Back to back! I managed to get out of the house this beautiful spring Friday, and hit the road to get some errands done, and check out a long-scoped out diner. That would be this, the alliterative Don’s Downtown Diner. Situated on the main road through Bellefontaine, this place advertises itself as a “diner” but is really more akin to a mom & pop City Barbeque. So how was it?

Address: 208 S Main St, Bellefontaine, OH 43311

Cut: Shoestring

Thickness: 1.5/10

Crispiness: 3/10

Salt/Seasoning: No salt/seasoning

Price: $2.09/serving (two pictured)

So, the first thing about these fries is the serving size is just massive. The picture doesn’t do it justice, that is a heaping plate of fries. And for a low price too! Fries are hand cut style, shoestring cut. Typical weaknesses of the style, a bit of a rubbery feel to the fries, very greasy (the handcut fries do not absorb or drain grease well, better like it if you’re gonna eat any fries of the general style). Served hot and fresh, the taste of the fries is outstanding, maintains the potato flavor quite well. These are a very good representative of the general genre of “carnival fries”. If you like fair fries or carnival fries, you’ll love these. And that’s not even talking about the burgers. I only saw other orders coming out, but the burgers were towering and looked, for lack of a better description, to have a whole lot of burger on them. Also, the menu had a $60 burger challenge, so that’s always welcome. Even if I roll my eyes at calling this a diner (if you don’t have a breakfast menu, you’re not a diner), this place was very good and if I lived a bit closer I’d put it on the list of places to rotate through.

Hello to all, for another fry review! For this review, I went to Starliner Diner (a few weeks ago, at least. This has been sitting for a little bit waiting for me to type up). This is a diner in downtown Hilliard, and is at least the second location of the diner, as I know it moved a few years ago to the current location. So, how was it?

Address: 4121 Main St, Hilliard, OH 43026

Cut: Straight Cut

Thickness: 6.5/10

Crispiness: 3.5/10

Salt/Seasoning: Light salt, no seasoning.

Price: $3.50/serving (two pictured)

These fries were served warm and fresh, with skins visible on sides. The fries had a mild crisp on the exterior, but a comparatively dry interior, with some fries cut small, almost giving the impression at times that I was eating home fries. This was increased by the particular type of crisp, which to me indicated that the oil the fries were cooked in was past prime frying date. The salt was thick grained, and contributed most of the flavor that the fries had. These weren’t bad fries, but were far from my favorite, as the rough exterior and the dry interior lent an unusual, and less than ideal mouth feel, and the price was relatively high for the serving amount. To be fair, while this is a breakfast place, the advertising is for their Cuban food, so maybe that’s outstanding, because this place is consistently highly rated, but I honestly doubt it’s for the fries, or really any of the standard American breakfast/diner fare.

Hello! Welcome again, to another of my reviews. This time, it is a review of Cornerstone Deli & Cafe, a small cafe on North High St. in Clintonville. I found the place through the internet, and was expecting something closer to a coffee shop type place, but found a pretty full food experience. Many different options, but I stuck to my tried and true. So, how was it?

Address: 3296 N High St, Columbus, OH 43202

Cut: Straight Cut

Thickness: 5.5/10

Crispiness: 5/10

Salt/Seasoning: Light Salt (thick grained salt), no seasoning.

Price: $1.50/serving

These fries are very similar in presentation and general characteristics to my most recent review on Delaney’s Diner, although these fries do not have visible skins. Almost the exact same thickness and crispiness (5.5 and 5/10 respectively). Fries were served hot and fresh, with a pretty large serving size for the low price. Fries were serviced with a light course-grained salt, which definitely helped in adding a bit extra taste to the fries. Interior was very flaky, while the exterior was decently crispy overall, but did not have the true outer layer extra crisp present. Overall, a very solid french fry, well cooked and with a pleasant taste.

Hello! I’m here to present a new review on Tyler’s Fry Thoughts. Where I went this previous weekend was to Delaney’s Diner, a diner in Westerville. Several years ago I did a review on this place, before the new name (and presumably, ownership). The location used to be called The Best Breakfast and Sandwiches, but that was several years ago, and this is now Delaney’s Diner. The food definitely has changed since then, from my perspective anyways, and due to this, it deserved a new review.

Address: 5916 Westerville Rd, Westerville, OH 43081

Cut: Straight Cut

Thickness: 5.5/10

Crispiness: 5/10

Salt/Seasoning: Moderate salt, no seasoning.

Price: $1.99/serving (two servings pictured)

So, the fries were very hot/fresh, I’m pretty sure they went straight from the deep fryer to my seat. Some potato skins present on the sides, and a pretty good salting on the fries, make for a nice flavor profile. The fries were cooked very well, crispy outside/flaky inside is very notable on these fries. Serving size is average for the price, filling without being an absolute buster of a plate. In general this is a notable change from the previous incarnation of this location. Long ago, this used to be a place that prioritized quantity, from the massive pancakes, to otherwise humongous portions. They’ve scaled that down quite a bit, to an experience that’s more balanced with an attempt at “better” food, if you can say that. At the bottom will be the link to the previous review of Best Breakfast, and you can make your own judgments (though I was *far* newer to writing these at that time). The general takeaway that these are Tee Jaye’s fries done right, I stand by though. Overall, a very good place to go get breakfast, with very good french fries as well.