at Cookes of Dublin, like the skinny fries or the double dipped onion rings. But given the choice, and not knowing when the next time I'll get to WDW will be, I always go for the traditional Irish chips instead. I believe when next we come, we are going to try to get reservations for the big restaurant attached to Cookes of Dublin, Raglan Road and see how that is.

All in all this was a good time, a nice late lunch with family and friends. That's the part that counts - the company, not the food. Hopefully the food will match up next time.

French Fry Diary 402: Pepper Market, Coronado Springs Resort

I remember this place from my previous stay at Coronado Springs in Walt Disney World for one main reason. The Pepper Market is guarded by a creepy giant pink rabbit. Oh yeah, it looks harmless now, but just wait until you go to sleep.

Pepper Market is at best peculiar. It's a sit down restaurant that doesn't count as such on the Disney Dining Plan, and if you argue or question, they will haggle with you. No, really, this happened. Twice. The ordering and paying methods inside the realm of the giant pink bunny are more than a little confusing. You get tickets from each food station you stop at and then it's totaled at the end of the meal, or the start of the meal, depending. See what I mean by confusing?

And the napkin is a dishtowel. No, seriously, it's a dishtowel. A paper napkin would be both so much more useful, and really, a whole lot less icky.

When I figured out how the place worked, I ordered my usual. The burger was very good, big and thick, and chargrilled while I watched. The woman next to me, with the Fargo accent, was having trouble figuring out the system and I tried my best to help her, but she just couldn't be satisfied. As the cook heard everything she was saying, I have to wonder how her burger tasted.

The burger came with French fries. They were deep-fried shoestrings, probably from the grocer's freezer, and worst of all, they were sitting under a heat lamp for who knows how long. I was not enthused. Luckily I got a fresh batch, and I was amazed to see them toss salted in a bowl (just like Belgian frites!) as they made their way to my plate. That and the huge serving saved them in my eyes. They were hot, crisp and tasty. I even sandwiched some.

The Bride had heard bad reviews of the Pepper Market, and passed on coming with me. From what I saw, I can believe it had bad reviews, but my personal experience that night was very good. I know Ms. Fargo was less than happy, but I did all right with my dinner.

French Fry Diary 396: The Friar's Nook, Magic Kingdom

This place has haunted me since our last visit to Walt Disney World. I had gotten a few recommendations for the homemade potato chips at this window in the wall counter service place in the Magic Kingdom called The Friar's Nook. When I looked it up I saw they also had Teriyaki chicken nuggets and that sounded great to me so I figured I had to try it. Sadly the night we finally made it to the Magic Kingdom, it rained very hard and many places, The Friar's Nook included, had closed down for the night. I determined to get there next time.

Here's next time (this was in March). As you can see from the photo, they are closed. I asked a Cast Member who told me that The Friar's Nook is only open during the summer (and apparently when it's not raining as well). As I stood there in disbelief with sweat pouring off of me, it took a serious reality check for me to realize that in Florida, just because it's ninety-six degrees out, that doesn't mean it's summer. I raised my fists to sky and shouted "Friar's Nook!" William Shatner style. I will have you and your homemade potato chips someday, this I swear...

French Fry Diary 394: Chef Mickey's, Disney's Contemporary Resort

When it comes to the infamous Character Breakfast at Walt Disney World, one place comes immediately to mind, and is the great granddaddy of the event, because they do it the best, and they do it right. I'm talking about Chef Mickey's in Disney's Contemporary Resort. You all know the Contemporary, it's the giant A-frame hotel near the Magic Kingdom with a Monorail station right inside the hotel. The characters that come right to your table there are the big ones - Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale, the A-team. And from what I can remember, the food was pretty good too.

As it was the nephew's first time at WDW, we just had to do the Character Breakfast at Chef Mickey's, no way around it. The way it works is you sit down and the characters (just the big five now, I guess having Chip and Dale was a little too much like having rats begging for scraps, I guess…) come to you. One at a time, Goofy, Mickey, and the whole gang come and visit you, with or without kids, and cavort. Cavorting includes dancing, pantomiming, posing for pictures, and even signing autographs. The nephew was thrilled, smiling like it was crazy town. He loved it. He even broke into dance himself spontaneously. Now that's some kind of happy.

The food was buffet style. Our waitress was Melinda, who handled drink orders, explained everything, kept the party going, and basically saw to our every need. If you could tear yourself away from the Mickster and friends, there was a generous selection of breakfasts, some Disney exclusive, at the buffet to choose from, and that also included some decadent desserts.

In the favorite fried food category there were more than a few choices, but before I get there, it should be noted that we had real bacon that morning as opposed to the shredded bacon pieces we were served at Sunshine Seasons over at The Land in EPCOT. In the potato department they had those planks of processed potato that look similar to McDonald's Hash Browns but are sooo not. The sign over them called them 'potato crisps,' which was kinda appropriate because they tasted like bland cardboard Pringles. I took one, had a bite, and didn't have any more, that bad.

Luckily there were other types. I also tried the creamy breakfast potatoes which were shredded hash browns baked in a creamy cheesy butter sauce and had a crispy top. Not bad, not my cup of tea, and besides they also had the tradition Disney diced and cubed breakfast potatoes. Lightly seasoned to a golden brown, soft and potato-ey and hot, and mixed in with chopped onions and peppers and fried. Disney breakfast perfection. On the menu a 'cheesy bacon potatoes' was listed but could not be found.

Café Mickey's is still one of the best breakfasts in WDW. All this and a show too, what a deal. And of course, the nephew had a terrific time. That made it all worth it right there.