gp60004 wrote:so how big are the patties? 1/4 lbs? Smaller?
whiskeybent wrote:Any burger joint claiming to be an "In-n-Out" anything - competetor, homage, copycat, whathaveyou - that uses frozen fries seems like something close to sacrilege.
JeffB wrote:Bob, I generally agree with your thoughts about fries. I like the way the In n Out fries taste, a lot, but they are often a little too soft.
As for Chicago fries, they don't get much love here, but I'm not sure why. The hand-cut, double fried, beef and hot dog stand fries of Chicago are justly praised by the fry-obsessed Sterns. I don't know if I like any fries much more than Al's with giardinera or Weiner's Circle with cheese. In addition, the duck fat fries at Hot Doug's and the frites at Hop Leaf stand up very well, in my humble experience, to the more notable Euro-stlye spuds in NY.
Speaking of Chicago burgers, fries and chains, how about the buger and fries at Portillo's? Portillo's is fairly far down my list for beef and hot dogs, but the burgers and fries are really done well.
JeffB wrote:Bob, I generally agree with your thoughts about fries. I like the way the In n Out fries taste, a lot, but they are often a little too soft.
As for Chicago fries, they don't get much love here, but I'm not sure why. The hand-cut, double fried, beef and hot dog stand fries of Chicago are justly praised by the fry-obsessed Sterns. I don't know if I like any fries much more than Al's with giardinera or Weiner's Circle with cheese. In addition, the duck fat fries at Hot Doug's and the frites at Hop Leaf stand up very well, in my humble experience, to the more notable Euro-stlye spuds in NY.
Speaking of Chicago burgers, fries and chains, how about the buger and fries at Portillo's? Portillo's is fairly far down my list for beef and hot dogs, but the burgers and fries are really done well.
mrtrumbe wrote:I think the reason people don't make a big deal about Chicago fries is that for every good fry place out there, there are a ton of mediocre or down-right bad places. A lot of the Vienna beef branded greasy food joints peppered throughout the city do fries as an afterthought. They're either frozen tasteless things or hand cut fries gone horribly wrong. I remember a place in Northwestern station downtown that had hand cut fries (I think) but fried them only once, resulting in overly dark brown fries which were still soggy and greasy. I've seen a few places making the same mistake.
Taft
bnowell724 wrote:In most other cities, even one fast food stand doing fresh cut double fried french fries is unheard of.
Snark wrote:are the fries at Al's freshly cut?
Snark wrote:are the fries at Al's freshly cut?
bnowell724 wrote:In most other cities, even one fast food stand doing fresh cut double fried french fries is unheard of.
Snark wrote:Gary,
Boy, that looks good! Although very good, Al's has some savory ingredient on the beef that I can't pinpoint (I think it's Chinese 5 Spice) that turns me off a bit - the fries are great though - although I've only been to Ontario/Orleans.
That pic of Al's beef... Is that a mixture of hot and sweet giardiniera?
Snark wrote:Boy, that looks good! Although very good, Al's has some savory ingredient on the beef that I can't pinpoint (I think it's Chinese 5 Spice) that turns me off a bit - the fries are great though - although I've only been to Ontario/Orleans.
That pic of Al's beef... Is that a mixture of hot and sweet giardiniera?
LAZ wrote: Heck, even Superdawg cuts its crinkle fries from fresh potatoes every day.
gp60004 wrote:LAZ wrote: Heck, even Superdawg cuts its crinkle fries from fresh potatoes every day.
are you sure about that? I haven't seen a commercial french fry cutter that will do the crinkle cuts.
Evil Ronnie wrote:gp,
Look a little bit harder. Go in the back entrance to Superdawg's rest rooms, and you can partially see their back storage/prep area. From that vantage point, amongst the plastic racks of burger and hot dog buns, you will clearly see that same french fry cutter that everyone in the business uses (crinkle cut version) mounted on a stainless steel table, as well as case after case of fresh potatoes.
I can't help being nosy after close to 30 years in the kitchen.