The Blue Canoe in Tupelo, MS

I have explained in past posts that we stop in Tupelo all the time on the way back from Daytona Beach cause it's basically halfway.  This last time we went through, we looked online and saw the highest-rated restaurant in Tupelo (The Blue Canoe) turned out not only to be a block from our hotel, but also had 35 or so craft beers on tap.  Win!  I was not expecting anything great fry-wise (cause I never do in Tupelo).

The building looks like it used to be an auto shop.

Here's the view from the front door.  It basically looks like a tavern inside.  And it is VERY dark.  Everyone loved the flash from my camera.

What caught our eye on the menu was the appetizer called "Crack Fries", which are fries covered with their signature "Crack Dip".  The concierge at our hotel had given us a coupon for a free appetizer, so we went for it.   BTW, it's $7.  Yikes!

These are the Crack Fries.  The dip is basically rotel/velveeta cheese dip with spicy breakfast-style sausage mixed in.

It's great, but at $7 it's not an amazing situation.

I got a burger that was 1/2 ground bacon and 1/2 ground beef.  It was AMAZING.  Amy got a burger that was 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 crawfish!  Incredible!  I made sure to get "regular" fries with my burger, though so I could do a proper review.

Fresh-cut for sure, but not double cooked.  Overall, the fries are weak.  6 out of 10.

It's a shame too, cause this place is DEFINITELY the best joint in Tupelo for everything else.
The Grunion was similarly unimpressed with the fries.

Some Trailer on the Beach

Was walking along Daytona Beach recently and saw this trailer.  As I got closer, I smelled fries.

"Pa's Super Dog", eh?.  Can't say the marketing is solid....  

$4.50 for a large order is kinda steep, but I am standing on a beach so....

The guy dropped them right when I ordered them so of course they were hot.

The cut out section of cardboard to carry them was a nice touch.

I don't know if I was hungry, or feeling nostalgic or what, but these fries seemed REALLY good.  There was nothing special about them.  They were straight from the costco bag into the fryer and onto the boat with nary a seasoning at all.  But they were hot, they were fresh, there were a good amount (even at $4.50), and walking along the beach popping one after another into my mouth made me happy.

9 out of 10.

Mai Tai Bar Daytona Beach

Mai Tai Bar is located in the entertainment mall next to the bandshell on Daytona Beach which is basically the center of the beach.  I was not expecting them to have fries at all, and if they did I was sure they would be a million dollars.

Whoa!  Not only do they have multiple fry offerings, but the regular ones are only $3.  Sweet!

Uh-oh.  Here we go again with the cones.  But still, not a bad amount considering the price and location.

Hot, crispy, nice.

Great view of the bandshell plaza too.

9 out of 10.

Inlet Harbor UPDATE

The fries at Inlet Harbor have changed!  Since the last time I was there, they have switched from steak fries to battered 1/4" standards!

The batter is good, and the crispiness is there, but I was a little put off by the amount.

Here is a fork to show scale.  It's interesting that they are using the same serving boats they used for the steak fries.

Even though I forgot to record the price, all in all, I think it's a step down. 

6 out of 10.

Cracker Barrel in Dothan, Alabama

I can't believe I've never had the fries at Cracker Barrel before now.  I guess it's cause I hardly ever go there.  We were on our way to Florida and stopped in Dothan, AL to check it out.  If you don't already know, Cracker Barrel is known for:
1.  Being located next to the highway AT EVERY EXIT IN AMERICA.
2.  Having rocking chairs out front.
3.  Making you run a gauntlet of silly merchandise in and out of the dining area.
4.  Being a place that old (mostly white) people eat.  Kinda makes the name seem planned.
Sorry about the photo, but those sign lights were bright enough to be seen from space.

Another reason I probably have never had the fries is that I think of Cracker Barrel as a breakfast food place.  That's what I always get anyway.  What are these strange things all over the walls?

Breakfast food?  Awwww Yeah!

And also....steak fries?

Wait a minute.  These are actually really good.  Crisp and hot on the outside like they should be, and fluffy on the inside.

Dang.  Good job CB!  At $2.50 the amount is pretty low, but I think they still rate a solid 7 out of 10.

P.S.- Amy had the chicken and dumplins (which they are supposed to be "famous" for) and she declared them meh.

Jerry's Tiki Bar and Grill

Tiki bars are cool. And if you don't think they're cool there's something wrong with you.  This joint in (basically) Daytona Beach is an Italian Pizzeria with a tiki bar out back.  Kinda schizophrenic, but it seems to be working for Jerry.  Sorry about this pic but it was dark.

We were only gonna have a few drinks and listen to the band but I noticed they had fries   I wasn't expecting much, but I took a chance.  Check out the firepit!

When the fries came I was impressed.  A full plate of fries for $2.50 at the most touristy of tourist tiki bars!

Seasoned perfectly.

Crisp and hot.

Excellent.  9 out of 10.  I felt so triumphant I declared myself the fry king of the open seas.

Stonewood Grill & Tavern Daytona Beach

Stonewood is a chain of semi-schmancy steakeries in Florida.  It's like an upscale Chili's.  My guess is that in beach towns it's hard to get people to dress nice, so fancy restaurants are kinda lax.

What I'm tryin to say is that this is pretty much as fancy as it gets but people still wear ball caps and shorts and flip flops.  By the way, since this was Florida we were eating "dinner" at 4pm.

I couldn't believe that the fries were $4.30, so I wrestled the fake electronic candle thingy out of the holder to make sure.  Holy crap!  $4.30!  And WHY such a random price?  Why not $4.50?  or $4.25?  Or $5.00?  Weird.

The fries came in one of those cones.  By now you should know that I think these cones are trickery.

They looked good, and they were warm, but not hot.  Also, this was the first time that I could not be 100% sure whether they were fresh-cut or frozen skin-on foodservice supplied.

I dumped them on a plate to count.  Nowhere near $4.30 worth!

And what happened to this little guy?

These fries were good, but the price is so high for the amount they get knocked down to a 7 out of 10.