THERE'S NOTHIN' LIKE A GOOD OL' FRITE...!

I am a firm believer that – in another life – I was one of the McDonald’s “Fry Guys.” You remember those things, right? They were the little pom-pom-lookin’ creatures that were always eating fries while the Hamburglar would steal hamburgers. No doubt that they were scary-ass, but absolutely harmless. This aside, I cannot remember when I became such a fry fanatic. As a kid, I remember eating fries from fast-food places, but never really loving them. My mom and dad used to get fries from McDonald’s, and dip them in the soft-served ice cream… YUMMM!!! That’s a taste that, till this day, reminds me of childhood.

When college rolled around, fries became an even more prevalent part of my daily diet (and it shoved me way past the “freshman 15”). At the dining hall, I would always grab a side of fries. At the student union, the gang and I would always pick-up fries from Roy Rogers (which is no longer there; how sad) and we’d mix together ketchup, mayo and pepper as our dip du jour. It was the number one meal eaten at the FCA office (Roy’s fries, Days of Our Lives, and skipping class – daily ritual).

These days, I see fries as both a “pleasure” and “pain…” It’s a pain in my ass because when I eat too much, that shit accumulates right around my ass (and other places). But they are always a pleasure to eat; a never-failing party in my mouth. Some days I think I only love them for the crunch factor, but other days I am certain that I just love them for what they are: sheer deliciousness.

While I have some favorites, I tend to not be discriminatory when it comes to picking and choosing my fries. I usually welcome fries of all types with open arms (and an open mouth). Last year, Citysearch put out their “Best French Fries 2007” list for Los Angeles, which consisted of the following:

#10: Table 8 (Los Angeles/Melrose)
#9: Father’s Office (Editorial Winner; Santa Monica/Montana)
#8: Cassell’s (Los Angeles/Downtown)
#7: In-N-Out Burger
#6: Carney’s Restaurant (West Hollywood/Sunset)
#5: Islands
#4: Backstage Bar & Grill (Culver City)
#3: Taste on Melrose (Los Angeles/Melrose)
#2: The Oinkster (Eagle Rock)
#1: Café Flore (Audience Winner; Beverly Hills)

Of the choices from the list above, I have only had fries at four of the spots. I’m not too sure I’d spend much to order fries at Table 8 or Taste on Melrose, and I have to question why In-N-Out is even on this list (burgers are fine, but their fries are nothing special at all). I am a staunch supporter of the fries (regular & sweet potato) from Father’s Office, and Islands and Carney’s both deserve honorable mentions.

If it were up to me, however, I would knock-off at least half of the spots listed, and my list would probably include these instead:

Beechwood (Venice)
The Counter (Santa Monica)
Cabo Cantina (Brentwood)
West @ The Hotel Angeleno (Los Angeles)
Life on Wilshire (Los Angeles)
Canter’s (Los Angeles)

For your basic, run-of-the-mill deli-style fries, Canter’s would be a hands-down choice. I prefer theirs over those served up at other local delis. Beechwood (in Venice) offers three different types: shoe string, ¼ inch, and sweet potato. Try one, or all three, with three house-made dipping sauces. Not too far away in Santa Monica is The Counter, where fries are available with cheese, cheese & chili, or as sweet potato. Added bonus, you can order fries with onion strings as well. Yum. Cabo Cantina used to have smothered cheese fries, which were disgusting. But I went the other night, and the fries had a cheesy sauce on the side this time around. It also seemed like the fries were lightly dusted with some kind of yum seasoning – I couldn’t pin-point what it was exactly. But after that experience, it was easily added to my list. At West (The Hotel Angeleno), fries are cooked in special truffle oil –easily making these one of the more amazing choices in the area. Finally, for me at least, Life on Wilshire offers regular fries AND “curry” fries served with Indian ketchup. It’s surely one of the more interesting ways to serve good ol’ frites. To this list you can add Father’s Office, Islands, Carney’s, and maybe Del Taco’s crinkle fries instead of the el bore-o In-N-Out fries (only because I’m a sucker for crinkle fries), and you’d have my comprehensive list of favorite fries in Los Angeles.

Notable fries from other cities: Belgian frites at Frjtz are easily the best in San Francisco; Hot Doug’s fries are one of Chicagoland’s finest; Belgian frites at Brasserie Beck in DC are probably my favorite in an upscale setting, while Ledo’s Pizza (the original in College Park, MD) serves up the best casual waffle fries: dusted with Old Bay seasoning and dipped in ranch; In NYC, I personally hold a soft-spot for the frites at Les Halles; and Boston Beer Works serves up a decent frite in Beantown.

Notable fries from national restaurant chains: The garlic fries at Gordon Biersch easily tops this list; the Houston’s chain offers tasty, skinny fries; and Red Robin gets an honorable mention for their bottomless steak fries.

If I could eat fries every day ---I would. But my body would hate me for it. So in the meantime, I’ll have to leave it all to my imagination. (Sigh.)

---

The awesome photos on this post are not my own, but are from members of Flickr (McDonald's fries - from Sutanto; Father's Office fries - from he cooks she eats; The Counter fries - from evilmidori; Gordon Biersch fries - from chrisglass... thank you!).

AU COURANT: CLOSINGS/OPENINGS

It's a sad, sad time in Washington, DC's "foodie land." Among the restaurants that have recently closed its doors in Our Nation' s Capital, one of my personal favorites - Butterfield 9 - has joined the list. After eight years of service, the restaurant is now only a memory. The restaurant has been a constant fixture in Washingtonian Magazine's "top" lists, and even made its 100 Best Restaurants list this past January.

The last time I had dinner at Butterfield 9 was sometime in 2003, if I remember correctly. I had planned an engagement dinner for friends there, and we had such a great time. From the restaurant's ambiance, to the service, and - most especially - the food, it truly was a classic place for a special occasion. And not too long ago, my brother and his wife had dinner there during one of DC's many "Restaurant Week" celebrations, and they both loved it.

It's sad to know that the next time I fly into DC, Butterfield 9 will not be there. Hopefully Chef Michael Harr will have a project waiting in the wings. His talent surely deserves to be displayed - if not in DC, then elsewhere.
---

Here in Los Angeles, there are a number of things going on as well. LA, as you know, is not exempt from the ugly world of restaurant turn-overs. In fact, I feel like LA might be the "king" of such. In Santa Monica, two of my favorites have gone under. Akwa (formerly on 5th Street) has closed its doors. It wasn't exactly the best of its kind in that area, but their weeknight happy hours were surely commendable. In its place: Wokcano. I'm not a super-huge fan of Wokcano, but maybe the huge space that Akwa enjoyed will work in its favor.

Another spot that is rumored to have bitten the bullet is Yose (on Main Street). There really isn't much to be said about sushi being served in a Korean-owned restaurant (sorry!), but this was actually one of the "good guys." Again, the place seemed to be a snooze-fest if it weren't for their outstanding happy hour: everything was pretty much 50%-off the menu. And so it goes - another happy hour spot bites the dust.

Now open in Century City: RockSugar. This is the "Asian" bistro brought to us by the concept-creators of The Cheesecake Factory; in other words it is a "PF Chang's done by The Cheesecake people." I haven't gone, and I'm not sure I'll ever go. Per a friend that has gone recently, it really isn't anything to write home about. It's the effin' Cheesecake Factory/Grand Luxe Cafe - but Asian. Bore-o.

JOLLY FOR JOLLIBEE (...right)

I got a very random text (from one of my boyz at work) last night, and it rattled me a little at first. But when I finally “got it” I was literally on the floor, ready to laugh out my liver. This is exactly how the text went:

“That’s so cool that you are at Jollibee right now. What’s that? You’re not? Oh that’s right, I’m at Jollibee. Not you. Thanks for asking tho”

At first I was like, “WHAT THE EFF?!” And then when I realized what was going on, I totally laughed, but had to ask myself “What the hell is TJ doing at Jollibee?!” TJ, you see, is one of my boyz from the office. And the extra-cool thing is that he is from the hood! He is a home-grown white boy from PG County. Yes, I said it – “PG COUNTY.” Yes, we be lunchin’… we be talkin’ about go-go… we be reminiscin’ about our stories from the Beltway… and we both went to the “OG” science and tech high schools from around the way (Roosevelt and Oxon Hill). So on many levels, this guy is a straight-up homey. And he went to Jollibee last night. WTF?!

Mel, TJ’s girlfriend, lives close to the Jollibee that’s on Beverly –somewhere near K-Town and the sprinkling of Philippine-owned businesses in that part of Los Angeles. In their quest for food last night, they decided to drive around – and when they saw Jollibee, a light bulb flickered in Mel’s head. I, along with the dusting of other Filipinos in the office, have had discussions with TJ (and the rest of the gang) about J-bee, and from the sounds of it – the lil’ spot has piqued their curiosities every once in a while (like when they’d drive by). But last night was the night, and TJ and Mel took the plunge into the rabbit-hole leading to Philippine fast-food land. Emm.

So this morning, TJ brings over a menu (which he ganked), and tells me about his little adventure. He and Mel came super close to ordering the Palabok Fiesta (which, for you non-knowers, is a Philippine noodle dish of cornstarch bihon noodles, and a garlic-flavored sauce topped with pork strips, crunchy pork cracklings, bay shrimps, scallions, and hard boiled egg slices; total YUM for native eaters, but a bit on the scarier side for others). Instead they opted for safer choices: TJ went with the Yumburger w/TLC (uh, that’s Tomato, Lettuce, and Cheese – LOL) meal, and Mel took a more daring approach and got the Amazing Aloha (burger with bacon, lettuce, cheese and a juicy pineapple) meal. TJ wasn’t feelin’ the Yumburger, but he said that the fries AND Mel’s Amazing Aloha burger were actually yu-hummm. So their foray into Pinoy Fast Food-ology was not a complete waste. (HA.)

For those who don’t know, Jollibee started out as an ice cream parlor back in the Philippines (circa 1975-ish), but incorporated an array of food items in/around 1978. It has easily become the country’s home-grown rival to McDonald’s, and has since made a name for itself in and out of the islands. Like other Philippine fast food chains, it specializes in “quickly-made” food (burgers, fries, etc.), and also offers native meals as well: palabok, Philippine spaghetti (sweeter than Italian spaghetti, and with hot dog slices), fried chicken, and breakfast meals complete with hot dogs, bacon, tapa or tocino, garlic rice and eggs. For dessert, simple offerings such as pandan and/or ube flavored shakes (with tapioca pearls/boba), peach mango pies, and even halo-halo are available.

Lucky for us on the West, Jollibees dot the coast and can be found in/around major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Bay Area. So when the hankering for the tastes of the Motha'land comes, the stuff is within reach. And, coming soon, a branch is slated to open in Queens, NY later this year. The world-over, however, there are over 600 “langhap-sarap” destinations. (HAHAHA! Langhap-sarap. Oh, man.)

You’re totally enlightened, I know it.