french fry update PHL

[katbert]

Thanks for the pasta help everyone, updates when I actually go.

Recent french fry experiences:

Nodding Head 15th & Sansom-- burning hot out of the deep fryer, with a tender mealy potato center. I like that they really look and taste like they're fresh cut and came from some big potatoes. Not crunchy enough for me, but yummy. And I do like their mayo based roulade. I forget if that's part of the definition for roulade.

L'Abbaye in NLibs-- teeny tiny shards of potato that are messy for dipping. Shards is actually a bad description, because the fries weren't crisp enough. Also, they were coated in salt, so I actually had to stop eating them half a beer in. And I like salt.

Fox & Hound-- ok ok, stop laughing. I don't have a TV or friends with cable, so I had to go for the Stanley Cup finals.

upside: many TV screens

downside: french fries middling warm and not crisp on the outside, heartbreaker game 7

[Holly Moore]

Great french fries are my most disappointing of all Philadelphia eating quests. I am guessing that Nodding Head like its sister restuarants has shoestring cut fries which accounts for their lack of crispness. I am truly at a loss as to where to find a great Philadelphia frency fry, defined as not shoe-string, fresh cut, twice fried, crisp on the outside, mealy inside.

[dagordon]

Parmesan truffle fries at Matyson. Not traditional fries, but oh so good. Comes with the steak frites, but you can get them on the side.

[Carlson1105]

I second the Matyson truffle/parm fries. Had them recently with the Ribeye special. North 3rd's are up there on my list too.

[Rich Pawlak]

Oh, there are some very good fries in Philly:

1. the aforementioned fries at Matyson;

2. the fries at Rouge, positively addictive

3. the basket of plan or spicy fries at the Grey Lodge;

4. the crab fries at Chickie & Pete's;

5. Sweet potato fries at The Smoked Joint;

6. the fries at Standard Tap

[Buckethead]

Great french fries are my most disappointing of all Philadelphia eating quests.  I am guessing that Nodding Head like its sister restuarants has shoestring cut fries which accounts for their lack of crispness.  I am truly at a loss as to where to find a great Philadelphia frency fry, defined as not shoe-string, fresh cut, twice fried, crisp on the outside, mealy inside.

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Try the Black Door, 2nd and Bainbridge. They make the best fries I've ever had in the city, other than that belgian fry place on South St. that went out of business years ago. Rembrandt's used to make a great fry plate called Tuscan Fries, with romano cheese, balsamic vinegar, and a few other things on it, those were fantastic but they don't serve them anymore (at least not like they used to). I've had fries at the Tap, Rouge, and Monk's to name a few, none of them are as good as the Black Door. Rouge comes closest, but they don't cut them thick enough.

[KatieLoeb]

Locatelli-Truffle fries at 1601. They come with the steak frites or you can order them by themselves. They're awesome.

[marinade]

I have to agree with Holly. The Holy Grail of Frite is a warm potato chip exterior with a warm mash potato interior and hearing it snap in your mouth. That requires girth and timing. Shoestring cuts are a children's crusade. You need to taste potato over the fat it's been fried in. Prefrying the suckers and letting them rest under a heat lamp before you flip them onto a plate is only going to tell the world about the process and nothing about the potato.

Jim

[murkcury]

Frankly, I've never understood the dearth of good french fries. Does it take time to make french fries correctly? Definitely. The investment, however, is well worth it. There is simply no comparison between hand cut, blanched and quickly fried frites and their sorry, soggy, insipid imitators. Well, to be fair, some bad fries are overly crispy. What makes this all the more annoying is that the secret to good fries is no secret at all. It's tried and true (not to mention known to all). We're not talking about a task that requires skilled hands. Shame on anyone that serves a steak frites or hamburger and doesn't make good fries. It's inexcusable.

[taoseno]

i am not sure if the fries at the Royal Tavern are thick enough for Holly, but they are my current favorite in Philly, definitely hand cut, blanched and quickly fried, i like mine best with a big fat cheeseburger and a tasty 16 oz beverage.

[mrbigjas]

Great french fries are my most disappointing of all Philadelphia eating quests.  I am guessing that Nodding Head like its sister restuarants has shoestring cut fries which accounts for their lack of crispness.  I am truly at a loss as to where to find a great Philadelphia frency fry, defined as not shoe-string, fresh cut, twice fried, crisp on the outside, mealy inside.

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i've said it before and i'll say it again: when they're on, brasserie perrier has the fries you're looking for.

i have, however, gotten them once or twice in the past when they were a little dark, or a little soft, or both.

but when the kitchen is on, besides making one of the best burgers in town, the fries are perfect: about 1/4-1/3 of an inch, golden crisp outside, mealy inside, salted the right amount--fantastic.

i've stated my disappointment with the famed monks/grace fries many a time, but if you go to the vendors that sell the same 'bintje' variety potatoes and cook them yourself, they do indeed make great fries. which makes the state of monks' fries all the more of a shame.

[mrbigjas]

5. Sweet potato fries at The Smoked Joint;

i will never understand sweet potato fries. they never get crisp. i mean, they taste OK, but roasting slices of sweet potato would do just as well.

and at places like good dog, it's like the gumminess of the sweet potato fries just screws with the potential goodness of the regular fries...

[murkcury]

Interesting you should mention sweet potato fries. I too felt the same way, until recently. Ventured by Mantra on 18th and Sansom (former Patisserie Yann space) a couple of weeks ago for a drink. At this time the liquor license wasn't in full effect (not sure if it is now) so we needed to order food to get a complimentary beverage. Ended up having some kind of asian glazed ribs (not bad) that were served with...crisp sweet potato fries. Yes, crisp. It stuck out in my mind because, until that moment, I had NEVER recalled eating crisp sweet potato fries. Group's consensus was that they were dredged (flour?wondra?). Whatever they did, it worked.

[mrbigjas]

Interesting you should mention sweet potato fries.  I too felt the same way, until recently.  Ventured by Mantra on 18th and Sansom (former Patisserie Yann space) a couple of weeks ago for a drink.  At this time the liquor license wasn't in full effect (not sure if it is now) so we needed to order food to get a complimentary beverage.  Ended up having some kind of asian glazed ribs (not bad) that were served with...crisp sweet potato fries.  Yes, crisp.  It stuck out in my mind because, until that moment, I had NEVER recalled eating crisp sweet potato fries.  Group's consensus was that they were dredged (flour?wondra?).  Whatever they did, it worked.

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intriguing! i'll have to check it out. wondra is indeed appropriately named.

[katbert]

To clarify for Holly, the fries at Grace recently were NOT shoestring, probably 1cm square cross section. They were heavily coated in the powdery seasoning/salt mix and fresh cut.

And then contrary to expections, I went to Monk's on Saturday and their shoestring fries were actually really crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and they were good enough that we ordered a second basket. I think that volume might be an issue- we sat down in the nearly empty back bar ~6pm (ok 20min later it was packed).

Everyone at my workplace likes the fries from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia cafeteria upstairs, which are coated in that light battery seasoned stuff, clearly previously frozen and only cost $1.05 for a little paper boatful.

Also, the cheese fries at New Deck Tavern @ 34th & Sansom are gigantico portion wise, previously frozen w/ that seasoned light batter type stuff, 1cm across, and consistently crispy. They also do a steak cut french fry (also probably frozen) w/ a curry sauce, usually not fried long enough.

About sweet potato fries: I've gotten crispy ones from the Bubble House on Penn's campus at 34th & Sansom, but I haven't been there for a while.

I'll put Black Door, Rouge, and BP on the list. The thing about Matyson and other restaurant no bar places is that we'd have to commit to dinner just for the fries. Not that I'm against that.

[Scoats]

It stuck out in my mind because, until that moment, I had NEVER recalled eating crisp sweet potato fries.  Group's consensus was that they were dredged (flour?wondra?).  Whatever they did, it worked.

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From what I recall from reading about the trio fries at the long gone Dock Street Brewpub, different fries need different cooking tempatures. From that info, I suspect that sweet potato fries probably need their own dedicated, higher tempature fryer to come out crispy, that they would need to have the bejezes blanched out of them for a long time. I have no science or experience with sweet potato fries to back this up, it's just a hunch.

[Rich Pawlak]

The sweet potato fries at both Smoked Joint and the new Mantra at 18th and Sansom are done perfectly, as in perfectly crisp and crunchy. How they do it is a mystery to me, but they succeed.

[percyn]

So...its not quite in Philly, but if you happen to be in the Malvern area, I would recommend trying the fries at the Classic Diner (352 Lancaster Ave., Malvern, 610-725-0515).

Five Brothers, which now has a location on Wayne (Gateway shopping center) also has some decent hand cut fries.

Edited July 2, 2006 by percyn (log)

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

In John T. Edge's Hamburgers and Fries, Chapter Fourteen is titled "Philadelphia Frydom." In the appendix there is a "Black Book of Burgers" with 57 burger joints, none from Philadelphia. The next page is the "Black Book of Fries." Of 12 entries, 7 are in Philly. The local ones he lists are;

Chickie & Pete's

Copabanana

Ishkabibble's Eatery

Key Food Pizza

Monk's Cafe

Nodding Head

Tony Luke's

He raved about Tony Luke's Beef Buster sandwich with fries in the sandwich. I thought that was a Burgh thing, what with Primanti's and all.

[MarketStEl]

After having fries at Lula--which has a new chef and menu--tonight, I realized I didn't do De' Essence of New Orleans justice on one score:

De' Essence's fries have the exact combination of outer crispiness and inner tenderness that makes for a superlative French fry. But they didn't taste like they were fresh cut. They were, however, very good.

Lula's fries are fresh cut and unpeeled, which earns them major points. However, these suffered the fate of too many fresh cut, unpeeled fries I have had out: They were soggy.

[SaxChik]

So...its not quite in Philly, but if you happen to be in the Malvern area, I would recommend trying the fries at the Classic Diner (352 Lancaster Ave., Malvern, 610-725-0515).

Five Brothers, which now has a location on Wayne (Gateway shopping center) also has some decent hand cut fries.

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also in the burbs, the drafting room in exton has EXCELLENT sweet potato fries. shoestring cut, crispy and sweet.

[Buckethead]

I just had a very good plate (actually more of a round) of fries at nineteen, aka XIX, the bar/restaurant on the top floor of the Bellevue hotel. They have a really pretty bar area up there, too. A little stuffy for my tastes, but the fries were very good. If you can wrangle a seat in one of the areas with a window, you'll have a nice view of the city as well. I think you need to be having dinner at the restaurant part of the place to sit there, though. While the fries were not quite up to the standard of the Black Door, they were at least as good as Rouge.

Edited July 16, 2006 by Buckethead (log)

[katbert]

Ok, all the ppl who said Mantra has good miraculously crispy sweet potato fries? Completely accurate.

The ribs the spfs come with are nothing to write home about (4 meaty, tender, falling off the bone, glazed w/ vaguely sweet and sesame'd glue), but the fries are freaking great. Next time I would skip the ribs and get a plateful of the fries instead.

Fancy cocktail martini drinkies: not very large, but very alcoholic in a smooth finishing quality kind of way.

[kretch]

Gorgonzola waffle fries at Cutters.

But seriously folks, anyone wanna talk about how over-hyped the fries are at Monk's? More often limp than not.

[rlibkind]

Gorgonzola waffle fries at Cutters.

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You mean Twenty21, don't you? What had been Cutter's changed ownership and names several years ago. I loved those gorgonzola waffle fries, too, but Cutter's took them off the menu about six or seven years ago, iirc. Have you been back and have they been reinstated?