Sweet Potato Fries - A Question

Is it usual, in the USA, to serve sweet potato fries sprinkled with sugar?

20191105-Rumfish-sweet-potato-fries.png

I was surprised how sweet they were, and didn't eat them after the first few when I worked out the sweetness was coming from sugar.

No, that is unusual. Sweet potatoes are sweet enough naturally.

As we always say, restaurants are about entertainment and often function more as poison than nutrition. But even by those standards, I don't think I've seen added sugar to sweet potato fries!

That said, we all know that the American food industry loves to figure out more ways to add sugar to things.

[Jenise]

I've never seen that. How awful!

Well

Last night we had a look at Gordon Ramsey 'burger' at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.

Window had long lines of flames and outside a long line of people queuing to get in.

Mrs M wanted to take our friends to have a traditional excellent American burger.*

The website says
Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, focuses on traditional burgers,

But I see nothing traditional about the burgers on the menu
https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/assets/1-Menus/USA-Restaurants/GR-Burger-Menu-current-14.03.2019-1.pdf

But - and this is relevant to the thread -it has sweet potato fries -

Sweet Potato Fries
vanilla powdered sugar, honey jalapeño mayo

so maybe sugared fries are the coming thing.

*(I did query why, if we wanted a traditional American burger, we should go to an English chef's joint}

[Jenise]

Actually, Peter, I wouldn't blame Gordon Ramsay, it's just an error to think anything Gordon or really any celebrity chef would do--especially in Vegas--would be traditional! However, where your menu link didn't work for me, this one did:

https://www.caesars.com/content/dam/phv ... -41019.jpg

and the Backyard Burger is in fact a very traditional burger.

The sweet potato fries would make me gag. A few years back the fries at some new burger place that opened in our town were treated what at the time tasted to me like what the vanilla "ice milk" (yes, not ice cream) of my childhood tasted like, and Jeff G here investigated to discover than in ingredient in those fries was artificial vanilla flavoring. PUKE! Anyway, there's nothing traditional about sweet potato fries either, no matter how they're prepared. It's just another new fad.

The link works OK for me - it is a PDF so depends on how your device handles PDFs.

So many restaurants here with so many famous name chefs, most with a 'new take' on a dish.

Ramsey is a slacker, he has only 5 restaurants in Vegas.


And so many lousy wine lists with expensive prices.

[Jenise]

Yeah re the wine list. Expect 3X retail minimum.

I remain unimpressed with Las Vegas as a dining destination: it is fundamentally flawed as a food destination because the business of the place is not food, it is gambling. Everything else -- dancing fountains, dancing girls, celebrity chefs -- all beside the point.

AND, everything is way over-priced.

You want wine in a desert?

[Jenise]

I hate Vegas. The whole glammed-up loserville of it. It was kinda fun back in the day when it still had that Rat Pack essence about it, before all the celebrity chefs showed up and slot machines still had cranks.

Example of what I hate: a friend of mine and her husband went there for a week's vacation. Why? They have nothing in common. They got married when he was like 37 and she was 47. Up until the day they got married he took his dirty laundry to his mother who would iron everything including his underwear. Up until the day they got married the only vacations he'd ever taken were hunting trips with his father and uncles. (They have a house full of animal heads.) Her idea of vacation was devouring books by a pool; he has never read a book in his life. After their marriage he was appalled to find out that he was now expected to take vacations with his wife and in fact he did not succomb to this directive until a few years in when his hunting buddies got too ill/old to go anymore.

So where did they go for vacation, these two people who had NOTHING in common? Vegas. And they were bored silly. That's what that town is full of. Gamblers and people who can't think of anything better to do. Oh, and people who will met you down into an ashtray if you stand still too long.

I took Bob there once. He'd mentioned he was hungry for Thai food and the next night I said okay let's go get Thai food, I'll drive. We got about as far as San Bernardino before he finally asked where the hell we were going. By the time we hit Barstow, he was suspicious. When we got to Vegas, I stopped on the outskirts, put the top down on my black Jag and put a Frank Sinatra album in the CD player--LOUD. And in we cruised. I booked us at the tackiest big hotel I could find, something based on a Pirate ship theme where a gun fight was staged every night, and we went to Lotus of Siam for dinner. And the next day we drove home. Great fun!!! But only because we didn't take it seriously.

Over the past 10 years or so I've noticed that a lot of restaurants here in the US are putting some sort of sugary glop on their fries to give them a crispy crust. That it does, but for me it also evokes unpleasant memories of the "Frisbo" artificial fries they inflicted on us for a while at the student union at college. I stopped eating at Burger King when they started doing this to their fries. I've seen this technique used at some fine dining establishments that ought to know better.

Regarding sweet potato fries, they're not uncommon in the US. My local diner offers them as a side choice for their burgers and sandwiches. But I've never seen them glopped up.

-Paul W.

I remain unimpressed with Las Vegas as a dining destination: it is fundamentally flawed as a food destination because the business of the place is not food, it is gambling. Everything else -- dancing fountains, dancing girls, celebrity chefs -- all beside the point.

We came here quite a few times in the 70s and 80s when working in the US because it was warm and cheap, rooms food and entertainment were subsidised by gambling. We saw famous entertainers for peanuts and there was free entertainment in the hotel/casino bars. And you never saw kids.

Then we came back 3 years ago on way from LA to Grand Canyon. Yes gambling is still here, but they're aiming at family audiences. The sleaze has gone. Famous name chef's restaurants are part of the attraction with big - and expensive - shows, and shops with expensive designer goods.

Mrs M remarked that the casinos are like international airports with slot machines

Lots of children and kiddies being pushed in strollers......

AND, everything is way over-priced.

I agree. Last time we were here 3 nights and were glad to go, never intended to return. But our close friends got a deal and wanted s to come with them. They are astounded by how expensive it is. They've been to Florida twice, their only USA experience

You want wine in a desert?

Yes. I used to drink whiskey sours but now I drink wine with dinner. (and lunch usually on vacation)

I hate Vegas. The whole glammed-up loserville of it. It was kinda fun back in the day when it still had that Rat Pack essence about it, when slot machines still had cranks and before all the celebrity chefs showed up.

I agree.

Slot machines don't take coins anymore, only notes, and pay out IOUs on slips of paper.

I booked us at the tackiest big hotel I could find, something based on a Pirate ship theme.

Treasure Island! Has two pirate ships either side of bridge leading to casino/hotel. Our friends were talking about a show on the ships they recalled from some TV programme, but I couldn't see any sign there about such shows. So I checked the website and this is in the FAQs

Treasure Island – TI Las Vegas FAQs

Q: Do you still have the Pirate Show?
A: No, sorry, but we discontinued Sirens of TI “pirate battle” show in October 2013 in part to offer our guests the new Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit as well as CVS convenience store. We continue to offer free, live entertainment in Gilley’s Saloon and Señor Frog’s.

We came here quite a few times in the 70s and 80s when working in the US because it was warm and cheap, rooms food and entertainment were subsidised by gambling. We saw famous entertainers for peanuts and there was free entertainment in the hotel/casino bars. And you never saw kids.

Then we came back 3 years ago on way from LA to Grand Canyon. Yes gambling is still here, but they're aiming at family audiences. The sleaze has gone. Famous name chef's restaurants are part of the attraction with big - and expensive - shows, and shops with expensive designer goods.

Mrs M remarked that the casinos are like international airports with slot machines

Lots of children and kiddies being pushed in strollers......

I have been to Las Vegas twice in my life.

The first time I was 10 years old. My parents did a three-corner vacation: Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, and back home. I could not enter the casinos, of course, but I also remember the shows -- I vividly remember seeing Jimmy Durante -- and I remember really nice room service. I remember Circus Circus and people running screaming from the woman who turns into a gorilla when she is jolted with electricity!

The second time was in 2006, for work, but Pumpkin came out to join me, we met some distant cousins, did some tourism, and so forth. We saw the show on the pirate ship. And the Cirque du Soleil water show. And the latino men standing on the corners riffing picture cards of women we could rent.

[. I could not enter the casinos, of course,

A 10 year can now. Casinos are full of kids.

Some areas have signs saying 21s only

[Jenise]

Best trip to Vegas ever: was sitting with a boyfriend of the time at his poolside room at the Newport Marriott having breakfast with another couple. He was the project director for a huge Venezuelan oil deal my company was engineering for them, and basically lived there--oh the delights of a boyfriend with an endless expense report!

A favorite song of Donovan's was Tom Jones' Green Green Grass of Home. I knew the song well and he sung often there for awhile, but we disagreed on a lyric. The other couple knew about our disagreement and while reading the paper noticed that Tom was going to be in Vegas that night at Caesar's. In less than an hour Hertz dropped off a big Lincoln Continental and we were off for Vegas. Going to go right to the source and solve this problem!

Walked into Caesar's, Donovan tipped everyone in sight big bills and suddenly we were at a great table near the stage. Tom came out and performed stuff from a new album, only covering old hits in a medley. Which included GGGoH.

But only the part we agreed about.

But oh we had a blast, up all night walking the Strip and singing any old Tom Jones song we could remember.

Had only been one other time, with my ex. We stayed downtown at the old Golden Nugget and played blackjack while I wandered the casino, having figured out that each silver dollar machine had a reset light. I noted it would come on a certain number of minutes after the last player walked away, and 9 out of 10 times would give two silver dollars back to the next player to play a dollar. And at least 99 times out of a hundred if you put both back in you got nothing. So take two, walk away, find another Reset light. By the time Rich and I reconnected, he'd lost several hundred dollars and I'd amassed a small fortune in silver dollars.

He was furious at me. The point wasn't to figure out and skim the sure thing, he yelled, it was to GAMBLE. And I wasn't gambling right. Which should make it perfectly clear why the marriage didn't last.

The point wasn't to figure out and skim the sure thing, he yelled, it was to GAMBLE. And I wasn't gambling right.

Amazing!

So he was good at spending money but not at acquiring it! (and the casinos aren't gambling!

We went 'downtown'; Golden Nugget is still there, also the other 3 at that crossroads - Binions, 4 Queens and the Freemont. Binons still has $1 million in cash on display and they'll take your photo with the cash for free, but you have to hang around for 30 minutes to collect photo and unfortunately my friends just wanted to go. The cash is no longer in the huge horseshoe - Binions has dropped the Horseshoe part of the name.

But it's no longer a crossroads and 007 couldn't drive along Freemont nowadays as it and the crossway are pedestrianised and Freemont is roofed with zip wires....