Everything with French Fries

Not since I wrote about sausage last year, have I felt so compelled to discuss another favorite food: french fries. You can have your chocolate and your cupcakes (although I do long for some pie now and again) my guilty pleasure is salt and fat--where the flavor is. And all summer I was known to be baking up some frozen ones alongside some sockeye salmon with mayo and balsamic vinegar and garlic okay, and some dill. Now that's what I'm talking about. I like french fries in the morning, when I prefer to eat dinner. By six o'clock I couldn't care less about cooking. Carb intake in recent years has been monopolized by pasta and of course bread. But the nutritional benefits of the potato should not be overlooked. So now the gauntlet has been thrown. I invite you all to step up and share where you get your favorite fries. If you can't remember the name of the place, please provide a street or intersection...because if you make me get lost trying to find the joint, that's on you. I'll start:

CrossRhodes: This long-standing greek diner in Evanston at the corner of Main & Chicago Aveenues has the most delicious, thick *Greek* fries you could ever want to eat. They are thick-cut with just the right ammount of oil and vinegar drizzled all over them and seasoned with rosemary. Another option is to order tzaki sauce for dipping too. OMG!

Favorite Frozen Fries: Alexia brand which can be found at most supermarkets, but especially Treasure Island are the best. There are upwards of 6 different varieties including the new Salt & Pepper. OooLaLa.

Comments

[Shannon]

My favorite Chicago fries are from "T's " on Clark in Andersonville. They are glorious thick cut steak fries with a lightly crispy skin and popping hot and delish center!

I recommend ordering a basket of fries with garlic mayo. Make sure they put it on the side. This instruction is key to the overall success of your garlic mayo fry experience.

I know it seems disgusting... bringing a side plate of garlic mayo to the table that is in a restaurant where everyone can point and laugh at the thought of anyone devouring that much mayo in one setting- not to mention the basket of fries. I mean I usually only like to eat the most fattening, judgemental foods alone in my kitchen over the sink with only the stove light illuminating the my sin.

Aside from the shame factor, the fries are totally worth it! Enjoy

[denise k.]

I like to get the Bearnaise Burger at the Yardhouse in the Glen. It comes with a huge serving of thin, crispy fries which my husband and I like to dip in the bearnaise sauce. They're so good! And I also like the duck fat fries from Hot Dougs. I think he serves them on Fridays and Saturdays only. A long line sometimes, but definately worth the wait.

[Dweezel]

My favorite french fry story comes from several years back while watching the winter Olympics. Having already won her fifth gold medal, Bonnie Blair, a down home Illinois girl, was the hottest thing going. The cameras closed in on her as she was sharing a chaotic pic-nic style meal in a tent pavilion with her mother and siblings. "Hey mom," Bonnie called, "Pass me some french fries, ... after all, I AM in France."

[Sarah]

Much like Nancy, I consider myself to be a connoisseur of French Fries. I’ve been searching near and far for the Almighty French Fry, like a new-age Ponce de León searching for the Fountain of Youth. And though I have never made it to Idaho, the potato Mecca, I feel as though I’ve made great strides in my quest. Here are my findings.

For the curly fry, I enjoy Arby’s. There’s not too much competition for this category, much to my dismay, as most establishments don’t offer curly fries. I consider Arby’s to be the John Edwards of the curly fry – it looks and tastes like any other curly fry you’ve ever had, it has all the prerequisites to be a leader in the potato race, but there’s really nothing all that special about it; aside from the fact that it has a little curl and zest to it.

Stefano’s (2124 W Lawrence) has a fantastic concoction called Baked Cheese Fries. If you’re looking to clog your arteries, this is the place to do it. Picture, if you will, French Fries topped with Marinara and Cheese and then baked to perfection. It’s tasty, trust me. But maybe I’m partial because it incorporates my other favorite food: pizza.

Pen Station is a sub chain I’ve never seen in Illinois but they cut their own fries on-site and they are fried and seasoned in such a way that it will make you salivate upon looking at them. I suppose you could compare them to The Great Steak & Potato Company, often found in malls, but Pen Station is better.

I also enjoy The Daily’s fries (Lincoln/Wilson). They are not only great fries but they also give you a portion that no person could single-handedly tackle. (Though I have put it on my things to do before I die list.) They aren’t too thickly cut and are seasoned.

I’m still formulating my opinion of Hopleaf (Clark/Foster). I’ve only had their fries once and I enjoyed them greatly, but I think I liked them so much because of the dipping sauce they provided. And the sandwich I got with it was so good that it could have clouded my opinion into thinking a fried boot tasted good. (The sandwich was CP&J, fyi.)

All of these fries make it to my “satisfactory” level but mark my words, I will not rest until I’ve found “The French Fry”.

[Elizabeth McQuern]

The fries at Hopleaf are pretty great, although they're very stingy with that amazing saffron mayo -- the ratio of fries to mayo is way off. And they're crab-asses about giving any more.

If you're having insomnia, or late-night creative inspiration, are coming off of Critical Mass, or just need some drunk food, I also highly recommend the grilled cheese and fries at Standee's on Granville. Grease-a-licious.

[marne]

No insights on french fries, Nancy, but if you need help packing those words back into your head, just call on your neighbor next door!