Tim "French Fry Fan" N.'s Profile

The French Fry Fan Review:

DISCLAIMER: The following review is French Fry biased. If you don't believe that french fries are just as important as the dish that it comes with, move along. If you love a good batch of fries, read on to find out if this place is French Fry Fan approved.

---

Time: December 6th around 8:52pm

Okay I'll, be honest. I can be a little (okay, very) immature at times, and I giggle when anyone goes "mmmm, I could go for some Dick's right now" but in all seriousness, who wouldn't crave for this Seattle staple? Some consider eating at Dick's a guilty sin, but any true French Fry Fan knows that this burger joint is a must eat before you die. Even Bill Gates goes to Dick's (anyone have change for $1,000?), so if you were wondering what Billionaire's eat, now you know.

Dick's first started selling burgers and fries in 1954 in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood and haven't stopped since. The menu has remained super simple, everything is ordered ala-carte, the Deluxe, the Special, the cheeseburger, the hamburger--but honestly, everything on the menu is special and deluxe here (except the prices). :)

My normal order is a Deluxe (a quarter pound of beef with cheese), two fries, and a Coke. This time it was no different. If you're a true fan, you have to order two fries, God gave you two hands right? Use 'em well.
If ordering more than one order of fries, they are normally given to you in a bag separate from the burgers, probably because the actual fry bags are of no use--they are out of the fry bag by the time you get in your car. Regulars usually rip the bag carrying the fries open and use it as a plate and sauce carrier. Speaking of sauce, I normally only use ketchup (if anything) but if tartar floats your boat, you can go that route too.

If you're like me, you can't eat one fry at a time. Dick's fries are pretty soggy so eating a couple at a time is a must for full fry satisfaction. No extra salt is needed, the Dick's specialists season them pretty well, and you don't want to mask the potato flavor. Cooked in 100% vegetable oil, these guys can be a bit oily at times, but if you're looking for the natural cut taste, Dick's are definitely the place to go for the ultimate fry fix--it helps that they open till 2am at all their locations too.

The burger makes a great companion to the fries (see how I said that?) usually a bite of a burger accompanied with a few fries does the trick. Washing it down with a Coke and their patented (probably not) crushed ice and you have a happy French Fry Fan.

FFF RATING (out of 5):
For Show: 3.5 (classic oily bag, straight and to the point)
Firmness: 4 (super soggy, but great if you love them this way!)
Fluffiness: 4 (since it's freshly cut there isn't mashed meat inside, it's pure potato!)
Freshness: 4.5 (you can see them slice the potatoes on site. Now that's fresh.)
Flavor: 4.5 (perfectly seasoned and tastes like heaven)
Filling: 3 (you have to get two orders if you're a true fan)
Friendliness: 4 (Service was great and super fast)

French Fry Fan Rating: 4.0 - French Fry Fan of approval.

I can't say more about these fries other than it is a Seattle must. Dick's, you have won my oily, natural french fry heart.

http://www.frenchfryfa...

The French Fry Fan Review:

DISCLAIMER: The following review is French Fry biased.  If you don't believe that french fries are just as important as the dish that it comes with, move along.  If you love a good batch of fries, read on to find out if this place is French Fry Fan approved.

---

Time: December 5th around 2:30pm

What a better way to spend a brisk Seattle afternoon then at Pike Place?   My wife and I were headed towards Post Alley when we decided to have brunch at Cafe Campagne because I vaguely remember having pommes frites there way back when.  Being a french fry fan, that was the deciding factor.

Once seated, I ordered the Oeufs en meurette - uhh say again? (Two poached eggs served on garlic croutons with pearl onions, bacon and champignons in a red wine and foie gras sauce served with pommes frites) and a freshly squeezed OJ.  That aside, on to the main event.

The skin-on pommes frites came in a nice little basket wrapped in a starched cloth napkin accompanied by ketchup and an aoli sauce. The first thing I noticed was that the fries were dry... but in a good way.  It was as if someone in the back actually hand dabbed them with a paper napkin to remove any excess oil.  That would have been clutch if only they weren't overcooked.   It tasted like they might have been sitting in the peanut oil for a little too long which unfortunately gave it a little bit of a burnt taste.  So sad.

The texture of the fries were reminiscent of In-N-Out as they were firm through and through but not overly crispy.  It didn't taste as if any salt was added to them which complimented my already salty crouton dish, but If I were to get these fries ala carte (around $5) I probably would have made it rain.

With salt added the fries were good naked, but, If you're into sauces, the ketchup and aioli were presented in nice little dishes which made it all the more inviting to dip.  The ketchup had a bit of a zing that told me it wasn't Heinz, and the aioli didn't overbear the fries. My wife swears she tasted Truffle oil, which if true, would be luxurious indeed. The salt and sauces masked the burnt taste for a while but since the fries were not extremely hot to begin with, they got cold too soon killing my desire to go back for more by the middle of the meal.

After picking off the first "presentation" layer of potatoes, I noticed there were a ton of broken pieces (shorter than normal, bits) at the bottom--combine that with the burnt taste and the potato skins and you might as well be eating fried ashes. Luckily there was enough to fill the void of hunger but not enough to make me want to finish every last fry in the basket.

FFF RATING (out of 5):
For Show: 3.5 (above average presentation)
Firmness: 3.5 (not super crispy, and not super soggy)
Fluffiness: 3.5 (the "fry meat" was definitely in each bite, except the broken pieces)
Freshness: 2 (the "natural cut" skin-on was nice, but it was on the colder side when served)
Flavor: 2.5 (the sauces and salt could only mask the burnt taste for so long)
Filling: 3 (pretty good amount of fries for a side)
Friendliness: 3.5 (Service was great, a little on the slow side)

French Fry Fan Rating: 3.0 - Meh.

Blame it on a busy Seattle Saturday, or just the luck of the draw.  Would I come here again? Sure. But I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here for a fry fix.

http://www.frenchfryfa...

In a city full of teriyaki (seriously, try finding a teriyaki joint in NYC), you'd think every place you'd go would have great quality food but boy was I wrong.  I wanted to assume that the cook was having a bad day, but something tells me that this is what I'd get everyday.

I ordered the lunch special which was pretty generous, it included the standard teriyaki chicken, two tempura shrimp and a gyoza.  The ratio of rice to meat was like 2:1 (I hate that), but most cheap teriyaki places will do this to save money to give you the illusion that you're getting a lot of food.

Anyway, it wasn't the amount of food that bothered me, it was the quality.  The chicken was dry (even with sauce), it felt like it was cutting my throat on the way down, all the fried pieces (tempura and gyoza) were fried at high heat with too much oil and the salad was so-so.

Prices were normal, not too expensive for teriyaki ($5.99 for the special), but I expected to at least get good food for the price I paid.

You could do better going to get teriyaki elsewhere.

Man, these other guys are right, these sandwiches are deluxe.  

Tubs is a great sandwich place because it has a whole lotta varieties so it never gets old when you go there... unless you like go 50 days in a row ;). When you first come in prepare to pick up a menu and spend a few minutes picking what you want.  There are three sizes of subs to choose from: Mini, Small, and Large.  What happened to medium?  The large is about 10" and the small was only a bit smaller than that.  So if it's your first time and you want to try things out the small is plenty for lunch.  But man, the prices are a bit over the top for a sandwich in Lake City...about $6.05 for a small and $8 or $9 bucks for a large.  The meals don't come with drinks or chips, so you have to buy them separately at around $1.25 and up.  When you make your own combo it definitely adds up.

Other than my gripe about the costs, this place definitely has it going for them.  The bread is unbelievably delicious and the quality totally beats out the other sub guys (i.e. Q and SW).

So if you're in the mood for some great sandwiches come here, but expect to shell out the cash. :)

Oh yeah, you're probably not going to come here for the decorations... it's pretty bad (like twigs on the wall), but you gotta check it out for yourself!

When I was still in college I always stopped by Shultzy for a cold one and a brat, since then they've remodeled (and are still remodeling) but  luckily the food still is great.

The place is clean and roomy, and it has a pub-ish atmosphere.  Their beers are pretty good and their sparkling lemonade is freakin' awesome.

Now to the good stuff.  Sure their specialty are sausages but I really come here for their fries.  As the Seattle's French Fry Fan I give Shultzy's a French Fry Seal of Approval.  They seriously have one of the best textured, seasoned, shaped, fries I've had.  The fries are REAL shoestring, I only say that because it's seriously thin (not think and mushy), and they have the crunchy yet soft on-the-inside texture.  Imagine fries that kinda have the same texture as the fried onions you get at Red Robin (you know the Whiskey River BBQ Burger).  Yeah... thats right... yum.  They also are seasoned to perfection, not salty, just right.  I love em, and you will too.

The only thing that I complain about is their prices.  I mean c'mon 8-9 bucks for half a brat?  Crazy... well it's what I need to do to get my fix of one of the best fries in town.

Anytime I need a car wash and I'm in the LC, I always go here.  Bigfoot has been around for a while and they do a great job washing cars.  It looks like it's run by a bunch of kids and 20-somethings but surprisingly they still take the time to pre-wash and dry your car (and in detail).  I always get the Deluxe wash (about 11-12 bucks after tax) and it makes my car look like new.  I haven't had any problems yet (i.e. scratches due to a nut or bolt being caught in their brushes) so I'm still going there when my car needs a bath!

If it's bubble tea you're looking for try somewhere else (like Pochi's on the Ave.) but if you're in Chinatown and you need a quick dessert, Oasis can be that fix.

I really really really wish I could say something nice about their bubble tea but I mean seriously it taste like *bleep*.  I mean if you're new to bubble tea and you've tried it first here, I apologize on behalf of all bubble tea lovers out there--it's just not the right texture and not what it's supposed to taste like.  And don't even try to be adventurous by trying the green mango slush.  It didn't work for me. :(

Their slush desserts are pretty good, but probably over priced considering that it's just fruit and ice, but hey, you're in Chinatown, what do you expect?  The service is kinda slow when it gets busy, and their number system totally doesn't work.

They place is clean and it's a good spot to hang with friends after the game or just if you're around the area, but if you really need a drink, this isn't your bubble tea oasis. :)

This place is horrible.  I don't know what happened to this once awesome place but I took my parents out for Mother's day lunch thinking that it was still the good ol' Newport Bay, well the name changed and I must say the service and quality of food has too.  

The place was nearly empty when we got there (I should have realized why), yet it still took about 10 minutes to "get our table ready" and to seat us (we were a party of 5).

Once we sat down it took about another 5-10 for the busboy to bring us water and then 10 minutes for the waitress to finally come by to take our order.

Once we got our orders in I was surprised that we got our drinks and bread in a somewhat timely manner, but we were waiting on our food for at least 25 minutes.  Unacceptable.

Our beverages were nearly running on empty yet no one came by to refill our waters or our fountain drinks.  Once the food came out we dug right in.  I don't know what was going on in their minds but it felt like they purposely wanted to starve us so that the food would taste better.  Their plan didn't work.  My dad's cedar plank salmon was way too salty, the rice mush he had (that's what it looked like) literally tasted like a kid threw it (or up) together in the back (and the sad thing is that my dad usually can eat anything), my chicken sandwich was two small fillets that were bland as bland can be and not to mention super thin... I mean seriously did they starve these chickens?  Heck, I could have went to Costco, picked up one of their Kirkland chicken breast packs for a lot cheaper than this meal cost me.  The fries were sparse, over fried and salty (they must have had a salt fest in the back), my sister's burger's cheddar wasn't even fully melted, my mom's clam chowder tasted like salt chowder... and seriously, the list goes on.

Okay okay I'll stop whining.  The waitress was nice (when she was around), but I'm still only going to give this place two stars, one for the view (which has always been nice) and one star for the cleanliness of the place.

I am not a picky guy when it comes to service but I'm really disappointed by the quality of service received.  I'm not sure if they changed management but it was seriously a bad move as I am never going to go there again.

If you are thinking about eating around RiverPlace, try Stanford's or McCormick & Schmicks. Avoid this place at all costs.

I miss you Newport Bay...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. :(

If you're looking for the best burgers in Seattle, Red Mill has to be it.  I seriously love how they stack their bacon up high next to the grill, it's like a work of art.  I always get the Bacon Deluxe w/Cheese hold the tomatoes (it's basically pepper bacon, lettuce, pickle, red onion, American cheese, Mill sauce), fries (sometimes the famous rings) and the sparking lemonade.  The burger itself is glorious, the bacon so crispy, the lettuce fresh and not from some low quality lettuce head, but the fries...not so much.  I mean don't get me wrong, they aren't gross by any means, but I've had better-and being the French Fry Fan, I should know.  They aren't my preferred skinnies but you really wont have much room for them anyway considering the size of the burger.  (Onion rings are a nice and crunchy alternative if you don't want the fries.)  Finish off the burger with the highly recommended tart sparkling lemonade and you have a meal meant for heaven.

Some quirks... They only take check and cash which sucks for the card carrying folk, the wait is really long during busy hours (good luck finding parking and a seat) and the drinks are really small compared to everywhere else.

Overall, if you need a burger fix and you want to stay away from the regular fast food fair, Red Mill has a spot for you (when it's not busy that is...)

I'll give Green Leaf a full FIVE stars--not because I'm Vietnamese, but because they really represent Vietnamese cuisine.  I'd recommend this place to anyone who thinks that Vietnamese food consists only of pho and spring rolls.  Anything on the menu is game and is cheap too.  If you've heard about the famous seven course beef meal, get it here instead of the other place (rhymes with Lamerind Bee) because its great quality and its a whole lot cheaper!  The spring rolls are great because of that extra crunch and the Bot Chien is a great appetizer to start with.

The place is a bit cramped and is always busy and there is just street parking, so expect a long wait time for a seat, especially if you have a large group or you're waiting on a Friday. But don't give up, it'll be worth it.

And do me a favor and don't get pho here.  I'm mean yes it's still good, but c'mon you can get that anywhere you want to.  Pho places in Seattle are as abundant as Starbucks.  Be adventurous and try something new on the menu.  You wont be disappointed.

Mario Batali says yes to this place (don't believe me?  Check the picture next to the door) and so do I.  Go. Go now.