Love, Arbor Youth, and Malone's

4 years ago to this day, I asked my wife to marry me.  I guess I just ruined the suspense of the story there.  I could go into the whole love story here, but my wife will be mad enough that I've done this in the first place.  She is the polar opposite of me where she doesn't seek attention.  Obviously I thrive on this attention stuff!  If you know us, you know this is all true.  If you don't (and why are you reading this if you don't), you are just wishing I'd get to the good fry reviews.  That will come after the mushy stuff.  I promise.  Selfishly I want to get some of these feelings out of my head, and I want to put them here on this blog.  Maybe others might read and enjoy what I write here.  Maybe my wife will enjoy it.  Maybe it will give hope to some other doofus that if I can find someone to be cool with my idiocy, it can happen to anyone.

I do fully understand that I will get ripped by all of my friends for what I'm about to type.  For those that choose to jump on me for this, I warn you.  I will unload the verbal bazooka on you.

As I said, today is the anniversary of our engagement.  How is it possible to put into words what the past 4 years and 8 months have meant to me?  Do I type how I'm still stunned by her beauty every time I look at her?  Should I discuss her great sense of humor?  How about her impressive work ethic?  Caring for others?  The sense of pride that I get when I hear friends, acquaintances, and strangers talk about how fun she is, or how others discuss her admirable qualities with me? 

Nope.  As I said, I'm going to make this a selfish column.  Today I feel thankful more than anything else.  I am thankful that I get the joy (or as she once said about me - privilege) to spend my life with her.  It is amazing to live without fear.  What does that have to do with my marriage?  I have no secrets that can be uncovered.  She knows everything about me without anything held back.  She knows all of my ridiculousness, and she has accepted it.  Every past issue, every misstep, even odd thoughts.  She knows them all. 

The more successful member of Wham! famously only wanted one side of his face to be photographed.  The guy was impossibly good looking by most standards, but he was certain that he had a bad side.  We all have things that we would rather hide from the world about ourselves.  My wife knows all of my bad sides whether they are physical, mental, or any other description right down to my soul.  She's never judged, criticized, or made me feel less than desirable.  In fact she reminded me just today that she is in this for the long haul.  The sheer freedom that I feel allows me to be happy with myself and feel secure.  That's a feeling I've always had with my wife, but it is one that I will never get used to.  I will never feel like I deserve her, and I will never feel like I could ever repay her for anything she has done for me in the past, what she does for me now, or what she does for me in the future.  All I can do is express my thanks, and that is what this is for.  A way to make me feel that I have shared my gratitude. 

I love you Polly.   

Now to the meat of this blog!  Let's get to the fries!!!

Arbor Youth Event

Loosely quoted from their website, Arbor Youth Services envisions a community where all at-risk children and youth are strengthened and supported to regain ties with their family, their community, and other encouraging adults.  Arbor Youth does incredible work in our community, and I was proud to attend their fundraiser.  The event was sold out with a fun crowd that enjoyed the music, and they spent money on the great silent auction items and drawings.  They had an open bar with top shelf choices, and that likely opened up the wallets a bit.  More than all that, they had FRIES!!!

Oh yeah!  You see that picture don't you?!?  VATS OF FRIES!  Huge servings were brought out.  Did someone just take the last fry?  No worries!  The fine folks of Malone's Catering brought out more fries to fill up this big half globe!  I personally went through 4 plates full of fries, and I could have had more if I wasn't distracted by the incredibly fun event.  The only slight issue was that Malone's feels the need to put a little bit of thick pepper lightly sprinkled throughout the fries.  They don't use a lot of the spice, but it does knock these fries down a bit.  Some of the fries would be amazing when the pepper was not present.  They have the potential to be so good, but the pepper and taking them out of the oil a little too soon makes me say they are rated around a 3.5 out of 5.  This in no way took away from the quality of the event for Arbor Youth.  I highly recommend checking out Arbor Youth Services for their events and for their mission.  These are incredibly fine people, and they deserve our support.  I'm not just saying that because they gave me lots of great fries either.  

Malone's

You read that right.  This past week, I took my lovely wife to Malone's for lunch.  I was given a gift card by my father in law and his wife for my birthday, and it had been burning a hole in my pocket.  My wife enjoyed twin filets Oscar style.  I only really had eyes on the fries, as I knew how to fix their errors from the other night.  I did get a teriyaki pork chop as accompaniment to the fries.  Malone's offers a side and a salad with the chop.  Knowledgeable fry experts know that means we can say no to the salad to get more tasty fries.  I smartly asked the server, Ryan, to hold the pepper when the fries are made.  Ryan, who was possibly the best server I've encountered in years, brought out our food.  I was worried that I forgot to ask for them extra crispy.  There was no reason to worry.  The fries came out super crispy without any pepper at all.

Seriously.  Those fries are little crisp, golden pieces of heaven that needed no seasoning whatsoever.  You read that properly.  I used no salt on my double order of goodness.  These fries had an amazing flavor that reminded me of McDonald's in the old days before the psychos made them change their grease to become "healthier."  These fries were perfectly cooked with a fluffy interior that was protected by the crisp deep fried exterior.  The flavor was consistent throughout, and the fries kept their temperature throughout the meal.  These fries almost take the top spot for me.  As it is, I will put them at #2 with a bullet!  

Congratulations Malone's.  Take some notes BHG (their ownership group).  This is how your fries should be made at all times.  Ignore your chefs who think they need to pull the fries out too soon.  Ignore their pleas to sprinkle pepper which can easily destroy their goodness.  Expand your empire by making your fries perfect EVERY time!  I'm very impressed with these, and I highly recommend checking them out as soon as you possibly can.  

If you made it this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  This is one of the longer blog entries I've done.  I do however need some inspiration!  Get in touch with me.  Comment.  Let me know where the next review needs to happen.  Thanks until next time.