Brookston's Chips & Fries

Frites & Fries Ratings Bad Okay Good Great Divine Chips & Crisps Ratings Bad Okay Good Great Divine

[chipsandfries]

"I'm a fry lover."

— Michelle Obama (Jan. 17, 1964- )

[chipsandfries]

Happy National French Fries Day

[chipsandfries]

A couple from Shippensberg, Pennsylvania, "less than six months after they became rabid converts of Christianity" found a potato chip with the face of Jesus Christ on it. According to Stuff That Looks Like Jesus:

"Of course, it's a direct sign from the Lord."

"In fact, Linda sees the discovery of the chip as a sign that the family is doing something right, and perhaps as an indication that she and Brian need to stop smoking.

'This strengthens my faith,' she said of finding the unique potato chip. 'It makes me believe even more.'"

"Apparently Jesus is shy around the unbelievers."

"'If you believe, you can see it,' she said with a shrug. 'If you don't, well ...'"

Hilarious.

[chipsandfries]

As much of a fan of potato chips as I am, even I'm not sure I would wear a potato chip necklace? Would you?

[chipsandfries]

Fake Boobs, Real Fries

From AdRants:

Riffing on the increasingly fake aspects of culture from implants to injections to extensions, Toronto agency Zig created a print campaign for New York Fries which draws a dichotomy between fakeness and the all natural goodness of New York Fries.

Witty campaign but what's really sad is the fact an actual ad campaign is needed to sell something that is supposed to be fried potatoes and nothing else. Food - and everything else in this world - has become so processed, hardly anything is real anymore.

For example, breasts. Big breasts are great. Every woman seems to want them and every man seems to want to ogle and fondle them. Fine. Nothing wrong with obsessing over big breasts (well, OK, maybe it is a bit degrading to reduce a woman to a body part) but fake big breasts are exactly that. Fake. Not real. They don't look real. They don't feel real. They aren't attractive to look at. They aren't real. And fake isn't fun.

[chipsandfries]

The Dog House 537 S. Highway 1 Bodega Bay, CA Review: Damn fine frites, hand-cut, skin on, nice and crispy. What could make them better than that description? When purchased with a burger or a hot dog, you can eat as many frites as you want! That's as dangerous a prospect as I can imagine. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Carl's Jr. 35 Rowland Way Novato, CA Review: Despite the slight seasoning and being skin on, these are pretty average, a little dry and mealy. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Long John Silver 7145 Redwood Blvd. Novato, CA Review: Not terrible, and helped by having a good number of goodjums. Even though they're made from the batter used to coat the fish and chicken, they're a great addition. They're not soggy, the worst sin in my book, so they gain a full point for those two factors alone. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Original Buffalo Wings 7 Locations Bay Area, CA Review: While no one from eastern Pennsylvania would mistake the cheesesteaks at Original Buffalo Wings as authentic, they're tasty for what they are, and one of the few approximations of my beloved V&S Cheesesteaks anywhere in this part of the world. So we order take-out from them as often as my wife will let me. The fries are usually pretty decent, occasionally too soggy, but when they're good, they're very very good. This batch was just so-so, sad to say, not that I didn't finish the double-order. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Original Buffalo Wings 7 Locations Bay Area, CA Review: See my previous post about their fries, which has more general info, too. As decent as their fries can be, the homemade chips they offer are very tasty, some of the best you can find, especially surprising given how far outside the potato chip belt we are. But they make damn fine chips. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Fraulein French Fries

Mel Ramos

2002

[chipsandfries]

Cambridge Brewing 1 Kendall Square, Bldg 100 Cambridge, MA Review: This was my second trip to the CBC in as many months. These were similar to the ones I had before, but were presented Belgian-style, with some garnish, too. Unfortunately, I think the paper in the cone may have made the frites more soggy, even as they soaked the grease up, it leeches back to the frites making them soggier. Too bad, they were probably better before that. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Brasserie Jo 120 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA Review: Nice presentation (and more importantly good paper that doesn't make the frites soggy). The frites were Belgian-style but were also skin on. But they were nicely crispy with good flavor. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Eastern Standard 528 Commonwealth Ave. Kenmore Square Boston, MA Review: In addition to the frites at Eastern Standard, they also offered hand-made chips, so naturally I had to try those as well. They weren't as good as the frites, unfortunately, though I believe making chips in a restaurant setting is infinitely more difficult than frites. They were undercooked, making them too soggy and yet they were too brown, which normally you'd think would mean they were overcooked. So what actually caused such an obvious conundrum I couldn't say. The flavor was decent and they were appropriately thin, they just need to get the process down better. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Eastern Standard 528 Commonwealth Ave. Kenmore Square Boston, MA Review: The second stop on the Boston fry crawl was a place that had been recommended by one of the marketing people from the Boston Beer Co. My local crawl companions, Todd and Jason, were very familiar with the spot. It was attached to a hotel, but had completely separate management. It was a beautiful place, with a great beer list to boot. My grilled cheese sandwich was terrific and the frites did not disappoint. I'm not usually a fan of seasoned frites, but these were subtle and did not overpower the potato flavor. They were also well-salted.Their rating was no doubt improved by the setting, the food and the beer list. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Boston Beerworks Fenway Park location 61 Brookline Avenue Boston, MA Review: The first stop on my Boston fry crawl was Boston Beerworks near Fenway Park. The frites were skin on and, sadly, a bit too soggy. They were also a little too brown which is usually a sign that they oil they were fried in has been in use too long. The flavor suggested the oil may have been peanut oil. There were some interesting large crystal salt on some of the fries but it was unevenly distributed. Overall, a disappointment, too mealy and chewy. Rating:

[chipsandfries]

Anchor Brewery Restaurant San Francisco International Airport South San Francisco, CA Review: Despite being improved by having a Liberty Ale with them, Anchor's frites unfortunately were only average at best. They were slightly undercooked, possibly a feature of cooking for hurried travelers every day. Rating: