Gott's Roadside, San Francisco, CA

Gott's (for some reason Blogger won't let me make this a link, but it's: www.gotts.com in case you're interested) used to be Taylor's Automatic Refresher in the Ferry Building. At Taylor's I used to be able to get a grilled cheese, but not anymore. Supposedly the Taylor family was not amused at the Gotts' family name-changing decision. More importantly: For the non-burger lover--why get rid of the simple (yet overpriced) grilled cheese? And, hi!, on the day I'm craving fish 'n chips, I discover that Gott's got rid of that too. Like the Taylors, so not amused.

In any event, the fries were pretty good. I was sort of disappointed sitting up at the counter and watching someone pour out frozen fries from a giant brown bag, but I guess not every fry can be freshly hand-cut.

The fries themselves were pretty hot, but I don't think they were the freshest. Like everything else, they were sitting on the counter for a long time, and then quickly re-heated in the heat-blaster (which is fine, I mean, I use a microwave. But all that food sitting up there was pretty yukky to watch in person). Pretty good crispiness on the outside, decent chew and softness on the inside.

And PS: Whoever ordered those salads that sat on the counter for literally 45 minutes or more--when the fry team left, they were still there--I feel sorry for you.

+++

Price: $2.89

Portion Size: Medium

Texture: Slightly crispy on outside, soft in the mid-section.

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (standard grease level)

Seasoning: Okay

Fried In: Some sort of 100 percent vegetable oil

Condiments: salt, pepper, ketchup

Overall Quality of French Fries: 6.75 out of 10

Portal in Oakland, CA, Part Two

 As promised, I returned to Portal.

This time I tried the Sweet Potato fries. They arrived nice and hot, but my fellow fry taster immediately noted, "They didn't give us very much!" Unfortunately, the Sweet Potato frites suffered the same problems that the Smoked Chili fries did (previous post). They look pretty crispy on the outside, but again they were undercooked on the inside. Fellow fry taster hypothesized that perhaps they are not double-fried like most fries are. This sounds like a very likely possibility, but I can't be sure.

(Gross photo taken in dim light. Apologies.)

They were probably not as well seasoned as the Smoked Chili fries, but still the frites were pretty tasty, just undercooked. It's a shame.

(Side note. On the menu it reads: "Sweet Potato, garlic, ginger aioli," which is a bit confusing.

The garlic and ginger are actually in the aioli; the garlic is not mixed in with the fries.)

+++

Price: $6.00
Portion Size: Small!
Texture: Slightly crispy on outside, quite undercooked on the inside. Sad face.

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning: Oh man. Perfect.
Fried in: Rice Oil

Condiments: garlic and ginger aioli, ketchup


Overall Quality of French Fries: 6 out of 10.