date: 4/15/06
after research (mainly consisting of using dara's article in city pages as a start, asking around, recalling other reviews and personal opinion, i put together a list of places that seemed the most likely venues to earn the fry title around here.
some from dara's article were left off the list because of previous disappointment, others because the recommendations were hearsay, and still others because of inconsistency in the goodness of fries, with or without that. two were on the list we ended up not going to... black forest inn because we didn't quite feel up to it, and jp's american bistro as it was closed when we stopped by
i went into it knowing my personal favorite, but others were in on the juding too. spoiler alert: though the winner, well, it won't surprise anyone who's read any of my fry opinions. the results are in the order visited. we hit the first one at around 1 pm, the last we left at 7 pm or so. a short note: american style fries are not steak fries, but thicker cut than the pomme frites, og french ones. if that makes sense.
and fyi, it is possible for me to eat to many french fries in a day. i know that now. interestingly, no one i told about this thought it odd that we were driving around all day eating french fries, nor did any place we go into think it odd that most of the time it was all we ordered (we did tip well). cost stated is only for the fries.
in case you're wondering, and even if you're not, grilled cheese may be next.
restaurant: st. paul grill
location: would you believe me if i said minneapolis? thought not.
fry notes:
- had to add salt
- ordered small, got large at same cost
- got to table fresh and hot, but were more or less unseasoned
- texture was mostly crispy, with many darker skins and crispy bits
- .american-style fries
- basic, average fries, nothing special
cost (pre tax and tip): $3.75
accompaniments: water to drink, ketsup on the side
comments: upscale setting, but service was not at all snobby
grade: c
restaurant: andy's garage
location: st. paul
fry notes:
- hot, fresh, lighter texture than st. paul grill, otherwise similar style
- tasted single fried
- fries were about twice the length of usual fries
- uneven seasoning on fries, some had lots of salt, some pretty much none
- tasted 'potatoey' (that's good, btw)
- american style fries
- above average, not by much
cost (pre tax and tip): $2.75
accompaniments: water, one coke product of unknown flavor, ketsup and mustard on the side.
comments: some poor kid in a bunny suit was outside the joint. it fit in with the nice kitch. the place is nice, but the views and traffic make it hard to enjoy the outdoor eating.
grade: c+
restaurant: the wienery
location: minneapolis
fry notes:
- this ain't no sysco. your fries are cut by the guy in the kitchen, you can watch if you want, it's right in front of you. can't get much fresher than that.
- the fries smelled like state fair fries. seriously.
- american-style, but a bit larger cut.
- seasoning was spot on.
- they tasted 'fab'
- color was not too dark or light.
cost (pre tax and tip): $1.39
accompaniments: water, ketsup and mayo on the side
comments: the bargain of the trip, sure, but the whole place needs a good scrubbing, including the menus and mustard bottles... i think there was an odd picture of adam of the beastie boys on the wall... who knows. a funky university dive with great sandwich names (such as 'the weirdo').
grade: b+
restaurant: craftsman
location: minneapolis
fry notes:
- were billed as 'sage fries.' were not sage fries, because for an order as large as the one we had, 5 pieces of sage don't make them any sager in any sense of the word. the only disappointment.
- pomme fries style
- served warm, well seasoned (sans sage) with larger crytal salt (kosher or something along those lines)
- shorter, cripsier fries
- good without ketsup
cost (pre tax and tip): $5.00
accompaniments: by the time we got here, we figured we needed something besides water and grease, so we went with sparkling apple cider that went quite well with the fries. we also got a 'fresh' fruit plate (which had dried fruit on it, go figure, and beet vinaigrette that tasted vinegarless, but was good on the fries, not on the fruit). the fries came with homemade ketsup, which was mild to being with but had a bit of a spicy kick after. was going to take the rest home, but either forgot them in there or they're lost in someone's car.
comments: very nice outdoor patio, does well in blocking e. lake street
grade: a-
restaurant: bar lurcat
location: minneapolis
fry notes:
- served with bernaise. i'm not fond of bernaise with fries or in general, but my compadre thought it was excellent version of said sauce and the fries were the best i've had with the sauce. they were also quite good without it.
- served in a metal bucket kind of thing, the presentation stood out
- well seasoned, american style, to the right doneness, nothing oversly crispy
- pretty spot on, but lacked a wee bit of something to kick them into greatness. maybe the bernaise held them back? (see below for more on that)
cost (pre tax and tip): $6.50
accompaniments: processco, which they have in 'tastes,' so a 2 oz. pour is $3. well worth it, went excellently with the fries. see above for sauce, even offered extra to take home.
comments: i've heard service was like the loring used to be, but it wasn't. quite good it was. it's an upscale funky decor. many of the wines have the tastes for a low cost, which is a great idea. love
grade: a-
restaurant: 112 eatery
location: minneapolis
fry notes:
- had the fries here before, thought they were overrated by those who said they were perfection, wanted a second opinion
- slightly underseasoned
- short, a lot of tips rather than whole fries, a bit on the crispy side of things
- somewhere between american style and pommes frites
- nice but not great
cost (pre tax and tip): $6
accompaniments: water, and i do wonder why we didn't get the nice nut and olive mix served to everyone else in the joint, even at the bar (that both of us who had been there before received, even at the bar). fries came with a ketsup (heinz, we were led to believe) and a tarragon aioli, which goes better with fries than bernaise in general, no matter how good the bernaise is. it's the vinegar in it, maybe.
comments: see above for lack of snacks, etc.
grade: b
restaurant: vincent a restaurant
location: minneapolis
fry notes:
- pomme fries
- we got ketsup, we didn't need ketsup. we just needed fries. no condiments necessary.
- so perfect in appearance, uniform in that whole french way
- seasoning spot on
- real, fresh, lots of potato flavor
cost (pre tax and tip): $5
accompaniments: ketsup, see above on not needing it (not that it wasn't nice with it), kir royale. prosecco went better with the fries, as did the sparkling cider, but maybe that's because the champagne in the royale was more dry than sweet.
comments: just as i thought, it's not just me on this one. i wonder why dara didn't include them? the setting is such that in the bar it's everything from jeans to fancy suits. and no one felt out of place. fresh flowers on the table, french service... it's all good.
grade: a+
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