French Fry Diary 680: West Coast Truffle Fries Potato Chips

Do Us A Flavor 2015 Taste Test #2 – West Coast Truffle Fries flavored potato chips, wavy style, submitted by Angie Fu:

I have to admit, these potato chips had me both excited and worried at the same time. On the one hand, it rocks to have a Do Us A Flavor finalist based on French fries, but on the other… while it’s a grail seasoning for fries, one has to be very careful how much truffle oil or seasoning one puts on a fry or chip. Not enough and it’s untraceable and too much you may get sick.

A nice feature this year is the finalist’s name on the front of the bag, as well as a picture and quote on the back. I think this is a nice personal touch. “Every time I see Truffle Fries on the menu, it is the first thing I order… the aromatic flavor is mouth-watering.” Angie Fu really likes truffle fries, good for her.

I also wanted to note that just like yesterday’s Greektown Gyro‘s ingredients included “gyro seasoning,” these chips include “truffle fries seasoning,” although they actually tell us what’s in them this time. Among other things, these chips include Romano cheese, Parmesan cheese, and actual black truffle.

Upon opening the bag the aroma was not overbearing and actually pretty pleasant and enticing. After The Bride tried the first one for me, proclaiming, “They’re pretty good,” I felt a bit better than I had with the Gyro chips and tried one of them. They were indeed pretty good. We only tried a couple each of the Gyro chips whereas we began to devour these Truffle Fries chips right away.

I tasted the Romano and Parmesan cheese right away, and after a few chips the truffle was there as well, as a cumulative aftertaste. Not too much, not too little, just the perfect amount of truffle. Somebody at the Frito-Lay labs really knows what they’re doing. These are some really good potato chips, and as a bonus, they’re wavy making them excellent for dipping.

So far, two finalists down, the Truffle Fries have made a high mark to beat. These were very good. There is one nagging question however… how are west coast truffle fries different from east coast truffle fries? 

Now to find the other two…

Random Tater Pic of the Day #185

These fries come from friend and FFD contributor Sarah H. Miduski. During her trip to New York City to see Matilda The Musical, she visited Lillie’s and got these fabulous parmesan truffle fries. Mmmm… Thanks, Sarah! You can read her full blog entry on the trip here.

French Fry Diary 609: McDonald’s Shakin’ Flavor Fries

I finally got a chance to go over to the local McDonald’s and try their new Shakin’ Flavor Fries. The first thing I noticed was that there was no difference in price for a regular size fries and a regular size Shakin’ Flavor version. That’s a definite plus.

Shaker fries are a big deal in Asia and the South Pacific, usually with exotic flavors like seaweed. The flavors available at American McDonald’s are Garlic Parmesan, Zesty Ranch and Spicy Buffalo. Guess which one I chose? I went with the buffalo as it was the closest to barbecue. I wish they had just a regular barbecue, or a cheddar like Burger King had when they did their Shake ‘Em Up Fries.

The special shaking bag comes with directions that are fairly simple, and trust me, when you’ve done it once, you won’t need to consult the directions again. It’s easy. Put some fries in the bag, put some seasoning in, close the bag, shake it up, baby, and you’re done, easy-peasy.

The shaking process gives the fries a pretty thorough coating. The Spicy Buffalo has a solid bite to it. I wasn’t expecting that kind of heat based on how pedestrian Mickey D’s nugget dipping sauces are, for instance. There’s more burn to this than actual buffalo flavor. The fries of course are just as good as always.

As I mentioned above I wish there were more than just the three flavor seasonings available, but let’s see if they last first. The trend these days with fast food is to only offer the good stuff on a temporary basis.

French Fry Diary 598: Casa Carollo Bar & Grille

We haven’t been to Casa Carollo Bar & Grille in quite some time outside of going to the Comedy Cabaret there. And I’m not sure if that counts because it includes a limited menu for those events. Looking for something different one night when we wanted something delivered, we checked them out.

There is definitely something to be said for portion size. They make ’em big at Casa Carollo. The Bride got chicken Parmesan that was at least three servings, maybe more. That would be lunch for a couple days that week, and the same for my steak sandwich. It was easily more full than any other local steak, and also easily at least two meals. Plus they gave us rolls and garlic knots. This was a haul at a very inexpensive price compared to other places locally for the same stuff.

And you guessed it, I also got fries, else I wouldn’t be writing about it here, right? Casa Carollo offers something called Italian Fries. On the menu, these are described as crispy thin fries with Italian herbs. What we got were seasoned regular cuts. I recognized Old Bay, maybe rosemary, but there was definitely more. They were neither crispy nor thin, actually they were kinda soggy, but they were perfection when heated up a bit in the oven.

All in all, we were very pleased with what we got and ordered again the next week. This time I got the onion rings, big thick panko breaded rings, equally good reheated later. I think we’ve definitely found a new place to go in the area.

McDonald’s Seasonings

Although it’s business as usual in the rest of the world, McDonald’s is bringing seasonings to some of their fries in the United States. The good news (or bad?) is that they will be pushing more traditional flavors here in the States, like Garlic Parmesan, Zesty Ranch and Spicy Buffalo. These will be done shaker style, as in you do it yourself.

So if you’re looking for seaweed, curry, or something more exotic, you’ll have to go to a McDonald’s on the Asian continent or somewhere in the Pacific. In the meantime, check your local Mickey D’s to see if they have them yet, or if they are participating, as it’s only in certain areas.

Hungry Girl Recipe-a-Palooza

Here’s a quick sampling of some of the French fry related recipes that have been presented on the Hungry Girl website, and suggested to me by friends and readers:

Sweet Cinnamon Fritter Fries

Hot Stuff Bacon Cheese Fries

Garlic-Parm Sweet Faux-tato Fries

Baked Potato ‘n Turnip Fries

Special thanks to C.L., Mary, Tandy, and Robin who all pointed me toward these Hungry Girl selections. You gals rock!

French Fry Diary 528: Steak ‘n Shake

I was more than curious about Steak ‘n Shake. Over the years, I had gotten a few recommendations to try them. And when I asked you folks where I should try in the Orlando area, even more recs flooded in, twenty total. So many recommendations, but all of a certain type – you have to go, you have to try these fries, they will be great to write about. Eerily no one said they were good. No one until someone The Bride was doing charity work with on the day of our adventure, who said they were good. That’s one out of twenty. Hmmm…

As we planned our vacation, and set our schedule, it was getting harder and harder to get to S’nS before we went to Port Canaveral, we might have to postpone that FFD road trip in definitely. The Bride however noticed that not only was there a Steak ‘n Shake near our hotel, but they were open 24/7, maybe we could do it after all. So we snuck out in the middle of the night for a late night snack. Yep, an adventure.

I was very surprised that this was a sit down place, although they also have take out. What I expected was more in line with a Sonic Drive-In type place, but got something quite different. I was reminded of Johnny Rockets in atmosphere, very bright, but without the singing and dancing. We were greeted as we entered and had to wait to be seated – like I said, not what I expected at all. The clientele at two in the morning was a young, happy, and lively late night crowd.

I came for the fries, but they also had new seasoned fries – Parmesan cheese ‘n herbs, salt ‘n vinegar, and sea salt ‘n cracked pepper. Yeah, S’nS is really enamored of the apostrophe and letter N thing. We went purist and just got the fries, and onion rings. As we had just had Hamburger Mary’s just a few hours before, we decided on trying one of the famous steakburgers ‘next time.’ On the table was Steak ‘n Shake’s Fry ‘n Steakburger Seasoning, a mixture of salt, onion, garlic, paprika, and sugar. A good peppery paprika kick when we put then on the fries.

The fries were smaller shoestrings, not quite matchstick fries, and a little overdone, so maybe a bit too crunchy. They were still pretty good. And they were even better with the above-mentioned seasoning. They were a bit addictive after that. I just wish they weren’t overcooked. And the seasoning was so good we bought some to go home. Can’t wait to try it at home, and not just on fries. I think it could really jazz up chicken.

When we had discussed S’nS earlier with friend Terry at Hamburger Mary’s, he expressed a preference toward steak fries and their thicker cousins, which I tend to agree with. He wasn’t fond of S’nS, they just weren’t ‘his thing.’ However, I think if these fries were cooked better they could be pretty good too, thick or not. I would like to give them a second chance.

The onion rings were okay deep fried beer batter ones, that The Bride liked, but I wasn’t thrilled by. To wash it all down she got a Salted Caramel Pretzel shake and I got a chocolate one. The shakes were awwwesome. They alone would worth the trip back down to Florida. Steak ‘n Shake was not what I expected at all, but it was a pleasant surprise. I’d come back. Thank you all, for the unique recommendations.

French Fry Diary 510: Olive Garden Parmesan Potato Chips

On a recent dinner outing to Olive Garden, I found something really cool on the menu. Parmesan Potato Chips. Called a favorite in Italy, these are thin potato slices, lightly seasoned, with a creamy Italian cheese dip. The Bride, my cheese expert, proclaimed it tangy, pretty good, and offset the chips well.

I liked them, very tasty. They were thin enough to be chips and thick enough to have some potato meatiness to them. Near perfect chips. And as much as I like Olive Garden bread sticks, these chips were nowhere near as, as in not at all, as greasy as the sticks.

If I had any complaint it would be there wasn’t enough. but this was a ‘small plate,’ they need to make it a large plate. These were really good, thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 500: Zinburger

Zinburger at the old racetrack in Cherry Hill has been open for a while now, after seeing them set it up for several months. There was a lot of anticipation here, hearing about how good the food and service was even before they opened. And then there was the odd combination of a gourmet burger place with a wine bar. I couldn’t wait to try it, and try it I did, four times before writing this review.

Every time I’ve been it’s been busy, but the wait is always short, or else you are seated right away. The one time we did wait, they took a cell number and texted us when the table was ready. Nice use of cutting edge technology, well, cutting edge for a shopping center restaurant. In the times I have visited Zinburger, the crowd has ranged from dates and families to noisy teenagers and hipsters from the city, all depending on what time you go, sometimes it’s loud, but always worth it.

The booths are very big, obviously built with larger folks in mind unlike the torture racks, ahem, I mean seats at Bobby’s Burger Palace, also in Cherry Hill.

Our waiter the first visit, Marcus, and all waitstaff on later visits, were very very attentive. I was impressed with the customer service. They gave descriptive explanations of the dishes, and offered many off-menu choices, just like in ‘real’ restaurants. Marcus was particularly proud of the food (as well he should be) but he referred to it as ‘product.’ That kinda bugged me.

The prod-, I mean food, came very quickly, fries first. It should be noted that we were given a choice to have the fries come with our meal, or when they were ready. Duh, of course we wanted them when they were ready and hot – and did so on every visit. On the first visit, the fries were hand cut natural cut shoestrings, not hot, but just fairly warm. On visits that followed, they were hotter and better. As a matter of fact, everything about Zinburger got better with each visit. It’s almost as if practice made perfect.

These fries were a good mix of crispy and hot, and not too greasy. The portion size would’ve been terrific had the menu not said it was enough for two. It really wasn’t. And sadly they got cold rather quickly. And the colder they got, the less appetizing. They were like Elevation Burger fries on a bad day. But that was just the first time.

The second time we got the double truffle fries, with truffle aioli and truffle oil. They got just the right amount of truffle oil, which can be disastrous when there’s too much, but buried the fries in Parmesan cheese. They were a bit soggier than before but stayed hotter longer. Notably, the last two times I went to Zinburger, the fries were perfect.

Speaking of perfect, the burgers, every time, were awesome. The entrees came very quickly after the fries. Great care was taken in asking how we wanted them cooked, and explanations were given for each choice. I can’t say enough about the service or the staff, top notch. They even have a burger than caters to my catastrophically picky appetite, the Plain & Simple Burger. I got it Angus but they also have Kobe available. Next time. The burgers were very juicy and enjoyable, awesome.

On the second trip to Zinburger, and every one after that, we also got the onion rings. They were a little bit different each time, sometimes bite-sized, sometimes big, sometimes skinny, but always very crunchy, and always with barbeque sauce. Yeah, that’s right, Zinburger knows that onion rings are awesome dipped in barbeque sauce – extra points for that. The sauce was hot but subtle, I even put some on my burger.

The restaurant’s main thrust is that it is of course also a wine bar, and the wine has its own menu, and the regular menu indicates which wine would be best with what foods. There are soft drinks for the non-drinkers, as well as some absolutely awesome shakes, malts, and floats.

I love this place, and can’t wait to go back. Bring your appetite, and your wallet – while it’s not super-expensive, it’s also not McDonald’s either. Thumbs up for Zinburger.

French Fry Diary 479: Lay’s Cheesy Garlic Bread Potato Chips

Finally! The other night after a month long search, with friends and family, as well as you fine folks, looking, The Bride finally found a bag of Lay’s Cheesy Garlic Bread Potato Chips at an out of the way Wawa. A small bag, mind you, waaay on the bottom shelf, behind a bag of Sriracha chips, almost as if someone had hidden it to save for themselves later. Now, it’s mine, all mine… bwahahaha!

I opened the bag with much anticipation, it did not have much of an aroma. The chips were standard thin Lay’s and the almost three ounce bag held a sizable portion. Like the Chicken & Waffles chips these have a slow build toward their full taste. Cheesy Garlic Bread is solidly and accurately what they taste like, really good, and strong, cheesy garlic bread.

I was reminded of Texas Toast Four Cheese Garlic Bread, and sure enough, taking a peek at the ingredients, there are several different types of cheese at work here – cheddar, Parmesan, Swiss, Monterey Jack, and Gouda. The Bride thought there was too much of a ‘fake’ cheese taste to them, like other cheese potato chips. She also wanted more garlic.

These were very good, maybe not as good as I might have anticipated. Granted, there’s been a big build up, and not being able to find them, made them even more of a Holy Grail of potato chips. I would definitely get them again.

I’m a bit conflicted as to which flavor I should vote for. The Sriracha is out of the running. The other two are very close… I think the Chicken & Waffles are a bit flavor heavy and sweet, perhaps too much so for repeat eatings. I’m voting for Cheesy Garlic Bread. Which one are you voting for?

Vote here.