Doctor grew up with homemade fries and wouldn't make them any other way. Born in Scotland, she moved to Philadelphia out of youthful curiosity in 1964 when she was only 18. She worked as a makeup artist before she started working at the Crazy Fish because of her daughter Denise, who works alongside her in the kitchen.

The fries are big, greasy, lightly salted wedges served with ketchup and Whiz on the side, or with a splash of malt vinegar on request.

"It's like a boardwalk fry, but locally," says co-owner and Crazy Fish manager Nick Venafra.

Prep time for the fries is about 10 minutes, an eternity when compared to the three minutes Venafra says it would take to heat up the frozen kind. Not that anyone minds.

"My grandparents, that's they way they cooked potatoes," says longtime patron John Bytheway. "Maria's back there cutting some up, you don't get no fresher than that. If my diet would allow it, I would eat those suckers all the time."