Fry Day « Jeff’s Darn Blog

Fry Day #4 Steak and Shake

For this Fry Day we will pick on the sleeping giant:

Info:
Steak and Shake
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 9:20am

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 6
Appearance: 7
Saltiness: 2
Crispiness: 8
Hot: 10 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 141g) (Actual 140g)
Price:$1.79
Value: $.012785 per gram

First off may I say, we have a new loser on the value scale! These guys are slightly more expensive per gram than any I have rated so far. But on the plus side at least the weight was close.

The taste was pretty good but as I went along I noticed an underlying hint of something burnt. This could be caused by old oil or they just burnt something either way it was still there but it wasn’t overbearing.

The slim cut of these fries does not lend itself well to the heat scale as they just don’t stay warm long. I have had many times where they have been cold before they even got to the table. This time was an exception and they actually stayed warm for awhile, although I did cradle them near my sandwich for some extra insulation. It’s fall people, turn the darn AC down!

There was no salt on these fries at all, not a grain. They did have a little zing to them but I am going to attribute that to the oil they were fried in, which we will cover next!

I am rating them high on greasiness. I could feel it all over my lips and tongue after the meal. No it wasn’t from the sandwich, I ate it last! I still can’t get the greasy feel out of my mouth, I don’t like that at all.

My overall for Steak and Shake is going to have to be low. I just can’t get past how greasy the fries are and I really wish they would find a way to keep them warm longer. Oh and they might want to throw some salt on there every once in awhile!

Only one photo this time, the others didn’t turn out that well. Maybe I should carry my light tent with me!

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Fry Day #3 Dairy Queen

Today Fry Day will take on a childhood favorite. Their fries used to be the ultimate to me, today, well read on…

Info:
Dairy Queen
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 12:50

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 5
Appearance: 6
Saltiness: 4
Crispiness: 7
Hot: 14 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 163g) (Actual 150g)
Price:$1.39
Value: $.0092667 per gram

I am not even going to pick on the weight on this one since their value is still better than anyone else’s so far! That said it is a good thing I don’t add the other factors into value or these would probably start to slip on the value scale.

The first thing I noticed when I started in on these was an underlying taste of fish, light, but noticeable. DQ has so many deep fried food though that I think it would be impossible not to notice something and it would be cost and space prohibitive to put in separate deep fryers for the different foods.

I haven’t decided if these were salted or not. Between the other tastes battling for my taste buds it was hard to say, which is why they got a 4.

I gave them a 3 on greasiness. While you could taste the oil, it wasn’t all over your hands or the box so at least they drained them!

Dairy Queen is a cook to order establishment so I was a little surprised when they had my food done before I had even settled on a spot to sit. Makes me think that maybe, just maybe, my food was done ahead of time. I suppose that since it was lunch rush that this may be forgivable though!

My overall impression of this Fry Day experience is kind of disappointing. They did not live up to my childhood memories, but then again, not many do. The value was high but they taste scores were low and in the end it is the taste that matters most to me. You could have the soggiest or greasiest fries around but if they taste good, that is what will make me come back for more.

And now of course, the obligatory photos:

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Fry Day #2 Hardees

Who loves Fry Day? I do, I do.

I don’t know where that came from, let’s get down to business! Our establishment of choice this week is Hardees, that purveyor of all things excessive.

Info:
Hardees
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 12:00pm

Hardees new Natural cut fries are a skin on slightly wider than most fry.

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 9
Appearance: 8
Saltiness: 10
Crispiness: 6
Hot: 13 minutes
Quantity: 145g
Price:$1.49
Value: $.01027 per gram

First let’s say something about the quantity. The stated quantity is 166 grams, what I got was around 145. I am blaming that at least in part for the fact that they weren’t served in a fry box. Thumbs down on the stupid basket. With all the wrapping paper they used they didn’t save any trees by skipping the box!

The taste was very good. No underlying tastes from other deep fried foods. Of course that led me to wonder if it was a fresh fryer or if they don’t cross cook. I worked at Hardees years ago and unless they have changed policies they do indeed cross cook. But that is neither here nor there, these are some darn tasty fries. There was an even distribution of seasoning, kudos for stirring before serving!

I was hoping the extra thickness would have held heat longer but they cooled slightly faster than last weeks. Maybe it is because of the open serving in a basket instead of shoving them in a box, I see another experiment in the making there!

Oddly enough the price is the same here, although their stated quantity would make up for that since they give more for the money. $1.49 for a medium, that is pretty much standard here now.

And a couple of quick photos for the voyeurs out there:

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Fry Day #1 Wendy’s

First off, happy Friday and secondly happy Fry Day. Every Friday I will add a review of someones fries. I have access to quite a few establishments here that have fries on the menu. After that I may stat in on the store brands and review them too. If you have a favorite place to get fries, let me know. Maybe someday I will get to try them out too as long as I don’t have to travel too far!

Our first victim for Fry Day will be Wendy’s. Those catchy ads with the red hair just make it a prime candidate! That and my wife wanted to go eat too so I had to go somewhere she liked.

Info:
Wendy’s Restaurant
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 1:00pm
Wendy’s fries are cooked in 0 trans fat vegetable oil.
All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 4
Appearance: 7
Saltiness: 5
Crispiness: 5
Hot: 14 minutes
Quantity: 140g
Price:$1.49
Value: $.01 per gram

Lets talk about the taste first. I could taste the potato but there was an underlying taste that I couldn’t quite place. The problem with rating fries is that they are usually cooked in the same fryer that they make the fish and the chicken sandwiches in. I didn’t detect either of those in the taste. Maybe I was just tasting the oil?

The appearance was very nice. Nice even browning with very few of the dark spots.

I gave the saltiness a 5 because there was a slight problem. Some of the fries had no salt at all and others had so much it was overpowering. Someone was not stirring their fries!

The crispiness was off a little too. I think mine had been sitting for a little bit in the pan so they weren’t as crisp as they usually are but they weren’t as bad as some i have had, we will cover those later.

Because they are a thin cut fry they didn’t stay hot very long. I have always hated that but usually I can eat them fast enough that I don’t get too many cold ones.

The quantity was 140 grams of fries which is close to the stated weight of 142 grams on their website. I won’t quibble over 2 grams.

That leaves the price. $1.49 for a medium order of fries. I guess everyone is on the price hike bandwagon for fries now. At any rate it works out to be .01 per gram. I may have to revise the value rating in the future and not round it out as much as most places are going to be very similar in the value price.

A couple of quick photos:
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