Tornado Potato

Belgian frites out, tornado potatoes in! This cleverly-named, spiral-cut potato is a popular street vendor offering in Seoul that drew national, or rather international attention on Sunday by being featured in The New York Times. Why didn't I think of this? Just run a potato through an apple-corer or commercial spiral cutter, skewer it, then deep-fry! Roll in ketchup or aioli, then you're in heaven. To be fair, the tornado potato has taken off in South Africa as well, where they've taken it one step further by making a chip dog, a hot dog and spiraled potato on a stick!

Okay, so why am I featuring the tornado potato, a favorite food blog topic this year (just see how many hits "tornado potato" gets on Google) on my blog? Because it's a sculptural masterpiece in design in addition to being a new member of the cholesterol on a stick team. It's an ode to pasta rotini and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City at once. The simple spiral design appeals to the visual senses, and in turn increases one's appetite and enthusiasm for the potato. Food stylists and industrial designers, feel free to marvel...