I just had lunch at the Nickerson Street Saloon, a fine establishment and at the very heart of Gertrude's heart. As I was sitting there eating my curry/eggplant veggie burger with fries today I noticed how "clean" the fries were and it brought me back to a different time...

Remember when it was a major deal for restaurants to get rid of used cooking oil? Remember when your favorite restaurant's fries were like a total crap shoot as to when they would be golden and crisp or other times when they were slippery and dark brown on the outside, but raw on the inside and had a tint of fillet-o-fishiness to them. I guess that equalled dirty oil in the frier. It was a game as to how long a restaurant could get away with cooking in the same oil until somebody complained and they HAD to change it, and PAY to have it removed. Now it is a precious commodity thanks to the biodeisel movement and the restaurants actually SELL it to the biodeisel companies, who not only buy it but pump it out too. What a deal!

So, we, as fried food eaters are benefiting in multiple ways from this phenominon. I mean am I the only one who has noticed the across-the-board level of taste in fried foods?

well, as I was leaving there was a biodeisel truck pulling up to the back door, ready to pump away my used french fry oil of today so tomorrow there will be a fresh batch of environmentally stable fuel AND crispy, golden fries.