Just What We Needed

Yes, it's a french fry vending machine, called the Patatas Chef, ready to serve up a "fresh" batch of fries in about a minute. Yes, now we can pass on the relatively nutritious sandwich, and get right down to the part of the meal that tastes the best. Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation reports that in 1960, the average American ate about 81 pounds of potatoes, and 4 pounds of french fries a year. By 2000, we shifted to eating about 50 pounds of fresh potatoes, and 30 pounds of frozen fries. These machines are the answer to closing the final gap.

Not suprisingly, this idea has been tried a few times by other companies. There's an Ore-Ida machine in the basement of building 7 at RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). A company called Tasty Fries went public, then went pink-sheet over the idea. The technology used by these products vary: some use dehydrated potatoes, requiring no refrigeration; the Ore-Ida machine doesn't fry, but uses hot air to cook the fries. Bring back the Automat. Or wait for the food replicators.