Missouri Breakfast & Dinner

I had a really terrific breakfast the other day at the "5 and Diner" in St. Robert, Missouri, right off Interstate 44. The place is a classic-style diner; all shiny and bright, both outside and inside.
 
It has an extensive menu, but when I saw chicken fried steak I never considered anything else. The chicken fried steak was big. It was done perfectly -- deep fried, I'm sure -- and it was delicious, with excellent cream gravy. I ordered soft-scrambled eggs and country fries with it. There had to be three or more eggs in that order, and the diced, fried potatoes were way more than I could eat. My breakfast was big enough for an army, which I guess is apporpriate for a diner outside Fort Leonard Wood.
 
For dinner one night my grandson and his wife took me to a place in Waynesville, Missouri named Crazy Jack's. It's a sports bar, and we wanted to watch the Ohio State-Mississippi State women's NCAA game (unfortunately, the Buckeyes lost).
 
http://www.myspace.com/crazyjackssportsbar
 
My grandson and his wife -- both in the Army -- started with an appetizer -- a combination plate that included fried green beans, chicken wings, fried mushrooms (she ate those as he,  like I, is allergic to mushrooms), and fried cheese sticks. They pronounced it excellent.
 
They both ordered the prime rib sandwich (medium rare), which included cheese and a dipping sauce, and came on a corn-dusted sub bun. They enjoyed their sandwiches. I ordered the half-pound cheeseburger, medium rare, with grilled onions. It was delicious. All three orders came with tons of skin-on French fries that tasted as if they were fresh cut.
 
The only hitch was with the vinegar I wanted for my fries. I guess that in the Ozarks area of Missouri fries and vinegar are not exactly well known. Our waitress brought out a soup bowl filled with white vinegar, and asked what I was going to do with it. When I dipped a fry into it she was amazed.
 
Other than gasoline, the only thing I stopped for on the trip was some really, really good coffee that I got from a vending machine at an Illinois rest area on my way home.

I will have to say vinegar on fries is new to mee, too.

Perhaps it's a New England thing. Although, malt vinegar is standard for the potatoes when ordering fish and chips.

That breakfast has me drooling!  Our shint diner does not even have chicken fried steak on the menu!

I NEVER heard of using vinegar on french fries, but to each his own. 

However, when we are in the UK (Scotland, Ireland, and even Britain), we have noticed that it is perfectly normal, indeed expected, that one sprinkles their fish with malt vinegar.  But, NOT the chips (fries).

Like you say, that must be a New England thing.  But I don't think it is widely practiced in Upstate New York (where I lived for five years) or in Vermont.

DocChuck


I NEVER heard of using vinegar on french fries, but to each his own. 

However, when we are in the UK (Scotland, Ireland, and even Britain), we have noticed that it is perfectly normal, indeed expected, that one sprinkles their fish with malt vinegar.  But, NOT the chips (fries).

Like you say, that must be a New England thing.  But I don't think it is widely practiced in Upstate New York (where I lived for five years) or in Vermont.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, prior to thinking it was a New England thing, I always thought it was  a Maryland thing. All the places I've been to in Baltimore and Annapolis that serve fries, always have cider vinegar available along with old bay of course. I believe they refer to them as Chesapeake Fries.

wanderingjew

DocChuck


I NEVER heard of using vinegar on french fries, but to each his own. 

However, when we are in the UK (Scotland, Ireland, and even Britain), we have noticed that it is perfectly normal, indeed expected, that one sprinkles their fish with malt vinegar.  But, NOT the chips (fries).

Like you say, that must be a New England thing.  But I don't think it is widely practiced in Upstate New York (where I lived for five years) or in Vermont.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, prior to thinking it was a New England thing, I always thought it was  a Maryland thing. All the places I've been to in Baltimore and Annapolis that serve fries, always have cider vinegar available along with old bay of course. I believe they refer to them as Chesapeake Fries.

In fact, I first heard of it in some little New England state you might have heard of -- Rhode Island. As I recall, it was pretty darned standard there.

DocChuck


I NEVER heard of using vinegar on french fries, but to each his own. 


Like you say, that must be a New England thing.  But I don't think it is widely practiced in Upstate New York (where I lived for five years) or in Vermont.

Upstate New York isn't New England.

Correct, geographically speaking, but it is in the general area, so to speak.

Upstate New York may well be in the general area, but it's worlds apart from New England.

Yes, you are correct, and folks in Upstate New York consider that to be a BIG plus, permit me to assure you.

Vinegar on fries?   I never thought of it as an American thing at all.  However, very common, in fact much preferred over ketchup, in Canada, the UK and Ireland.  And yes, as Michael states, malt vinegar is the vinegar of choice.

Buddy

Michael Hoffman

wanderingjew

DocChuck


I NEVER heard of using vinegar on french fries, but to each his own. 

However, when we are in the UK (Scotland, Ireland, and even Britain), we have noticed that it is perfectly normal, indeed expected, that one sprinkles their fish with malt vinegar.  But, NOT the chips (fries).

Like you say, that must be a New England thing.  But I don't think it is widely practiced in Upstate New York (where I lived for five years) or in Vermont.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of it, prior to thinking it was a New England thing, I always thought it was  a Maryland thing. All the places I've been to in Baltimore and Annapolis that serve fries, always have cider vinegar available along with old bay of course. I believe they refer to them as Chesapeake Fries.

In fact, I first heard of it in some little New England state you might have heard of -- Rhode Island. As I recall, it was pretty darned standard there.

You are correct, but  you must remember I'm not from here. I grew up on Long Island where ketchup was the norm and my first experience with vinegar on fries was in Annapolis Maryland back in 1991, 9 years before I moved to Rhode Island.

Waiminnit, cider vinegar is pretty standard on tables around here where fries are served.  Well, at wing places at least.  I wouldn't have thought of that as a Yankee thing.

Michael, what did you think of fried green beans?  I've seen 'em but haven't had 'em yet.

Well, I am from Central New York and we always had malt vinegar on the table for french fries.............it is wonderful.  In fact, if I cannot get malt vinegar, I never eat fries out in restaurants.

My wife is from Baltimore, and she gets annoyed if there is no malt vinegar available for french fries.

I picked up the habit at Arthur Treacher's a long time ago.  They had malt vinegar on the tables, and I didn't know that it was for the fish, not the fries.  I put it on both. 

Since I was a bit curious about this issue, I asked my friends at the Avalon's clubhouse (Columbia, Maryland) this afternoon whether they used vinegar on their french fries. 

Now, of course, these folks are just normal government bureaucrats, aides to various Congressmen, and folks who may or may NOT be as sophisticated as some New Englanders.

But, the general reaction was that they looked at me in amusement for asking the question.

I felt a bit embarrassed, apologized for my perceived ignorance, and proceeded to move on to the fairway.

GEEZ!

Amazing!  Up here at Turf Valley Country  Club, they know all about  malt vinegar...............but than again, we are  14 milles north of you.

I don't think many people here would think of putting vinegar on french fries. But we do of course on chips. Which are a different beast, spudly speaking, from fries ( altho some US fries I've seen do come close to being very chip-like ) also, you can put the vinegar on the fish or the chips or both.

It is generally malt vinegar although many chippies also have bottles of " onion vinegar " on the counter also - in the good old days this used to be leftover from the actual pickled onion jars but now with H & S regulations its a specially made & bottled condiment and not nearly as good. Quite literally a pale imitation of its former self

I grew up in Michigan (near Detroit) and we always had malt vinegar on fish and fries.

Hold on there Miss Kitty, I thought American fries WERE chips in England.
Can you explain?

Yes, we Southerners know all about 'Malt Vinegar', and we dearly love the wonderful condiment.  But we also know to which types of food it is applicable, fortunately.

And, in my opinion (and in my colleague's opinions) french fried potatoes is NOT one of the foods enhanced by the addition of this vinegar.

But then, as has been widely observed, EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion and to their 'taste' in food.

That is what makes life interesting --- for some folks, at least.

I'm ready to put it on hotdogs, along with catsup.

Nancypalooza



Michael, what did you think of fried green beans?  I've seen 'em but haven't had 'em yet.

Oh, I didn't have the fried green beans. But my grandson and his wife thought they were great.

Until a few years ago, there was a combination Miami Subs/Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips/Nathan's/Kenny Rogers Roasters in Highland IN, and they had bottles of malt vinegar set out for use on the fish. I used to go there occasionally to get a Philly cheesesteak, and I got in the habit of sprinkling the stuff on my fries. Not bad at all. 

That breakfast sounds like a great one.  And adding one more bit of information about vinegar on fries, it is pretty common here in Western (not Upstate) New York.  The bottles of vinegar are pretty common at places such as Ted's.

bill voss


Hold on there Miss Kitty, I thought American fries WERE chips in England.
Can you explain?

Not exactly... what's known as French Fries here are mostly like the McDonalds types - pencil thin, usually yellowish or very pale, usually made out of some kind of reconstituted potato. Chips as sold here in your average chip shop aka chippy are usually much thicker cut, mostly cut from scratch from fresh potatoes which makes for a wonderful range of uneven shapes , often with oddments of skin left on. Properly cooked ones should be golden brown, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and not drowning in grease. And hence a great vehicle for that alchemical salt & vinegar combo.
 
Now to add to the confusion, I have seen for myself and in pics, fries in the US that do correspond shape, size, colour and quality wise as chips here not just in " fish and chip " outlets, commercial or otherwise, but in a variety of places. And to add even more confusion, in the UK the terms chips and fries have been interchangable in many commercial catering establishments for a number of years.
 
Me, I like both if nice quality and decently cooked. They both have their very delicious place in the eating world. I do have a natural bias towards chips. After all, there really aren't many other things that can be safely enhanced with malt vinegar ( I won't go down the nostalgic Sunday teatime route of dishes of cucumber & raw onion slices soaked in malt vinegar.... )

Ah, MissKitty, The chips you describe are the fries I grew up with. I've never been able to stand those skinny little things that pass for fries these days. They're what we used to call shoestring potatoes, and they were for little old ladies and boys who were sissies. Oh, and they were for men who claimed they were doctors, like their wives, and who lived in both Tennessee and Maryland at the same time.

MissKitty

bill voss


Hold on there Miss Kitty, I thought American fries WERE chips in England.
Can you explain?

Not exactly... what's known as French Fries here are mostly like the McDonalds types - pencil thin, usually yellowish or very pale, usually made out of some kind of reconstituted potato. Chips as sold here in your average chip shop aka chippy are usually much thicker cut, mostly cut from scratch from fresh potatoes which makes for a wonderful range of uneven shapes , often with oddments of skin left on. Properly cooked ones should be golden brown, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and not drowning in grease. And hence a great vehicle for that alchemical salt & vinegar combo.
 
Now to add to the confusion, I have seen for myself and in pics, fries in the US that do correspond shape, size, colour and quality wise as chips here not just in " fish and chip " outlets, commercial or otherwise, but in a variety of places. And to add even more confusion, in the UK the terms chips and fries have been interchangable in many commercial catering establishments for a number of years.
 
Me, I like both if nice quality and decently cooked. They both have their very delicious place in the eating world. I do have a natural bias towards chips. After all, there really aren't many other things that can be safely enhanced with malt vinegar ( I won't go down the nostalgic Sunday teatime route of dishes of cucumber & raw onion slices soaked in malt vinegar.... )

what is your term for American Potato Chips? :)