Kwik Way Drive-In in Oakland, CA

(This is way overdue. Like, a year and a half, so apologies for that.) 

First, a bit of a history lesson courtesy of the East Bay Express (from an article by John Birdsall in June, 2011) about your friendly local Kwik Way Drive-In:

"In the Fifties [Kwik Way] was part of a local drive-in chain…In the days of red-lining Kwik Way's customers were mostly white; after I-580 slashed through the neighborhood in the 1960s, they were mostly black. Like a wide swath of Oakland's commons the Kwik Way withered, then closed, though the parking lot continued to thrive — no more cheeseburgers or fried prawns, but a late-night menu of eight balls and front-seat blow jobs, with the roar of the freeway as soundtrack."

In other words, it used to be a place that a younger Anthony Bourdain would have frequented (I'm assuming that here, "eight ball" means the white stuff and not pool-playing).

Today, it is a pleasant walk up, with five tables outdoors so you can eat in the sun. As for the fries, let me just say this: I was SHOCKED.  The first thing you notice is that the portion size is quite generous for the price (just $2.15 including the tax!).

 

(This time around they were brought home and above appear on the kitchen cutting board.)

The quality and taste are superb, and the fries appear to be hand-cut. They arrived piping hot and delicately cooked with a slightly crispy skin and hot, soft innards (ooh, so graphic). These tasty morsels are also incredibly well-seasoned with a very nice balance of salt, pepper, and parsley.

I had such low expectations for Kwik Way, but I think I may have found a new love.

+++

Price: $1.95 ($2.15 includes tax. Or maybe it was $2.12. What's the tax here again? I don't feel like calculating right now.)

Portion Size: A bit bigger than a medium
Texture: Crispy on outside, soft on the inside

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning: Perfecto! Salt, pepper, and parsley
Fried in: Canola Oil

Condiments: ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper

Overall Quality of French Fries: 8 out of 10. YUM.

Oren's Hummus Shop in Palo Alto, CA

 If for some reason you find yourself at Stanford University–perhaps even just to see a spectacular college campus–then there's no reason not to take a little trip down the street to Oren's Hummus Shop.

It's called a Hummus Shop for a reason. The hummus, falafel, and pita bread are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

The fries maybe not so much, but I do think they are made in-house, so points for that. The fries were pale, like they had not been cooked through enough, and were a bit too mealy on the inside. They were also underseasoned. But I feel like Oren's can almost get away with it what with the quality of the remainder of the menu. They probably have the best falafel sandwich I've ever tasted, and it's probably a good thing that I don't live down the street from this place, because I would be even poorer than I already am.

Sidenote: Are you a Seinfeld fan and ever wondered what a Babka looks like in real life? They have both Chocolate and Poppyseed Babka, people! I've always been too full to even think about it, but I promise one day I will leave enough stomach room to actually buy one and taste it.

+++

Price: $3.95
Portion Size: Medium
Texture: Not crispy enough on outside, soft on the inside. Pale.

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning: Underseasoned
Fried in: Some sort of vegetable oil

Condiments: salt, pepper, ketchup

Overall Quality of French Fries: 5.5 out of 10

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.

Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe in Emeryville, California

Everyone Oakland knows about Rudy's (or at least sorta knows about it).

Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt opened the original in Emeryville in 2002 and there's now a new one in downtown Oakland. Based on the two facts that they're one of the very few eateries open around here until 1AM and (note italics AND bold) that they carry vegan doughnuts, you really, really want to like this place (oh, and they have amazing Guinness floats!).



The fries came with a very poorly made grilled cheese (a whole other story), and were pretty much what you'd expect from a sort-of diner. Most likely frozen, almost too crispy, and slightly orange. Pretty average, pretty much what you'd expect from a restaurant like this, but a whole lot better than the "grilled cheese," which was a few slices of cold, unmelted cheese on bread that had marks on it from a panini press.

PS: This place does have a special place in my heart in spite of the poor quality of fries. I love going to the Emeryville location for a vegan doughnut and glass of soymilk. And the waitresses are sassy.

PSS: Still really need to take notes on the quality of frying oil (see previous post).

+++

Price: $6.95 with a poorly made grilled cheese, $3.25 on their own

Portion Size: Medium
Texture: Good chew factor, but a tad bit overcooked/too crunchy on the outside
Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning:Very underseasoned
Fried in: Some sort of vegetable oil

Condiments: Salt, pepper, ketchup


Overall Quality of French Fries: Pre-cut and frozen. 5.00

Still figuring it out...

The whole "old" frying oil versus "new" frying oil I've been reading about in a book I mentioned in a previous post, How To Read a French Fry. I just have to take some time to take some notes before I eat my next french fry. But sometimes you just want to eat the fries, without actually thinking about the science behind them. This also takes patience. And for me, hunger + french fry does not = patience. We'll see about next time...

T.G.I. Friday's at Market Fair, Princeton, NJ

These fries are not good. They are sort of what you'd expect from a chain restaurant. Frozen pre-cut fries, deep fried until sort of tough on the inside and hardish on the outside. Very underseasoned, and though served hot, the "chew" of the fries could not be disguised even with condiments. Now as you may know, I like a good chew on a fry. But I don't want it to be so chewy that it's bordering on bubblegum.


I hate to be so harsh on a french fry, because after all the fry itself is not to blame. Ultimately, however, a fry is only as good as its maker, and sometimes the maker is not good indeed.

+++

Price:$10.00 (I don't actually remember, but I think it was close to this--I forgot to jot down the price!),
came with a vegetarian cheese burger

Portion Size: Small
Texture: Chewy. Overcooked.
Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning:Very underseasoned
Fried in: Some sort of vegetable oil

Condiments: Salt, pepper, ketchup

Overall Quality of French Fries: Pre-cut and frozen. 4.00

Kensington Circus Pub in Kensington, CA

This quaint little place in the tiny town of Kensington fancies itself a British Pub. I love the atmosphere, even in spite of the spotty service and the fact that it was freezing on a cold night (the waiter was wearing shorts and short-sleeve polo shirt, while I had a skullcap on. Sometimes I just don't even bother to ask).

(I know this photo isn't doing anyone any favors. Blame poor light and a phone camera.)

I ordered the Fish and Chips, and while I'll give the fish a very low "decent" grade (absolutely bland, but yet still comforting, as I'd been craving fish and chips for months now), the fries were, I hate to say it, pretty darn bad. Hard on the outside, and while soft of the inside, I just couldn't get over the fact that they tasted like they'd come out of the freezer, and were extremely underseasoned. In spite of this, and as is usually the case, I ate them all (I took leftovers home, and it did take me 2 days, but I still ate them all).

Note: Props for being a cozy place that's kid-friendly (not that I have kids, but it might be something that you might want to know)

+++

Price:$11.00 for both the Fish and Chips (I ordered the 2-fish small portion; there is a 4-fish large portion that is $14.00)

Portion Size: Medium
Texture: A tad hard on outside, soft on inside. A bit overcooked.

Greasiness Level: 3 out of 5 (a bit greasy)
Seasoning:Very underseasoned
Fried in: Some sort of vegetable oil

Condiments: Salt, pepper, ketchup, vinegar

Overall Quality of French Fries: Pre-cut and frozen. 5.00 Verging on Bad