I know I haven't posted in a while, but now that I'm starting to settle into the new semester, it's time for another post! While I was back at home for winter break, I made sure to stop by the Frysmith. If you don't know, Frysmith is a food truck that uses French fries as a canvas to paint a culinary masterpiece on. I swear I thought of something like this before them, but I was young and not ready to start a business. Oh well (:P). As you read this, keep in mind that I made this visit about a month ago and I can't seem to find my notes. I'll do my best to remember everything as accurately as possible.

They had different kinds of poutine throughout the month of December. If you know me, you know I love poutine, but being foodies, we needed to try a variety of their offerings. We got the Rajas Fries, Kimchi Fries, Sweet Po Fries, and their special Holiday Poutine. Also, they switched from their old boats to oval-shaped platters. This switch definitely helps get the toppings more evenly distributed on the fries. It made for a more pleasant eating experience than when they used the classic boat.

The Rajas fries were excellent. You get giant strips of shawarma-marinated steak with caramelized onions, fire-roasted poblano chiles, cilantro, and jack cheese. These fries are MEATY! Seriously, how can you not like something with strips on strips of steak? Oh, and the steak is perfectly cooked, tender, and full of flavor.

The fries are of the thin variety and they sit in the perfect spot between soggy and crispy. For something like this, you don't want a very crispy French fry; and you never want a soggy, limp French fry.

I'm going to go ahead and say this now, these were my favorite. As a Korean, how can the Kimchi Fries not be my favorite? These fries are topped with kimchi, Kurobuta pork belly (삼겹살), onions, green onions, and cheddar cheese. The brightness of the kimchi cut through the fries and pork while the pork and cheese provided the hearty element of the dish. There was a great balance of flavors. It also proved to be an excellent palate cleanser in-between eating all the other fries.

The Sweet Po Fries are sweet potato fries topped with chicken in a tomatillo-tamarind sauce, jack cheese, and cashews. The flavor profile on this one was sweeter than the other fries we had; the tamarind in the sauce is definitely a prominent flavor. The cashews lend a great textural contrast to the rest of the dish as the sweet potato fries aren't as crispy as the regular fries. I thoroughly enjoyed these fries, especially in-between bites of the other fries.

The Holiday Poutine was topped with bacon, cheese curds, and holiday gravy. Remember how I mentioned that I love poutine? Well, this one was sadly disappointing. First of all, the cheese curds weren't as melty as I like them. I know cheese curds are supposed to have some bite and "squeak," but these were pretty firm - the gravy could have been hotter. On that note, the gravy was this dish's greatest downfall. Because it was a "holiday" poutine, they flavored the gravy with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and orange peel. The flavor of the spices were too strong and overpowered everything else. We all came to the consensus that the gravy just didn't work with the rest of the dish.

Overall, this trip to the Frysmith was a very pleasant one, as my other visits have been. They are always experimenting with new dishes and specials. For example, for a week (until yesterday), they turned into the Soupsmith and served soup instead of fries. Everything from the food to their truck sets them apart from most other food trucks. Their custom made truck runs on fry oil! Go check them out some time. Fries never fail.

Frysmith www.twitter.com/frysmith www.eatfrysmith.com (818) 371-6814

G Burger is a relatively new burger joint in La Habra, California. They've been getting a lot of attention lately, probably due to their ridiculous burgers. It's located seemingly in the middle of nowhere and there's not too much space for dining in. I counted about six small tables, two booths, and a counter as well as a couple tables outside. My first impressions were that it was a sit down place, but you actually order up front and can choose to dine in or to go. I would highly recommend against the latter. These burgers are meant to be eaten right away.

On seeing the menu, I was a bit overwhelmed by the G Burger, which was what I had my eyes on. I knew that you could get whatever you want on it, but I didn't think it would come with everything and the kitchen sink by default. It normally comes with two patties, cheese, teriyaki glazed onions, portabello mushrooms, slaw, grilled pineapple, a fried egg, pastrami, avocado, chili, bacon, mixed greens, tomato, and pickles. Talk about a mouthful. I already knew that there would be too many clashing flavors, so I opted to take out the pineapple and substitute plain grilled onions for the teriyaki onions. For the cheese, I went with cheddar.

For sides, I got the gravy cheese fries because I am always on the search for some good poutine. My cousin got the G Style Fries, which are a copy of In-n-Out's infamous Animal Style Fries, but with bacon. My friend that joined us got the Tropical Fries, which come with avocado, pineapple, bacon, and 1000 Island dressing.

The food took a while to come out, but I don't blame them, there's ton of stuff to prepare for each burger.

Let's start off with our sides. I'm going to be straightforward and honest, my gravy fries sucked. The gravy had a really odd flavor profile that just didn't go well with the fries or the swiss cheese. I guess I expected something more like poutine: plain brown gravy and cheese curds. The other sides, however, were great.

The tropical fries played with sweet, savory, salty flavors which I thought worked well. The only thing that I would have changed is using riper avocados. The avocados in these fries were firmer than I like.

The G Style Fries were absolutely top notch, but I did not get a photo...they disappeared too quickly. The crispy fries with grilled onions, cheese, 1000 Island dressing, and bacon. Just wow. They took something great and made it better with bacon. Seriously, (almost) everything is better with bacon. These fries get my stamp of approval over and over again.

Now let's move on to the main event - the burgers. All of us were floored when our burgers came out. I don't remember the last time I had a burger this big (although I've seen bigger, i.e. Hawkins House of Burgers). As I mentioned before, I skipped the sweet elements of the G Burger, the pineapple and teriyaki onions. Still, the burger had way too many things going on. Because of the many bold flavors, I didn't thoroughly enjoy the burger. Let's break the monstrosity down and look at the different elements of the burger.

The buns are great, perfect for a burger this big. They are substantial and can handle the different components of the burger. They don't get soggy and fall apart from the sheer amont of toppings, which is important. The buns do their job just fine.

The patties are delicious and cooked perfectly. They have a big meaty flavor and have a good amount of juice, although not as much as I would have liked.

The bacon was amazing to say the least. It was thick cut, peppered, had a full-bodied bacon flavor, and was not too fatty. In my opinion, this is the perfect bacon for a burger.

The cheddar cheese falls in line with the previously mentioned key ingredients of a hamburger. It is just sharp enough to cut through the flavors, but not overwhelming.

Because these four key elements of the burger meet my standards, I believe that the G Burger has potential. Here are the downfalls.

The pickles are far too sweet for my tastes. I should have read the menu a bit more thoroughly to find out. I like my pickles vinegary and salty. Not sweet. The pickles cut through the melting pot of flavors and ruined the overall taste for me.

The egg was overcooked. I like my eggs with a runny yolk and whites that are just barely set.

Everything else, I either couldn't find or taste. If the slaw, pastrami, and chili weren't listed on the menu, I wouldn't have known they were in the burger. It was rather disappointing because I love all three of these things.

I would definitely go back to G Burger, but I would not get the G Burger "all the way." I'm still thinking about what the perfect combination of toppings would be, but in my opinion, the key to a great burger is simplicity. At the end of the day, the bun, patty, cheese, and (sometimes) bacon are what make or break a burger.

Go try out G Burger for yourself! Get it any way you want it, but my recommendation, keep it simple.

G Burger 421 E La Habra Blvd La Habra, CA 90631 (562) 245-7208 www.gburger.com