El Toro Brewpub

El Toro Brewpub
17605 Monterey Rd.
Morgan Hill, CA

Review:

On the way back from Monterey, we stopped by to pick up some beer at El Toro Brewing and decided to also have a quick snack, as the natives were getting restless (translation: my kids were hungry). Naturally, I ordered a plate a frites. The simple presentation initially hid the fact that these were awesome frites with great flavor and just the right amount of salt (trickier than it sounds). There were lots of small goodjums in the mix, too. Served with a nice chipolte ketchup.

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Long John Silver

Long John Silver
7145 Redwood Blvd.
Novato, CA

Review:

Not terrible, and helped by having a good number of goodjums. Even though they're made from the batter used to coat the fish and chicken, they're a great addition. They're not soggy, the worst sin in my book, so they gain a full point for those two factors alone.

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Deep Ellum Boston

Deep Ellum
477 Cambridge St.
Allston, MA

Review:

Although Deep Ellum's menu has four different presentations of fries, which they call "Fries 4 Ways," but I'm a purist and so ordered them just plain. The four ways, in case you're interested are Parmesean, Chili & Pepper Jack, Malt Vinegar & Fleur de Sel, and Truffled Gorgonzola. Nice and crispy, with a slightly sweet ketchup that wasn't Heinz. Pretty good flavor and very few soggy ones with a lot of what I call "goodjums," which are the small, very crispy bits and pieces that many places don't put in the bowl. But I love Goodjums (BTW, that's the phonetic spelling. I don't actually know how it's really spelled, even though I made the word up many years ago) and usually will give bonus points when they're included.

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