A potato walks into a bar

In praise of the baked potato aka "Spuddy Buddy"

There’s a baked potato under there somewhere.

This may be a loaded statement, but a baked potato is damned near perfect food. The contrasting texture— leathery skin and fluffy interior; the ease of preparation including inactive time of baking; the universal appeal and lack of allergens makes it good for a crowd.

Plus the carte blanche of a potato provides a full canvas on which to paint, and it is in the toppings that the plot twists. Don’t feel beholden to the traditional potato bar fixings— sour cream, butter, chives, maybe broccoli. I want a combination of fat, fresh crunchy vegetables, something pickley or fermented, and usually something spicy.

In the photo above, my baked potato is fairly well covered with sliced raw purple cauliflower (thanks Trader Joe’s), fresh arugula (thanks Granor Farm), dressed in olive oil and hot giardiniera (thanks Mauro Provisions via Tim Mazurek). One of my favorite combos is kimchi, mayo, and chopped romaine lettuce. In Ruffage, I advocate for tuna mayo and a mixed vegetable salad and a lot of herbs, but TBH I’ve probably never repeated a topping sequence.

There’s no recipe for this but a couple of things to know:

• Russets are the classic, but you can bake just about any potato (though the waxy ones— yukon gold, red skin— don’t fluff up the same)

• Because an oven can hold more than one potato, there’s really no reason to bake only one. The leftovers make great twice-baked potatoes, breakfast potatoes, or add to soup etc. I usually bake six or so at a time.

• Simply wash the spud(s), prick the skin all over with a knife, and place unwrapped directly on the oven rack— this allows the skins to get leathery and be a real jacket for the interior

• The skin pricks allow the steam to escape, preventing an in-oven potato gun

• You can bake at just about any temperature, but I go for 375F

• It always takes a bit longer than I expect, about an hour

• They hold their heat for a long time, making these great for eating outside before “patio season” is really advisable. My mom always made baked potatoes for the first night of a camping trip, burying the already-baked potatoes in the embers of the fire while we set up the campsite. I recognize that this is niche but in case you’re at home racking your brain for a camping trip first night dinner. She was also known to bring them to football games because “they would still be hot at half time” in case you were wondering from where my specific breed of unnecessary practicality comes from.

Consider this a little reminder that baked potatoes are rad; I hope you look at them anew.