Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Cato's Ale House in Oakland, CA


This review is long overdue. I have been going here for a few months now, as part of a crack team trying to win trivia on Monday Trivia Nights. The music round gets us every time! My go-to guess whenever I hear a boy band is the Jonas Brothers (always wrong), and I don't even know if they're around as a 3-member band anymore. We lost our young pop culture genius for the next couple months as she travels across the world, and that has been quite a blow. But there is always the fries.

 (soft focus shot)


Onto the fries. First two times I got them, eh, not so bad. 6.0 But a few nights ago I got them again as part of the Fish 'n Chips plate (DELICIOUS) and damn, those fries were good! Different cook? Different oil? I don't know what it was, but that night was a magical night for the fries. Nice and crisp on the outside, good frikkin' chew (I use the word "frikkin'" to express how outstanding that bite/chew/slight give was), and nice, soft, and piping hot innards. Also, because it was part of the Fish 'n Chips entree, it came with a spicy chili aioli which was quite nice for dipping purposes. Will be trying again, very soon.

+++

Price: $4.50 as a side ($9.95 if you want the Fish 'n Chips plate)
Portion Size: Medium
Texture: Crispy on outside, soft on the inside, darn good chew!

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning: Well seasoned with salt
Fried in: Some sort of vegetable oil

Condiments: ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper

Overall Quality of French Fries: Apparently varies. 6.0 the first few times, 7.5 on my most recent visit. Yum.