Great Taste

The Four Stars of fries

Today in print only you'll find the Four Stars of the french fries world. Here's a sneap preview of the story, with the punchline to follow:

The headline Saturday in the New York Times said it all: "Told to Eat its Vegetables, America Orders Fries."

Of course America does! Everyone loves fries, and I find nothing contradictory in the words "fries" and "vegetables." Deep-fried and seriously salted, to be sure, but what's wrong with that, in moderation?

My problem, of course, is that I eat nothing in moderation for these monthly Four Stars reviews. My wife and I have eaten more fries in the past 30 days than the guy did in "Supersize Me," the documentary about eating three meals a day, seven days a week, at McDonald's. As a result, I'm feeling supersized as I write this, but that's just one of the personal sacrifices I make for you, my readers.

Which brings me to McDonald's. The ground rules for my pursuit of the best french fries in the area, as published last month, EXPLICITLY said fast-food fries were eligible. After eating fries all over the eight-county area, I have to be honest: My palate continues to believe McDonald's fries are a work of art. At their best, they're fresh-tasting, generally hot, crisp but not crispy, not greasy or limp, not overly salted and relatively cheap.

So even though I always favor independent, one-of-a-kind, locally owned and operated restaurants over chain restaurants, I have to give one of the four palms to Mickey D's. (My wife would have you believe Hardee's has even better fries, but I get to write this column, not her.)

The other winners? Glynner's Pub, Nupa Mediterranean Cuisine and the Wicked Moose.

More to come on the subject, and it's not too early to start feeding me apple pie ideas.

 

Schumachers is back!

I apparently didn't get the memo that the Schumachers were back in business, which is great news for anyone who fondly remembers the glory days of the New Prague Hotel:

Schumacher Breakfast Welcomes Back a Local Favorite

Chef John and Kathleen Schumacher celebrate their second year of reopening their hotel and restaurant with a Czech breakfast priced like 1974, and the return of kolackys to their menu.
 
New Prague, Minnesota – September 22, 2010 – In 1974 Schumacher’s New Prague Hotel had their Czech Breakfast on the menu for $3.95. To celebrate the second year of reopening and the 37th year of consecutive ownership, Schumachers Hotel and Grill 212 will once again be offering Czech Breakfast for only 3.95. They will also be adding kolackys, a local favorite, to their menu once again.
 
Chef John Schumacher, who purchased the New Prague Hotel in 1974, has enjoyed continuous ownership of the hotel and restaurant for 36 years, along with his wife Kathleen. Closed in 2005, the Schumachers reopened in September 2009 under the name Schumachers Hotel and Grill 212.
 
Reaching the second year of reopening is a milestone for the Schumachers. John Schumacher, renown chef and author of eight cookbooks, stated, “Life is good. Kolackys are back!”
 
The Czech Breakfast anniversary special, which includes scrambled eggs, homemade Czech sausage, fried dumplings and kolackys, will be offered every Sunday morning during the month of October. Schumachers Hotel and Grill 212 is open seven days a week. Hours are posted on their website.
 
Schumachers Hotel and Grill 212, a country inn and restaurant located in New Prague, is owned and operated by John and Kathleen Schumacher. The hotel features six guest rooms, a full-service restaurant, and space for banquets and events.
 
Contact: Tina Johnston
Name of Company: Director of Marketing & Sales
Phone: 952-758-2133
Web Site: www.schumacherhotel.com
E-Mail: tina@schumacherhotel.com

Not too late to pitch your fry ideas

We're nearing the finish line for the Four Stars investigation into the finest french fries in the area. By my count, I have about three meals per day for the next four days before I absolutely MUST file the story for Tuesday.

Here are some tips from readers:

Piggy Blues (in Austin, a Four Stars winner for BBQ ribs), also has very good fries, they also have sweet potato fries.
The Winddrift has sweet potato fries, too. The Country Club has good seasoned
fries that I like with ranch dressing.

+++++++

Jay,
 
Absolutely, the best french fries are at the Rainbow Café in Pine Island.  They are crispy and delicious!
 
Gail

+++++++

Hello Jay,
 
I know we tried to convince you that we had some very good hamburgers awhile back when you did your Four Star review on burgers and you apparantly were not that impressed with our fresh handmade burgers, but I see that you are know looking for a good french fry place in the area.
 
I realize you may have a dozen places to go and taste but if you are ever in the Pine Island neighborhood again I suggest you try Cathy's Catering fries.  Maybe you had them before maybe you didn't.  Cathy's as you know is on Main Street in Pine Island.  We pride ourselves on making homemade food and try to make everything fresh and make it the way Grandma used to make it.  We make simple Midwestern food for hungry workers-farmers and construction workers at a reasonable price.  If you ever do soups, stop in, as we make a mean chicken noodle soup and bean and ham soup.
 
You did BBQ ribs already but some friday or saturday nite you should stop in and try our boneless BBQ ribs.  We do not do rack ribs or go with the fancy rubs and all that but we still pride ourselves on great tasting boneless ribs.
 
Back to the fries:
 
We make our fries FRESH daily..we have never used frozen or pre -packaged french fries.  We offer individual servings of fries for $2.00 and we can provide garlic fries- seasoned fries and potato wedges (jo-jos).  We also have special dips for our fries- standard ketchup and mustard- great tasting BBQ sauce dip- sour cream- and a dijon mustard horseradish dip.  You can get a platter of all 3 fries for $5.00 with the dipping sauces.  Seasoned potato wedges with sour cream are $3.50 per order.
 
We also have sweet potato fries but they are frozen and I tell people that -but we still sell alot of them also.
 
Hope to see you in our store..
 
Cathy's Catering
300 South Main Street
Pine Island, Mn 55963

+++++++

From my Facebook page:

Believe it or not.....Dos Amigos. Who would have thought a Mexican Restaurant has the most deeeelicious French Fries!

 I would say "Jack & Joanies" in Stockton (Brew City brand fries!), but they're closing their doors soon! :(

I really like Glynners Fries!

Nortons in Red Wing.

Rudy's LaCrosse

Try Steak Escape on 7th.

 

 

 

'When I want barbecue with no disappointments, Michaels...can't be beat'

Readers are weighing in on my Four Stars of barbecue -- Roscoe's, John Hardy's, Piggy Blue's and Bob's Smoke Stack -- and a few have a bone to pick. Here's one:

Jay I think you have missed on one of the best barbecue places in town!
 
I often, when out dinning, skip barbecues because they usually are not as good as I expect them to be. To me, part of the dining experience is also the surroundings, the service and the wait staff.
 
When I want barbecue with no disappointments, Michaels or Pappageorge's can't be beat. Excellent ribs, wonderful service and surroundings, why go elsewhere and be disappointed.  I suggest you go there and see for yourself.
 
Don Hanson
Rochester