The Cow & the Curd

Okay, it's not French fries or potato chips, it's not even onion rings, but it is a fried food, and it is a local Philly sensation, so I'm down with this. My buddy Ray hipped me to this great food truck, The Cow & the Curd, that you might see on the streets of Philadelphia. The owner, Rob Mitchell, and his chef, Mark Tropea, make fried cheese curds.

Here's how:



To find The Cow & the Curd, look for them on the Facebook, and on the Twitter.

They're Back

From the Frito-Lay Facebook page, the three final flavors of the contest earlier this year, are now all available for consumption. Get 'em while you can!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #111

Today's pic is from a food cart down the block from The Bride's offices on JFK Boulevard in Center City Philadelphia.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #110

Frozen French fries at the Dollar Tree on what used to be the Ellisburg Circle in Cherry Hill. And yep, they're only a dollar, and no, I didn't buy any...

French Fry Diary 506: DEVO

The band DEVO has had a long history with potatoes, spuds and French fries.

Members of the band, as well as fans of the band, have been referred to as spudboys, and one would assume, spudgirls. It's even got a documentation on Urban Dictionary, ahem, first definition, not second.

And their album cover for the 1982 release, Oh, No! It's DEVO, even features the band members as potatoes.

Furthermore, "That's Good," one of the singles from the album, and a video release, ran into some trouble with MTV censors. Apparently a French fry penetrating a donut, followed by a happy woman, was just too much for them. Here's the video, you judge.



Plug time - for more DEVO, check out today's entry on my pop culture blog, Welcome to Hell, and today's stop on the Robin Renee Blog Tour - The GAR! Podcast, where we interview Robin in this week's episode.

French Fry Diary 505: The Bottom of the Bag o' Chips

I'm finally there, finally at the bottom of the bag o' rare potato chips from Anchor Food Finds that The Bride got me for Christmas. Here are the last three bags.

Dirty Sweet Potato Chips - Yeah, these again, from the folks who just want to have the chips with the absolute longest name. Dirty, like Zapp's, is owned by Utz. I did not like these at all. Taste, smell, all bad, and no, they hasn't even come close to expiring.

Utz "The Crab Chip" - Speaking of Utz, other than the Herr's silver foil (however now with new packaging more reflective of Old Bay marketing), these are usually the only Maryland Old Bay seasoning chips we see up here in the Philadelphia area.

As opposed to the above mentioned Herr's, "The Crab Chip" has Chesapeake Bay Crab Seasoning instead of Old Bay. It doesn't have as much of a bite, so it's not as hot, but it does have a bit of an aftertaste. Not bad, I would get these again.

Blair's Death Rain Buffalo Wing Chips -These are truly in the rare category. Not only are they buffalo wing flavored, but they're made by a company that specializes in hot sauce, owned by another company called Extreme Food. That's why these are last. I'm afraid of these potato chips. But then again, who wouldn't be afraid of something called Death Rain chips?

All that said, they are not bad, but there is quite a bit of heat. It should be noted that these were the 'Medium' heat chips, so it could get quite a bit hotter. I'm not a big buffalo sauce guy, preferring barbeque instead so maybe that also put me off, but I have to say these kettle chips aren't bad. I could be talked into trying other Death Rain chips.

And that's it, the end of the bag o' chips. Not a bad holiday gift from The Bride. I wouldn't mind getting it again next year. Hint hint.

National Hot Dog Month

July, besides having National French Fries Day on the 13th, is also National Hot Dog Month. So it's National Hot Dog Month, and really, other than grilling some frankfurters up yourself, the best way to celebrate the occasion (in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area at least) is a visit to the Cool Dog Café in Cherry Hill. And that's just what The Bride and I did this weekend.

A couple dogs and an order of onion rings were the weapons of choice. I was admittedly so hungry, I started on my dog before I remembered I wanted to take a picture. Mmmm... one quick and easy dinner at the Cool Dog right away.

Don't forget to get on over to the Cool Dog Café to celebrate National Hot Dog Month. And while you're there, get some of their terrific French fries too.

French Fry Diary 504: Kobe Grill & Buffet

The sign went up over a month before they opened. Kobe Grill Sushi & Seafood Buffet in big red neon letters. Everyone was talking about the new place opening up in what was currently a dead strip mall, even the K-Mart and SuperFresh had vacated. There was nothing here, nothing but the big red neon sign, and folks working tirelessly inside to renovate and construct. Now, after less than a month open, the sign reads Kobe Grill Sushi & Seafood uffet. That's not a good omen.

When you walk in there is a quite beautiful lobby entrance, fountain, sculpture, and water wall between the lobby and actual restaurant. I should say up front, this place was way fancier than the buffets I have been to, even at the casinos. This place was huge, and despite what it says on Foursquare, it wasn't all that crowded. Maybe the novelty and newness has worn off after a month? I know that the sign maintenance has.

As soon as we were seated, and had our drink order taken, they brought us lobster, two halves of lobster, one for each of us. I guess it was free half-lobster night. I'm not a eating-the-inside-of-a-fish-thing's-scary-armor-skin-type guy, so I passed. They took mine away, and I couldn't help but wonder what they did with it. I hope it didn't end up on someone else's plate. The Bride wasn't too thrilled with hers, and didn't eat much.

The buffet was not large. It was spread out over a large area, but really, not all that much offered, and for catastrophically picky eater me, not all that much either. On my first foray into the buffet (or uffet), I got buttered potatoes and sweet fried plantains. Both were very good, and the potatoes were very soft and well cooked buttered wedges of potato, succulent. These were very good, two thumbs up. I got seconds on those babies. However the French fries were regular cut frozen fries, which seemed to have lived beneath the heat lamps for much longer than I would to think about. Not good.

There was grilled steak available but it didn't seem like anyone was ready cook any new for you. No, scratch that, they seemed unwilling to. We also seemed to have multiple people waiting on us due to the lack of crowd. We couldn't find butter or knives. Is this the TSA? Some of the food was very good, and some really not, and the customer service was also not, despite being plentiful. And when I say really not, I mean really really not good. This was really not a good experience.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #109

And really, Artie, what's wrong with that?

Currently rewatching "The Sopranos," and this screen capture was just too irresistible not to grab.

French Fry Diary 503: Ruffles Crispy Fries

I had only just heard about Ruffles entering the fry-shaped snack market when The Bride snagged me a sample at a 7-Eleven near her office. Usually these things are made from corn rather than potato and unless you get them flavored, they are relatively flavorless. I was hoping for more from Ruffles.

Other than being ridiculously hard to open, the first thing I noticed is that they are made from potatoes, not corn, just potatoes, salt, and vegetable oil. That's it. Notably, I got the Original, but they also have Cheese. They look like natural cut French fries, and according to the packaging, are sliced from real potatoes.

They feel like old burnt French fries, and as I said, they look like natural cuts, but they smell and taste like giant potato sticks. And for a special treat, do like they say on the bag and heat them up in the microwave (just not in the bag). Warm, they are terrific, a great fry or chip substitute for a sandwich lunch or snack.

I like them, they're good, and quite honestly, more than a little addictive. I'm glad The Bride only got a sample bag. If you can find them, pick them up, because I'm not sure how long they'll be around. These are really good, thumbs up.