A Tale of Two Fries

Welcome back to the Rob french fry experience!  What's kept me away from writing?  I am a creature of habit.  Once I find a fry that I like, I tend to stick with that place.  Repeatedly.  For example, I will have fries from Charlie's Fish Market twice a week.  Not only do they deserve the business for being great people, but the fries are just that good.  That's the biggest reason why I don't update often.  Other than that, I have recently ended my insanely successful run as a coach of the 6U Whitecaps soccer team for my son.  6U soccer doesn't keep score, so I can legitimately say that we dominated every single game.  

Now that the catching up is done, let's get to the fry reviews! 

I was lucky enough to have a meeting at Shamrocks with Kyle Wicker of Cumberland Valley National Bank and Jordan Mefford of Mefford Contracting.  Kyle and Jordan suggested Shamrocks as a meeting place based solely on their fries.  Naturally I was intrigued.  

Shamrocks has a nice waffle fry that has been left in the fryer long enough to be crispy.  As long time fans of this blog know, a crispy fry makes for a great beginning.  As you can see from the picture, these have a very nice golden color to them.  Thankfully they do not pre spice these fries at all.  You can add whatever you want to them, but of course I went with a bit of salt.  

Imagine the joy of Drake's fries cooked extra crispy, and you get the idea of these waffle fries.  They have a nice crunch while having more space for some soft fluffiness in each bite.  They kept their heat well, and they were strong throughout the order.  These fries are worthy of being on the list.  

I may have been slightly influenced by the great pretzel appetizers Shamrocks has on their menu.  Not only that, but Shamrocks remains mostly unchanged from the place we all knew and loved in the 1990's and early 2000's.  What?  Not everyone was alive back then?  Your loss.

If you get a chance to go there with Kyle and Jordan, drop everything and accept the invitation.  Even without those guys, I strongly recommend Shamrocks for your next lunch stop.

I also recently had the joy of having lunch with Polly Ruddick.  You may know her as the Director of the Office of Homeless Prevention and Intervention for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government.  You might even abbreviate that as the Director of OHPI for LFUCG.  I like to refer to her as my wife.  On this day she was ready to go to the legendary Lexington establishment - Tolly-Ho.

Tolly-Ho was started in 1971, and they have been running 24 hours a day almost non stop for that long. Their website shows that the name was actually a combination of the 2 owners - Tolley and HO-llopeter.  I've been in the Central Kentucky area for over 25 years, and I had no idea how the name came about.  You have now been educated. They are a legendary late night stop, but they are also a very decent spot for lunch.  Plus they have a Donkey Kong machine!  What?  You aren't familiar with Donkey Kong?  Your loss.

These fries are slightly less than legendary.  They have the preferred golden crinkle style, but they were a bit limp for my tastes.  If these were left in the fryer for an extra minute, they could have been fantastic.  Still there is a great feeling to eat at Tolly-Ho in the day time.  It's kind of like going to Waffle House in the middle of the day instead of for breakfast or at late night.  I can't say these fries are list worthy, but Tolly-Ho is a must visit place whatever time of day it is on your visit to Lexington.

There you have it.  Two vastly different fry reviews.  Want your fry reviewed?  Send a request, and it will be done!  Just get your request in before soccer coaching duties start again in the spring time.  Until then go to Mefford Contracting for all your remodeling or building needs!