For those into roller coasters, theme parks, and all of the Americana flavored cultural minutae obsessing that comes hand in hand with the hobby of coaster enthusiasting, you already know: Kennywood, near Pittsburgh, PA, is a bit of a mindbender.

The park is a wild combination of 1920’s-style trolley park charm, mid-20th century tackiness and kitsch, unique and varied rides that span decades of amusement park tradition all wrapped up a wonderfully traditional, family friendly atmosphere.  Unlike many of the parks built in suburban outskirts of metropolitan areas in the post-Disneyland area, Kennywood is wedged between the streets and houses of the town of West Mifflin, overlooking the Monongahela River and the slowly rusting industrial facilities that scatter the area’s landscape.

It’s way, way cool.

And so are the world-famous french fries at Kennywood’s Potato Patch.  Nestled between the park’s famous Thunderbolt and Phantom’s Revenge roller coasters, Potato Patch serves up fresh-cut fries with toppings that include cheese, vinegar, bacon, and gravy.

And they’re good!  Although the fries + gravy combo is wildly popular in Canada, it still hasn’t penetrated much of this country.  The cheese was your standard neon goopy stuff, but the beefy and salty gravy made perfect sense against the browned potatoes.

They’re a sort of perfect park food; greasy and decadent enough to feel appropriate for the setting, but also regionally famous and not the sort of thing you can get everywhere else.  A few laps on Phantom’s Revenge and you’ll burn off those calories in no time.

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