French Fry Diary 662: Nathan’s Kettle Cooked Crinkle Cut Potato Chips

Now I’ve reviewed them before and I’m quite fond of Nathan’s Potato Chips, the thick crinkle cut style. On a recent stop at the fryless Nathan’s at the Thomas Edison rest stop on the NJ Turnpike, I saw these chips – kettle cooked crinkle cuts. I figured I’d give them a try.

First things first. The bag was so hard to open (I eventually gave up and just used a scissors) I thought perhaps I was mistaken and had actually bought it at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.

These are almost identical to the other chips in every way except for the kettle cooking. The chips are too crunchy and too greasy. It’s almost as they were trying to ruin them. But I can’t really say that. I don’t like these, perhaps someone does.

French Fry Diary 587: Iron Hill Brewery Sweet Potato Fries

Attending a social event at the Iron Hill Brewery with the South Jersey Writers (quick plug, membership is now open!), I finally had a chance to try the sweet potato fries.

On a previous trip, I was stunned by the amount of favorite fried foods that were served at this chain, and pledged to return and try some of the variations. It was a toss up between the onion rings and the sweet potato fries, and based on the opinions of the folks I was eating with – one a dedicated Iron Hill fan – I settled on the latter.

So while talking about writing techniques and other shop talk, I got my regular, a burger, plus a side of the sweet potato fries. The burger was big, juicy, and very filling, definitely something to come back for again. The fries were also big and thick, soft hot wedges of sweet sweet potato. They were very good while hot, but not as much as they cooled, but I would definitely get them again. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 586: Archer Farms Potato Chips

Just to be clear, Archer Farms is really neither a potato chip maker nor distributor as we usually think of them. Archer Farms is Target, and you’ll only be able to get these chips at Target – it’s their store brand. The last time I was in Target, looking for Kettle Brand Sweet & Salty chips, because the website said mistakenly they were there, I ended up walking out with these.

I was attracted to the lattice cut first and then had to double down when I saw they had Sweet & Spicy Barbecue flavor lattice cut. Sold. I’ve been waiting for Herr’s or Cape Cod to do barbecue for a while, but it seems Target did it first. It just seems like a natural next step to me, but then I love the barbecue flavor and the lattice cut.

As excited as I was to try them, I mucked up opening the bag. I ended up just cutting it open with a scissors. Of course had I taken a moment, I would have figured out how to properly pull the tab on the front to open the ziplock reclosable bag. It’s easy once you know about it, but if you don’t examine the bag closely before attempting to open, well, they might as well have come from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.

The potato chips are thick and twisty as a kettle chip should be, and that along with the lattice cut make them just perfect for dipping. The barbecue flavor has all the traditional ingredients but with a bit more kick than usual. The molasses in there gives it just a tinge of sweetness. I dig these a lot, thumbs up.

French Fry Diary 572: Simply Ruffles

I have had varying degrees of success and failure with potato products that start with the word ‘simply.’ That would be the only reason I was hesitant to try these new Simply Ruffles from Frito Lay.

I like Ruffles a lot, they are the go-to ripple chip for dipping, rippled and relatively thick, they rock. The trouble would be they get tend to get a little greasy if you’re eating a lot at once. A healthier style would be great, and that’s what Simply Ruffles is, the better alternative.

Simply Ruffles are just potatoes, expeller-pressed sunflower oil, and sea salt. ‘Expeller-pressed’? That means the oil is extracted mechanically using high pressure. How that is better or worse, I don’t know. These chips are also gluten free, with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Good chips, healthy chips, recommended.

French Fry Diary 554: Donkey’s Onion Rings

Folks who read my first review of Donkey’s Place knows I loved it. On my second visit, I got their huge unique cheesesteak with Whiz, plus an order of their onion rings so I could write about them here.

Wow. Like the sandwiches and the order of fries we got last time, they were huge. Big deep fried thick beer battered onion rings in an equally gigantic cup. The cup was roughly the size of a Super Big Gulp at 7-Eleven. Wow.

The sandwich was just as fantastic as the first time, and better with the Whiz, and the rings were among the best beer batter I’ve had in quite a while. Another terrific meal, I can’t wait to go back!

French Fry Diary 523: Burger King Satisfries

I have to be honest after the last few times Burger King changed their French fries, I was expecting the worst. But here’s the thing, I think they may have actually gotten it right for once.

These are nice big standard crinkle cuts, mild crisp on the outside and soft, fluffy and hot inside. They have a baked quality rather than fried or deep-fried. You’re getting more potato than Burger King’s ‘classic’ fries, which they are being sold alongside. The portion size is also bigger but it should be noted, so is the price.

The signage around the restaurant insists they are 40% less fat and 30% less calories, but that’s over McDonald’s fries, not BK’s own. After all, the Satisfries are cooked in the same oil as the classic fries, and the onion rings.

Bottom line, I like them, a lot. As I said, I think Burger King finally got it right. Until the next time they change their fries. Again.

French Fry Diary 499: Cape Cod Waffle Cut

Looks like someone else is finally jumping on the bandwagon started by Herr’s amazing Lattice Cut potato chips. I was delighted when I found these at Wegmans the other day. Here comes Cape Cod, a New England gourmet potato chip company, with their version – Waffle Cut potato chips.

They actually go Herr’s at least one better. Not only are Cape Cod’s chips kettle cooked, but they are also thicker, always a plus for dipping. They come in Sea Salt and Seasoned Pepper. Cape Cod Waffle Cut Potato Chips – if you can find them, these are probably the best dipping chips I’ve found.

French Fry Diary 411: Ore-Ida Grillers

These new for the summer frozen fries from the fine folks at Ore-Ida – Grillers, Golden Thick Cut Potatoes – not only promise to give you that right off the barbecue grill flavor, but can actually be cooked on the grill. While this is no easy trick, it is a tricky statement.

There are directions on the bag for cooking these extra thick crinkle cut natural cut potato slices on the grill, but it’s a gas grill, where you can control the temperature. As I have no gas grill, I had to skip this attempt.

As tempting as grill marks on a potato slice are, I baked them instead. The directions were pretty standard, 450 degrees for 14-16 minutes, so I was worried they might not cook through. As I said, these Grillers are very thick, almost a half inch thick. Time will tell, I guess.

I do like one of the two topping suggestions made on the bag. The Jack Daniels BBQ sauce I’m down with, the shredded cheese, bacon bits and sour cream for a loaded baked potato taste, not so much. But that’s me, I’m sure it would work for those that dig that. I did get my BBQ sauce out however.

Once done, the slices look very crisp almost crunchy. But that is just on the outside, inside they are soft, hot, and almost mashed potato-like. Most of them are very good but some of the bigger slices have the same problem as a medium rare steak, the middle is raw. But as I said, most of them are well cooked and very good. And the BBQ sauce definitely helped. Good stuff.

French Fry Diary 390: Herr’s 1853 Barbecue Potato Chips

I told you all about the mystery box. Well, this is what I got inside. All Natural 1853 Kettle Cooked Barbecue Potato Chips. Also on the bag it says “sliced extra thick” and “sweet and smoky.” All true.

Now I can’t find these in any store, or on the Herr’s website for that matter, so this is a real treat. Thank you, Herr’s. Now of course, I have a lifetime supply. I talked about these 1853 babies, and briefly the barbecue type, when they first came out two years ago but here’s a more proper review of that flavor.

These are chips with a proper thickness and a kettle cooked crunch that’s not too much, it’s just right. The seasoning is also just right, and has a smoky flavor that Herr’s other barbecue styles don’t. Their thickness and the curvy shapes and bubbles made by the kettle cooking make them terrific for dipping. Bonus – no transfats, no cholesterol, low sodium.

I really like these, and their regular variety as well. However I wonder if I’ve got the last bags of these. They have a November 2012 expiration date. The clock is ticking. Thank you again, Herr’s.

French Fry Diary 179: O’Boisies Sweet B-B-Q

One last potato-oriented hurrah from my vacation to the Disney regions comes from Philadelphia International Airport, while waiting for our luggage, I found a snack machine that had these happy chips in it.

While not strictly potato ships according to the packaging, their official name is O’Boisies Sweet B-B-Q light and crunchy potato crisps. I am always suspect when the word ‘crisps’ is used. They are thick, and excellent for dipping, sort of a mutant cross between Munchos and kettle chips, with a subtle bbq taste, slightly addictive.

They come with a “Flavor Caution”… “Although we advise against it, O’Boisies Sweet B-B-Q flavor snack chips are so yummy, you might catch yourself hugging random strangers on the street.” I’m really not sure what that means, and I wouldn’t go that far, but these are good chips.