How Many Tater Tots is Too Many?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Tater tots love thread.

http://www.oreida.com/images/TaterTots_Bag.gif

― calstars (calstars), Saturday, 1 November 2003 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I always hear about these "tater tots" things in American cartoons and TV shows. Judging from the name and that tiny tiny picture, they're small bits of shaped potato, aren't they? I think Aunt Bessie (a British company) makes them and sells them here, but they're called something else.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Saturday, 1 November 2003 23:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, small fried bits of potato. What are they called in the UK?

― calstars (calstars), Sunday, 2 November 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i have never had "enough" tater tots. you can eat them forever.

― ryan (ryan), Sunday, 2 November 2003 00:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I prefer Jelly Tots because (1) they are nice and (2) I don't know what Tater Tots are.

― Lara (Lara), Sunday, 2 November 2003 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Tater Tots are little bits of starchy-carb goodness.

http://www.omnipacific.net/image/Ore-Ida/SeasonedShred.JPG

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Sunday, 2 November 2003 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I didn't know they existed outside of school cafeterias.

― oops (Oops), Sunday, 2 November 2003 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

If you live a good life and are kind to others you will get to eat Tater Tots FOREVER in the afterlife

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 2 November 2003 01:06 (twenty-two years ago)

why the fuck have I not bought Tater Tots to eat? WHY?

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 2 November 2003 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

In Canada we call them Mexi-Fries.

― HoraceMann, Sunday, 2 November 2003 01:28 (twenty-two years ago)

133 1/2. Exactly. Based on science. See below:
Tater Tots to excess, for j in {1,2,...,7}
(2) (2^{3- (j/2)})*T(j)= ((-1)^{j+1}) *ln(1+ 1/sqrt(2)) - ln(1-
1/sqrt(2))- pi*sin(j*Pi/4)*cos(j*pi/2)-
- SUM_{k=1 to k=3}L(k)*cos(k*j*Pi/4) + 2*SUm_{k=1 to
k=3}A(k)sin(k*j*Pi/4)

where
L(k):= ln( (3/2) -sqrt(2)*cos(k*Pi/4) ) , A(k) :=
arctan(z(k)) ,
z(k):=
(sqrt(2)-2*cos(k*Pi/4))/(2*sin(k*Pi/4)) , k in {1,2,3} .
This equality may be motivated by identity

T(j)= (2^{j/2})* Integral_{t=0 to t=1/sqrt(2)}(t^{a-1}/(1-t^8) )dt

― Skottie, Sunday, 2 November 2003 01:56 (twenty-two years ago)

can you write that again in LaTex or something? plaintext calculus was never my strong suit.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Sunday, 2 November 2003 02:15 (twenty-two years ago)

the tater tot is god's gift to man

― fiofio (fiona), Sunday, 2 November 2003 02:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Mexinuggets are also good. Tater tots are fantastic... until they get cold.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 2 November 2003 03:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Chris Piuma OTM.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Mmm, tater tots.

Do you know how mass-produced tater tots are made? What happens is that the little pieces of potato originally cut up for those frozen french fries you can get that don't, um, make the cut, are shredded together and mixed with oil (a binding agent) before being machine-formed into little nuggets that you and I call tater tots. Ahhh, the joy of "Unwrapped"....

Tater tots are always the best accompaniment to corn dogs. Always. But only eat this if you're not interested in caloric content or cholesterol, or if this is a special treat.

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know if the seasoning'd be different but here we call those things potato nuggets. Well thats one brand's version anyhow.

Theyre delish. Except after a bowlful I feel greasy and gross.

― Trayce (trayce), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Sonic's tots are GODLIKE. And their fruit lemonades....GAHHHH...FOOKIN' ORGASMIC!

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Bah humbug. Hash browns >>>>> tater tots

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course, that's cuz you haven't had Sonic's. :P

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:43 (twenty-two years ago)

But that's like comparing apples to oranges! The good kind of hash browns would have to = fresh potato product, while all tater tots by default = processed potato product! The bad kind of hash browns (e.g. the McDonald's ones) = processed potato product and are absolutely worse than tater tots, IMHO.

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course, that's cuz you haven't had Sonic's. :P

Yes I have. At the Sonic's in Gallup, NM.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:55 (twenty-two years ago)

But that's like comparing apples to oranges! The good kind of hash browns would have to = fresh potato product, while all tater tots by default = processed potato product!

Which is exactly my point. Life is too short to eat processed potato product when you can easily walk into any diner in North America and have a vastly superior potato experience.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:57 (twenty-two years ago)

But this assumes that you have readily accessible diners. In the Washington, DC area urban renewal has left us with criminally few such places.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 2 November 2003 04:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Which is exactly my point. Life is too short to eat processed potato product when you can easily walk into any diner in North America and have a vastly superior potato experience.

*laughs* Point taken, Chris.

Hash browns wouldn't taste good with corn dogs, though, I wouldn't think.

But this assumes that you have readily accessible diners. In the Washington, DC area urban renewal has left us with criminally few such places.

Awwww, j.lu, you want some of ours? We could hand over a couple of diners or so and not miss them. Of course, the regulars there would get rather angry, but hey, let them move to D.C.! :)

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 2 November 2003 05:03 (twenty-two years ago)

As long as they could be transplanted without becoming "upscale" in the process. (The DC area does have the Silver Diner chain, which is sadly glossed-over and sterile.)

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 2 November 2003 05:10 (twenty-two years ago)

deep fried tater tots = food of the gods

― luna (luna.c), Sunday, 2 November 2003 05:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Tater tots with sriracha and ketchup, chased with half a bottle of cheap spumante, was pretty much my staple meal as an undergraduate -- but this thread woefully neglects the Perfect Food, sadly discontinued: the Ore-Ida Tater Dog, a cocktail-sized cheese dog wrapped in Tater Tot material.

― Tep (ktepi), Sunday, 2 November 2003 06:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course, that's cuz you haven't had Sonic's. :P
Yes I have. At the Sonic's in Gallup, NM.
-- Elvis Telecom (chri...), November 2nd, 2003

Then you must be quite positively insane.

Luna, for the second time, MARR-EH MEH!

BTW, anybody here enjoy corned beef hash as much as I do? Which is to say A LOT.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Sunday, 2 November 2003 06:56 (twenty-two years ago)

the second time? damn, did I miss one?

corned beef hash is undoubtedly classic.

― luna (luna.c), Sunday, 2 November 2003 06:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I like them with hollandaise sauce. My favourite thing about these little fuckers is that I know how they're made and yet I eat them anyway.

― Bryan (Bryan), Sunday, 2 November 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Should I buy them?

― Sean (Sean), Sunday, 2 November 2003 09:50 (twenty-two years ago)

(ew ew ew i was looking for a pic of clint eastwood from 'a perfect world' ['i like tator tots' says clint therein] but found a pervy webpage about the boy in that movie ick ick)

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Sunday, 2 November 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

er anyway I LIKE TATOR TOTS.

― g--ff c-nn-n (gcannon), Sunday, 2 November 2003 10:01 (twenty-two years ago)

BTW, anybody here enjoy corned beef hash as much as I do? Which is to say A LOT.

Stone cold classic. The greatest corned beef hash in the world comes from Nick's Cafe in the Los Angeles trainyards. It's run by a couple of ex-LAPD homicide detectives and is perfect cop food.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 2 November 2003 10:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Tater tots look to me like croutons. If so, then Too_Many_Tater_Tots=more than ten times the volume of soup.

Hash browns win everything, especially as part of a full english. Mmmm!

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Sunday, 2 November 2003 11:30 (twenty-two years ago)

D.C. also has a good diner (The Rte. 7 Diner?) on the Lee Hwy. in Arlington. I haven't been there in a year, can't remember the name exactly. Not part of a chain. Very friendly, although a bit big. There's also that one Bob and Edith or sommit on Columbia Pike but I've always found it a tetch on the NASTY side. But generally, no, D.C. ain't blessed with diners.

― Skottie, Sunday, 2 November 2003 12:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Tater Tots sound appalling. I'm sure I would love them.

― Lara (Lara), Sunday, 2 November 2003 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

J. lu, what about the place we went with you and Aaron Grossman after the DC FAP, where we got milkshakes and french fries?

― NA (Nick A.), Sunday, 2 November 2003 15:48 (twenty-two years ago)

They're just tiny hash browns, surely?

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:41 (twenty-two years ago)

It's Twinkies that scare me. And Cooties. But I don't think Cooties are a foodstuff.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.pbrc.hawaii.edu/bemf/microangela/muku7co.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

What is that and can I eat it?

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

You may already have!!

― Lara (Lara), Sunday, 2 November 2003 18:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Unknowingly, of course...

― Lara (Lara), Sunday, 2 November 2003 18:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Looks like it'd be good with melted butter and a bib. I'm betting you'd need a very tiny set of crackers to get at the claw meat, though. And Nick, the only thing to be afraid of Twinkies for is that you'll like them too much and then eat them until you're extremely round and have white pus-filled (cream-filled?) sores all over your neck.

― Bryan (Bryan), Sunday, 2 November 2003 18:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not sure which warning should be associated with cooties.

― Lara (Lara), Sunday, 2 November 2003 18:47 (twenty-two years ago)

What's the British equivalent to tater tots? a chip butty? (I was horrified to hear about a chip butty.. I think I called it "carb city")

― Mandee (Jerrynipper), Sunday, 2 November 2003 19:09 (twenty-two years ago)

J. lu, what about the place we went with you and Aaron Grossman after the DC FAP, where we got milkshakes and french fries?

Ben's Chili Bowl, which is a great place, but not within a reasonalbe walk from where I live.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

J.lu, what about the Tastee Diner in Bethesda and Silver Spring? Tastee crushes Silver Diner like a grape.

― jse, Monday, 3 November 2003 00:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Skipping 36 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

anything called "tot" is going to engender childish feelings.

― Super Cub, Sunday, 13 September 2009 20:23 (sixteen years ago)

We need to petition Ore-Ida to bring back Hot Tots. The mere memory of them prevents me from enjoying regular tater tots.

― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Sunday, 13 September 2009 20:51 (sixteen years ago)

This is too many:

TATER TOT CASSEROLE
2 lb ground turkey cooked, seasoned, drained
3 2lb bags tater tots
2 cans cream of mushroom
2 cans evaporated milk
2 cans cream of chicken

Brown meat & place in large cass. dish.
Cover with tater tots. Mix soup & milk together.
Pour over top. Bake at 350 for 1 Hour.
(One of Daddy’s Favorites!) Makes 2- 9”X13” pans

Though I'm sure this would also be too many, with appropriate substitutions:

HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

1 (32 oz.) pkg. frozen hash browns (2 lbs.)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. milk
2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. pepper
2 c. grated Velveeta cheese
1/4 c. melted butter
3 c. cornflakes, crush cornflakes in Ziploc™ bag, pour
melted butter in & shake.

Spray casserole dish with oil. Layer 1/2 hash brown first. Then pour 1/2 of soup mixture = cream of chicken, milk, onion powder, salt, & pepper. Then half of the grated cheese. Repeat… Hash browns, soup mixture, grated cheese. Top with crushed, buttered corn flakes. Bake at 350 for 45 min. (Jana’s favorite meal!)

From the Duggar Family's recipes

― hypermediocrity (Derelict), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:08 (sixteen years ago)

I would totally eat that, are you kidding? But ground beef instead of ground turkey, which always smells sizzly and good in the pan but then gravely disappoints.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:17 (sixteen years ago)

grated velveeta cheese. only a fundamentalist christian would eat that.

― harbl, Monday, 14 September 2009 15:18 (sixteen years ago)

One of Daddy's Favorites!

― harbl, Monday, 14 September 2009 15:19 (sixteen years ago)

It gives him the strength to do that which needs to be done...

― Hugh Manatee (WmC), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:21 (sixteen years ago)

Tater tot casserole is awesome and if you disagree, you are a disgusting savage.

― she is writing about love (Jenny), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:25 (sixteen years ago)

Apparently until that time it was reprocessed for animal feed.

Arguably the most genius thing about Tater Tots (apart from the fact that, yes, they are a perfect foodstuff) is that up until their invention, all the refuse from turning an ovoid into rectilinear french fries was sold cheaply but Tater Tots were marketed and priced as a premium product, even more expensive than french fries.

― l'homme moderne: il forniquait et lisait des journaux (Michael White), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:27 (sixteen years ago)

Tater Tots>>>French fries

― lindseykai, Monday, 14 September 2009 15:34 (sixteen years ago)

Are tator tots ironic? I always feel childish when eating them.

I would say no. I do think that bars have started serving them recently to tap into some kind of childhood nostalgia. But for tater tots to be eaten ironically would suggest that we only like them now because we liked them as children, while our tastes were still primitive, whereas I would argue that they've always been delicious, without qualification.

― jaymc, Monday, 14 September 2009 15:36 (sixteen years ago)

Yes, but like the rediscovery and refinement of many childhood favorites now served in restaurants (mac n cheese near ubiquity springs to mind here) there IS some nostalgia involved; comfort foods generally involve some.

― l'homme moderne: il forniquait et lisait des journaux (Michael White), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:41 (sixteen years ago)

"crush cornflakes in Ziploc™ bag, pour melted butter in & shake."

i don't know if ziploc should be paying for this mention, or suing

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 14 September 2009 15:47 (sixteen years ago)

food nostalgia is a crock, otherwise we'd all be eating mashed lima beans and breast milk

― congratulations (n/a), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:48 (sixteen years ago)

Who says that we don't?

― l'homme moderne: il forniquait et lisait des journaux (Michael White), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:52 (sixteen years ago)

that's what we call "tofu" now

― Hugh Manatee (WmC), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:53 (sixteen years ago)

how do I get a tater tot that isn't falling apart from moistness??

― we like cars, we like cartoons (dyao), Monday, 14 September 2009 15:55 (sixteen years ago)

attend lunchtime at my junior high school ca. 1987?

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 14 September 2009 16:04 (sixteen years ago)

Also amazing when drunk: Rocket Tots, which are tater tots filled with cheese and served in a sundae glass.

― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Monday, 14 September 2009 16:06 (sixteen years ago)

I've only ever had tater tots which were overly moist or overly dry. there doesn't seem to be a middle ground xp

― we like cars, we like cartoons (dyao), Monday, 14 September 2009 16:09 (sixteen years ago)

how do I get a tater tot that isn't falling apart from moistness??

Deep-fry, or bake for longer than the package says. Don't microwave.

I want Sonic, so bad, right now.

― Jaq, Monday, 14 September 2009 16:10 (sixteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

I think I just accidentally inhaled a bit of tater tot through my nose.

― (b)clam(/b) (crüt), Tuesday, 7 September 2010 23:22 (fifteen years ago)

lol

― i am giving you the caesar salad of compliments (Nijoli), Tuesday, 7 September 2010 23:35 (fifteen years ago)

tater tot casserole a block from the house here is like dream meal. pair that with 11pm to 1am happy hour and things get awful good

― bear, bear, bear, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 02:49 (fifteen years ago)

any more than 8 from Sonic is overload, cuz of how salty they are. regular tater tots, I can eat all day

― Tito Jackson Overdrive (San Te), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 02:50 (fifteen years ago)

Mr Veg mixes up a ketchup/tabasco/black pepper dipping sauce that's om nom nom. However many tater tots I usually eat without dipping, I eat double with the hotsauce/ketchup combination.

― VegemiteGrrrl, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 03:28 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.recipetips.com/images/recipe/casseroles/tator_tot_mixed_veg.jpg

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:42 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.unclekrinkly.com/krinkweb/caterin/taterTotCasserole.jpg

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:43 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/images/RecipeImages/TaterTots/9platedTaterTots.jpg

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:44 (fifteen years ago)

http://artisticallychill.com/blog/wp-images/chilliTaterTotPizza01.jpg

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:44 (fifteen years ago)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/2840044127_29029dd223.jpg

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:45 (fifteen years ago)

http://www.casscooks.com/wp-content/photos/IMG_0409.JPG

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:46 (fifteen years ago)

^^^ too many tots

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 04:50 (fifteen years ago)

above mentioned casserole is a side, pretty reasonable amount and def looks nothing like any of those horrors

― bear, bear, bear, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 05:16 (fifteen years ago)

yeah, but what the fuck is that soup one at the end? crème de potato baby avec lard nodule?

― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 05:23 (fifteen years ago)

i'm super bummed out by whatever it thinks it is

― bear, bear, bear, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 06:03 (fifteen years ago)

bacon-wrapped tater tots is blowin my mind

― An anal genius spent years carving symphonies to God. (crüt), Wednesday, 8 September 2010 06:09 (fifteen years ago)

one year passes...

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2012/03/eat_this_now_tater_tot_cassero.php

On the drive to Beachwood BBQ, my friends and I happened to be talking about Assembly Bill 1678, that nutty piece of legislation that's trying to ban food trucks from parking in schools, and naturally, the conversation turned to School Cafeteria Food We Have Known: taco boats, square pizza and -- oh, yes -- tater tots. How we missed those gloriously greasy tots!

Then, call it coincidence or perhaps divine intervention, but when we got to the restaurant, there it was on the menu: Tater Tot Casserole. I ordered it immediately.
This dish is a decidedly grown-up version of the kiddie staple. The tots are cooked in duck fat, giving them a rich complexity, then sprinkled with the dust of dried porcini mushrooms. A warm pour of smoked cheese curds comes next -- trust me, you'll want to soak up every last morsel.
Then comes the smooth duck gravy. It's served on the side, ready for you to drench onto the tots just before you take a bite. And when you do, ohhhh, my. As your teeth break through the crispy outer layer, steam escapes from the soft potato inside. The blend of flavors is both intense and comforting.
It tastes like childhood but so much better.

― flagp∞st (dayo), Friday, 2 March 2012 02:47 (thirteen years ago)

my wife continues to rave to this day abt her dad's tater tot casserole from when she was a kid

― q: are we not women? a: we are divas! (m bison), Friday, 2 March 2012 02:54 (thirteen years ago)

tater tots are the new mac & cheese

― sarahell, Friday, 2 March 2012 02:55 (thirteen years ago)

Havent had potato gems in ages. Like I said upthread, theyre great but I always feel gross after eating them cause they are so greasy.

― Lindsay NAGL (Trayce), Friday, 2 March 2012 04:01 (thirteen years ago)

i feel like this is prob too many tater tots.

― ho don't kno I'm bout that skrillex (Pillbox), Friday, 2 March 2012 05:06 (thirteen years ago)

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/totcharges.png

they really get you on the shipping

― Totes le Héros (contenderizer), Friday, 2 March 2012 05:44 (thirteen years ago)

Extra Crappy Bearded Tater Tot

― what's a goon to garbus (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, 2 March 2012 05:50 (thirteen years ago)

goddam highway robbery that is

― ho don't kno I'm bout that skrillex (Pillbox), Friday, 2 March 2012 05:53 (thirteen years ago)

holy crap @ shipping

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 2 March 2012 06:23 (thirteen years ago)

contenderizer, do you live somewhere in micronesia b/c my shipping would be a much more reasonable $31.67

― ho don't kno I'm bout that skrillex (Pillbox), Friday, 2 March 2012 06:26 (thirteen years ago)

relatively reasonable, I mean, b/c that is still far to much to spend on the shipping of tots.

― ho don't kno I'm bout that skrillex (Pillbox), Friday, 2 March 2012 06:30 (thirteen years ago)

lol, no, though the shipping widget did assume that i live out on the olympic penninsula (fairly remote & rural) rather than in "the city of destiny"

― Totes le Héros (contenderizer), Friday, 2 March 2012 06:35 (thirteen years ago)

frozen tot delivery - $117.95 by tugboat, $355 chopper dead-drop.

― ho don't kno I'm bout that skrillex (Pillbox), Friday, 2 March 2012 06:42 (thirteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.