Louie's Coney Island Fries

Note: There will be formal fries tasting event forth- coming. This was the latest, and best, extra crispy fries tasting.

On a friday morning, February 8, 2008 in the breakfast hours, I wandered into Louie's Coney Island. A kokomo non-chain restaurant. They make the entire menu in the menu. Since they were relatively slow, I asked for my fries extra crispy. Much discussion occurred when the fries were examined by the cooks. They pondered whether they were crispy enough.What great staff! After watching them set up the restaurant, I recognized young ladies who take pride in their jobs. I'd hire any of them in a heartbeat. The fries, finally! Hot crispy until almost the very end. After all, I had to snap a picture or two.

Where does the extra crispy thing come from?

It all started at Grindstone Charley's several years ago, before they made the blackballed by JoEllen list. The whole office ate takeout lunches every Thursday. For years, they were the Thursday lunch. We really liked "toaster head", the bartender and even after she found another job, we've always liked the bartenders.

Then one fateful evening, May 2005, ... long story short ... a uniformed manager insulted me while attending an offsite event. From that day forward, I have never stepped foot into any Grindstone Charley's and I have survived - perhaps even prospered. AND they no longer get their $50 bucks a week.

Well, someday I will list my current banned list for dining out. At the risk of offending anyone, please take a look at the disclaimer in the right hand column about getting your own blog and rebutting my opinion.

Garlic Potato Chips

I adapted this for my own tastes from a cookbook on party food. The reason for posting the recipe now is that one of our Christmas gifts turned out to be absolutely perfect for Garlic Potato Chips. We got a bag of UNSALTED potato chips for Christmas, specifically, Zapp's.

It doesn't take too many of my blog posts to figure out that we're fond of Zapp's.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

First, cut up a stick or less of butter and melt it in a small pan.

Add fresh - it really does make a difference - garlic. I once listened to an instructor go on about how garlic crushers make the garlic bitter. I disagree. That green sprout that is hard to avoid this time of the year (Or year around if you live in Kokomo with the indifferent produce tenders in the grocery store). I remove the green sprout and voila - no bitterness. I use 4-6 cloves, depending on size.

On very low heat, let the water in the garlic and butter evaporate. This step allows the garlic flavor to infuse the butter too. It should take about 5 minutes, but don't walk away from the pan! While the butter reduces, line a rimmed cookie pan with parchment. If you don't have parchment, don't worry. I only use it to make cleanup easier. Nothing will stick.

At the first hint of browning, before the garlic has taken any color, remove the butter from heat. Drizzle the butter into an open bag of potato chips. fold over the top and make sure it is secure. Lightly toss the bag, inverting it often to thoroughly coat the chips with garlicky butter.

Spread the chips in a single layer on the prepared pan. If there is any garlic left in the saucepan, distribute it evenly across the chips. Put the pan into the oven for 5-15 minutes. Again, don't walk away because the pan goes from golden to burned in a heartbeat. Sometimes, I don't bake them long enough and they remain soggy in places. I don't mind that but you might.

Let 'em cool if you can, then try to eat just one.