More Twitter Fries

Burger Lounge in California is doing it again!

According to their Twitter:

11AM-9PM-Twitterers come into any location for free 1/2 fries, 1/2 onion rings today-mention you follow us on Twitter-would love to see pix!

So get out there, and get those fries and rings!

St. Patrick's Day Irish Potato Pie

From Marla in Las Vegas at the Potato-Recipe group:

St. Patrick's Day Irish Potato Pie

6-8 potatoes, peeled
6 bacon, strips
4 green onions, sliced paper thin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
8 drops green food coloring

Preheat oven to 400°F

cook the potatoes in boiling water with the green food coloring added to the water, until tender and drain.

in a skillet, fry bacon until crisp and lay out on paper towels to drain.

trim onions so that you have the white part and about half of the green, wash well, and slice paper-thin.

add onions to skillet and sauté in bacon grease over medium heat until soft.

slice the boiled potatoes, and arrange half in the bottom of a pie plate.

season with salt and pepper, 1/2 the garlic and 1/2 the parsley.

layer with bacon, onion and one half of the cheese. cover with remaining potatoes and season again.

cover with remaining cheese.

bake for 30 minutes or until top is browned and cheese is melted.

you can also layer in 1/2 pound of browned ground meat on top of each potato layer, if cooking for someone who won't eat a meatless meal.

source is recipezaar.com

God Bless, Marla


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Potato King’s Hat Returned

Several months ago I reported on the death of Idaho potato king J.R. Simplot. What I didn’t talk about (or know about at the time) was that the man’s famous trademark hat had been stolen from his funeral.

Through the efforts of Tim Woodward of the Idaho Statesman, the hat has been returned. Rock on, Tim!

French Fry Diary 16: Bella Italia

One of my major missions as a French fries aficionado while visiting London a couple years ago was to have 'real' chips. It was a must.

The first excursion into the land where chip shops and chip carts and lorries abound was an eye opener. They weren’t all they were cracked up to be in legend, at least not to this American. I was reminded of Chinese take-out places when we arrived at our first official chip shop. It was not at all what I expected. We saw nothing when it came to the cooking of the chips, but they were delivered to us over the counter in wax paper, so that part of the legend held up.

The chips themselves were not all that great, larger than steak cut potatoes, natural cut and very greasy. The only thing sadly that differentiated them from anything special or extraordinary was simply the fact that we were in London when we ate them. To say I was disappointed is a serious understatement.

Later during the trip, after meeting friends at London’s famous comic book shop of the gods, Forbidden Planet, we all wanted to go to lunch together and decided on a franchise place called Bella Italia. I had never heard of it before our trip but on our time in London and the vicinity had seen many of these. It’s typical Italian fare, and from what I heard from the rest of our party, the food was pretty good.

Me, being me, and a catastrophically fussy eater, I got a hamburger and fries. Great burger actually, and lo and behold, the 'fries' that came were really 'chips,' and the kind of chips I had heard whispered in legend as coming from the UK. They were thick cuts, like steak fries but wide on all sides, golden brown, crisp on the outside and soft and hot within. I couldn’t get enough but one serving was more than filling. These were truly the fries of the gods.

All that and good friends and good conversation made the trip to Bella Italia in London one of the highlights of my time in London. Real chips... mmmm...


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Obama Fries

Ray's Candy Store in Alphabet City, New York City, offers something called "Obama Fries."

These Belgian fries were only one dollar before the election but are now four dollars. Not really sure what that means, but there it is. The owner, an admitted supporter of President Obama, also offers "Obama Coffee."

Besides having "the best fresh cut fries in town", Ray's also serves soft serve ice-cream, frozen yogurt, hot dogs, sausages, coffee, milkshakes, and egg creams. Look them up next time you're in the east Village. And don't forget the fries... Mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 15: Pat’s Family Restaurant, Marlton NJ

You should not tempt someone like me in this manner. "Try our Fresh Fries!" Come on now, that’s just not fair.

Recently a Pat’s Family Restaurant opened locally. As with any new place nearby, we figured we would get there sooner or later – but when I passed by there and saw that sign… I knew it would be sooner.

We went there last night, and had a nice, if odd, dining experience. Seat yourselves, look at a menu, go up to the counter, order and reseat yourselves, and after a while, your food is brought out. Not streamlining at its best. I was also worried a bit about how well they were doing. It was an off night, but the employees to customers ratio was eight to two and didn’t change for the forty-five minutes we were there.

In what used to be the area’s best candy store before the fire, this Pat’s has an interesting décor – TVs on the walls, retro-future contour chairs and placemats recycled from shredded old magazines. Honestly I was reminded of a gimmicky dance club. And the music playing was quite eclectic too. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard Lily Allen’s "Knock ‘Em Out" outside of my iPod Shuffle.

But that’s not what you or I am here to talk about, what about the favorite fried food? My burger (yeah, so, what else would I get?) came with French fries, so I didn’t get the bowl with the piled-up fries as shown on the menu, and they didn’t exactly look like them either. The burger was very good, but the fries were just okay.

The fries were standard natural regular cuts and deep-fried, and possibly baked afterward but I couldn’t be sure. The batch I got was pretty good, crunchy on the outside and sometimes hot and soft on the inside. If anything they reminded me a bit of the fries at Five Guys, but nowhere near as good as those. Good fries, but not worthy of bragging about – take the sign down.



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Twitter Fries

Burger Lounge, a healthy burger place with three locations in California, is taking advantage of the promotional technology of the internet, and offering free fries today for the followers of their Twitter account.

From their Twitter: "Come in to any BL location tomorrow from 2-5 pm and receive a FREE order of fries! Just mention that you follow us on Twitter!"

And when they say 'tomorrow,' they mean today - Thursday, March 5th, so if you're in the area, go get some free fries.

Mmmm... Twitter fries...

911 for McNuggets

Wow.



Hey, I love French fries, but they are no emergency, and they are certainly not a 911 emergency. What a nutjob…

But then again, it's nothing new...



Do people know that 911 is for emergencies only?

Do Fries Go with That Shake?

Here’s the undisputed king of funk, George Clinton, with a blast from the past – “Do Fries Go with That Shake?” from 1986...



Mmmm... fries...

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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