The Art of Cheese Fries

Dont Try this at Home

2011-11-07T22:23:00.001-06:00

Who doesn't love crinkle cut fries? Well, at Wally's in Saugatuck MI that is a good thing but its also the only way to have them.

Don't waste your time asking for my tradition: "Can you add cheese to the fries?" While Sam our waitress was especially great and fantastic, the food choice of Perch was far better than the sad attempt to have cheese on these fries.

The fall leaves matched the pretty cheddar on these but the chill outside and clearly the lack of effort to put the cheese on the fries right after the frying or under a broiler made these look, well, weak.

And most people usually reach over and grab them when I order but not today. Here are the remnants.

RATING
Fries: 4 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 1 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 1 out of 5
Taste: OK
SUMMARY: Great fries, Weak cheese. Poor

Chicago's Best Fries

2011-04-27T13:51:00.000-05:00

Great list but no mention of cheese on these fries.

http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/essay_photo_gallery/the-great-burgerellis-favorite/2568688/content

Burger Bar + Cheese Fries?

2010-08-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

The recent culinary trend in burger bars has to be a fad. There must be a 2-3 year window for these places. But nonetheless they seem to be doing quite well despite the increasing number of these places, especially when they are very near to each other. I can count 5 places within a mile or two of my place. One of the more famous however is the the DMK Burger Bar.

Among the things these places advance is an interest in how beef is raised (btw, as a vegetarian I cannot comment too much other than I am impressed that the grass-fed beef movement is gaining awareness). More importantly is the sides for these high-end middle brow food. Yep, fries. More importantly, cheese fries.

My dinner included the Wisconsin Cheddar & Scallion variety (the other cheeses, i.e. Parmesan and Amish Blue dont really qualify). I have left my comments about the environment (too loud, too dark and cramped) to Yelp!

The fries were just OK. A bit too soggy and salty. Scallions add a nice touch but very subtle. The cheese of course only made it worse. Bad photography is due to the environment.

I think the worst part is that the fries were just too short. The "post" photo shows the problem -- too many pieces left and smeared cheese. Definitely a fork meal. But the cheese was also just so-so for a high end place--made me wonder what cheese is used here versus the burger cheese.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 3 out of 5
Taste: Good
SUMMARY: OK fries, OK cheese. OK.

Legendary Drake takes on low-brow

2010-05-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

If you get the chance to stay at or visit the Drake, the Coq d'Or is THE place to check out. I was introduced to this place by my dear friend Helen and have always been amazed by its charm.

With Chris in town and a lack of being able to get in to several other places, we end up here for small meal. This little speak-easy like place prides itself on the common meals and drinks that bigger place doesnt not always appreciate. The menu proudly displays "The Untouchable Fries" as a premier item on menu. How could I pass this opportunity.

When placing the order, I asked for cheese. The waiter promptly replies with "American Cheese, right?" Wow, how cool.

The wonderfully steak-cut fries looked awesome with this broiled-on cheese.

The taste too was pretty good. For $7 I would hope they are but we never noticed if there was a sur-charge for the cheese. Definitely the most expensive cheese fries but not the best.

While these were good fries, the cheese was bland and did clump at the bottom. As you can see we did not finish mostly because the cheese got cold and just too greasy.

RATING
Fries: 4 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 3 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: Great (expensive) fries but OK cheese and just too clumped
SUMMARY: 3

Liquid Taqueria Cheese

2010-05-20T21:33:00.001-05:00

OK, we've all been there: seeing a restaurant reaching beyond its "specialty" cuisine. I've been going to Janitzio Burrito for several years now with the common request of burritos and tacos but for some reason the "cheese fries" on the menu struck a chord.

My assumption is that this place deals with many late-night diners and have at some point had a request for things they usually dont create. While I did not ask about this item, I was impressed that the process for making my meal appeared to be common.

The order included a fresh batch of fries from the fryer but then the interesting aspect occurs. A squeeze bottle of cheese makes this story. What we usually see for other sorts of creams being squeezed on other meals was an interesting orange concoction of something (still not sure) that was dispersed on my fresh fries. To make matters more interesting, that Styrofoam clamshell went into the microwave. While I struggle with how much time to put on the microwave display, my "chef" confidently put this "meal" in the microwave for a whole minute. Wow.

After a brief walk home (with friend Chris), we dove into the order. While the dish was still warm, the taste was something on a scale that I cannot describe. It was salty. And very viscous.

Several obvious and quick grabs of un-drenched fries, we soon needed a fork. The microwave killed the crispy side of the fries and the cheese was just too salty. I still am not sure what kind of cheese that was.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 1 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 1 out of 5
Taste: Too salty, microwave ruins fries.
SUMMARY: 1

duck-fat fries go at it in Mobile, AL

2010-02-09T22:31:00.000-06:00

Spent a sunday night in Mobile Alabama as part of my 2010 resolution to finish my visit of all 50 state in the USA. Found a great little beer pup called Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom. And as will all these experiments, they claim on their menu that their fries are the best. See their menu description.

A very hefty 5 3/4 (thats really $5.75) but I assume its because of the duck fat (yes, this vegetarian will put that aside). The night was slow even though there were some parades in town for mardi gras. Having just done a run, I was hungry. Ordered the fries with cheese--not a problem. Great.

Decent presentation but look at the portion. More than I could eat but it was tasty.

The cheese required a fork at some point and the large portion made it hard to get that cheese on all the fries. Their garlic dipping sauce was too salty but provided a coolness to the warm fries that did pair well.

RATING
Fries: 4 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 3 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: duck fat makes good fries but greasy
SUMMARY: 2

New Orleans BBQ Style

2010-02-09T22:13:00.000-06:00

Was in New Orleans having dinner with a friend. The place we chose was too packed and noisy so we walked out and found a great little cozy place called Squeal BBQ. Yelp claimed it was decent food (although as a vegetarian I was a little concerned).

The menu was very extensive but much to my pleasant surprise this place was proud of their "hand cut" fries and at only $3.95 seemed like a bargain. I graciously asked for cheese (without specifying what kind) and the waitress told me it was going to be cheddar. Fine.

The food comes and oh boy. What a serving. A huge mound of very greasy fries with lots of cheese and a side of ketchup.

Too greasy. Could not finish any decent amount of this. The pics tell it all. Not a good experience.

RATING
Fries: 1 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 1 out of 5 (ketchup?)
Taste: just too greasy.
SUMMARY:1

attempt at using provolone

2010-02-09T22:04:00.001-06:00

The sunday pool night with Dan was modified to simply meet at Sully's House in Lincoln Park. While here I noticed the boast of fries on the menu, i.e. Crunchy Fries Barely-battered, in a basket. $5. OK, a little steep for just fries. But they also had tater tots which might be another experiment but I digress. I figured for that amount, they might be able to throw some cheese on the fries.

A little unsure of the cheese when they asked what kind (after a moment of trying to entering the item in a order system) but Dan piped up quickly "Provolone." So that was it. Cant say I've ever had that but might work well since its not too salty.

After a few minutes, something was up. It looked like the bus boy was bringing some fry order to the bar tender but it was rejected. Soon the order did arrive to the bar tender again. My guess: they forgot the cheese.

As you can see it was a simple broiler placement of fries and cheese.

Not bad though. The fries were good but frankly the cheese joined all the top layers of fries into a sheet. Definitely required a fork. But it was a generous plate.

RATING
Fries: 4 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 3 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: nice cheese but not well ditributed
SUMMARY: 3

Poutine appearing in high-end restaurants in Chicago

2010-01-17T20:34:00.000-06:00

Nice piece in TimeOut Chicago this week about Poutine appearing in high-end restaruants.

The hot mess that is poutine—traditionally a plate of french fries tossed with cheese curds and covered with a brown gravy—has been turning up on bar menus and high-end tables all over the city. Which leads us to the question: Is this a joke? “It’s a great joke,” says Craig Fass, owner of the Bad Apple. “It’s so sinful, it should be wrong.” Fass spent a week in Montreal where he discovered poutine (which translates literally as mess, bad stew or I’d never eat this sober) and fell in love with it. Paramount Room’s Stephen Dunne, who serves his poutine (pictured above) with pulled pork shoulder and melted cheddar, also found the concept easy to embrace : “Braised meat, fried potatoes and gooey cheese? How can it get any better than that?” For Dirk Flanigan of the Gage, his upscale riff on the dish (it boasts an elk ragout instead of gravy) was requested by owner Billy Lawless’s wife. “The way everyone explains it is that it’s something you eat when you’re hungover or when you’re already drunk. I was kind of like, ‘I don’t know if I want to put this on the menu.’” He did anyway, and now, between his version and the version at Nightwood (where poutine comes with duck confit and a poached duck egg), the dish has been elevated above drunken sustenance. But it’s still junk food—just foreign junk food. Nightwood’s chef de cuisine Jason Vincent puts it best: “Americans, a lot of us don’t stray anywhere from ketchup when it comes to fries. It’s the people that use the metric system that really know how to treat fried potatoes.”
Bad Apple 4300 N Lincoln Ave (773-360-8406)
The Gage 24 S Michigan Ave (312-372-4243)
Paramount Room 415 N Milwaukee Ave (312-829-6300)
Nightwood 2119 S Halsted St (312-526-3385)

Steak house fries try with blue cheese

2010-01-17T20:26:00.001-06:00

Was at Morton's Steak House and they seem to have jumped into the cheese fries category with a bar bite entry called "Blue Cheese French Fries."

To my surprise, these bar bites were only $3 (at certain times); however, these were mediocre. The bleu cheese is OK but the odd spice of crushed red peppers and chives really dont make sense. Its seems more like an attempt to make these like pizza but I really dont see the connection from a steak house.

The presentation was not very useful either since its clear that the cheese is melted in a broiler then spice added. Its good that steak houses have good fries since it really carries this dish. A nice crisp fry but gets broken easily with the weight of the cheese. I found myself wanting to get rid of spice quickly and get to the more flavorful bleu cheese.

RATING
Fries: 3 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 3 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5 (spices look odd)
Taste: nice cheese, bad spice
SUMMARY: 2

Another attempt in California

2009-11-24T22:14:00.001-06:00

Wanted lunch and happened to be in hollywood, Los Angeles. Found a little diner-like place, Victor's Square, which seemed to have a range of things on the menu. Saw the sandwich and fries option so could not resist asking for cheese on the fries.

My biggest regret is not getting the picture of the waiter when I asked for the cheese. He repeated the question and I repeated my request. Precious.

And to keep my analysis of the west coast attempt of cheese fries consistent, this placed failed. It seemed like a noble attempt but it far short of what I would expect of the mid-west or more importantly, adaptive chefs.

What came was a slice of cheese on the steak fries. To make matters worse, the fries were bland.

The cheese seemed processed sliced cheese that cannot stand the exposure of being on fries. And OK, this was a $12 meal. Ugh.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 1 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5 (decent color, huh?)
Taste: weak fries and no effort
SUMMARY: 1

New Line Tavern Tries to do it

2009-10-31T17:39:00.002-05:00

New place that opened up in the west loop, New Line Tavern. They did have fries on the menu so clearly needed to ask. The bartender was very accommodating and asked before she was able to offer. Upon her return I am proud to say the chef was game.

Excellent presentation. Dont they look great? Fries however were not what they should be. And having just learned about the correct way to make fries (see Alton Brown's episode on frying ), one must realize that fries must be blanched first, partially frozen and then fried. So if you have ever had "fresh cut" fries you will see the difference between those and the type that were in a freezer prior to use. Bartender admitted that they were simply fresh cut. Wow.

Nonetheless the cheese was respectable. What was an order for a few turned into something all were reaching for. (always seems to be the reaction).

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 3 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 4 out of 5 (note the plating)
Taste: a bit salty and weak fries
SUMMARY: 2

Mountain West tries but dont get it

2009-09-28T23:01:00.001-05:00

Had the opportunity to spend time in Park City Utah over the week. Given this resort area with emphasis on outdoor activity (i.e. skiing) but a melting pot of visitors that this would be a good place to experiment with the request to put cheese on my fries.

Made it to a local pub on Main St called Flanagan's. Good selection of local brews and food but when I saw the side order of Curry Fries I thought this might be a good place to try the experiment. When I asked for cheese on the fries, the bartender suggested that it would be a slice melted on the fries.

The order comes and the bartender gladly expresses that they shredded the cheese! But the experiment fails fast since the curry spices give it a strange tang that doesnt make sense.

Gladly however they do accommodate and they improvise. Kudos. The fries however are not the best (is it the elevation?) and the taste is generally too sweet and the cheese despite being OK give the entire taste a very odd collection. The photo says it all - I did not finish the order.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 3 out of 5 (note the spice accents)
Taste: curry does not work
SUMMARY: 1

Chips with melted Cheddar at Duke of Perth

2009-08-26T14:52:00.008-05:00

The local Scottish pub Duke of Perth has always intrigued me because they are known for some decent brews and scotch. And yesterday's visit helped confirm that they do the Chicago thing by providing their chips (fries) with cheese (cheddar).

The order is "Chips" and "with Melted Cheddar" is a side but you do get the chips with a sandwich. And its a little pricey at $4 with an additional $1 for cheese which is putting a high price (25% of order) to add some cheese.

The fries themselves are rough cut fries with skin still on. Quite dark too. Suspect the dark comes from a type of potato and a dark fry oil. When you order cheese, the cheese is a shredded cheddar that unfortunately is sprinkled on and then microwaved. The microwave ruins the fries and did not completely melt the cheese which gave is a weird look.

A friend has fries without cheese and they tasted much better (since they were not microwaved). But with the cheese, the fries are OK to eat with your finger but a fork is necessary to share and get to the melted ones.

In general the fries were a bit greasy which made it hard to grab one fry at a time. The cheese was bland (likely packaged shredded) but seems like a better quality than most. A little too much salt on the fries but the cheese did not add more salt so fairly decent.

As a side, I did go for a run after this "snack" and was not enjoying the mix of fries and cheese in my belly for that run.

RATING
Fries: 3 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: good fries ruined with by microwave
SUMMARY: 2

5 Guys Do Not Offer Cheese Fries. Yet.

2009-08-19T22:48:00.005-05:00

Went to a newly opened 5 Guys in Lincoln Park today for lunch. Quick aside: this place resembles the Fuddrucker strategy of rough build-out and use of food supplies to mark locations in the order process, i.e. sacks of potatoes.

The appealing sign was too irresistible to pass up. Had to have fries with my order (which is vegetarian friendly).

Got to counter. Asked for fries with my order. Then asked if they could place some cheese on my fries.

I left the option open (cheese sauce, slice of cheese, sprinkled cheese, etc.) but was denied. There is hope since I was told they are "working on it but are not able to offer it yet."

Seems like a brush off because after waiting for my order it seemed like they were not set up to offer cheese for the fries.

The lesson here: cheese fries are about improvisation that chains cannot provide unless its on the menu. My work continues.

But back to the fries. They were pretty good. Seems like fresh oil does matter but these were just out of the fryer. Nevertheless, the smaller pieces were really good and could have been enhanced with some cheese.

We are left awaiting the future edition of the 5 Guys menu.

Do Parmesan Fries count?

2009-08-19T22:25:00.007-05:00

Visited 2 places in LA area (Laguna Hotel and Rita Hayworth Dining Room at Sony Studios) where the menu included "Parmesan Fries." Technically that is cheese. And by the transitive property, that makes them Cheese Fries. But is it really?

It seems to me that the Parmesan acts like a sodium-vessel. It being a very salty cheese, it adds to the cheese flavor. And since its a more naturally occurring cheese, should it be placed in my taxonomic classification?

My gut says "no." Here's why.

1. Cheese fries are about improvisation - both places we visited had it on the menu and seemed to make the statement that that this is a highly thought out menu item. Not much left to the chef to figure out what to do when someone asks for the powerful combination of cheese + fries. That said, I did overhear a patron at the Laguna Hotel ask for bleu cheese dressing to dip their fries. Good double use of lactose.

2. Cheese fries should not be found in high-class joints - the places we visited were both on the upper scale of restaurants (but I may be confused since midwest values are easy outdone in LA). If they serve in clever ways (see pic) then they can add cost to the concoction. The idea of adding cheese to fries is not about using 'dat foreign cheese (i.e. Parmesan).

3. Cheese fries should be visibly different than regular fries - when Parmesan cheese is sprinkled on fries, its often in grated form and will melt when it touches the fries. It seems both places added parsley or similar leaf-like vegetable to the mix to make it know that these are "different."

In retrospect, I believe this is California's way to make the very pedestrian fries something greater. Enjoy for what it is: fried vegetables + dairy. The midwestern me is proud.

Daily Bar Grill Cheddar Fries

2009-08-13T22:48:00.007-05:00

Lincoln Square's staple Daily Bar & Grill is among the few places in Chicago that proudly serves cheese fries on its menu but takes it up scale by calling it Cheddar Fries and giving it a "east coast" flair with a cheddar sauce (note the capitalization) - what is that about? See how their menu describes it. Love it that they also use the same sauce on Tater Tots (a fave for any one who loves fries).

But the fries seem to the problem here. The fries are hand cut but way too seasoned. Seems like the sauce is OK but it does congeal quickly.

And it does take a certain amount of skill to eat these since the "sauce" is mostly in the middle. Felt the cheese was a bit simple and wondered if it was used on anything else.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: overly seasoned and too-common "sauce"
SUMMARY: 2

p.s. starting to notice images have a beer in background

photo gallery + group on Flickr

2009-08-05T19:30:00.003-05:00

Given that I have photographed many cheese fries over the years, its only natural (unlike the cheese itself) to post those images on Flickr.

Unfortunately I dont recall the places and the taste of each but they do make for an interesting gallery of the varieties, i.e. the interpretation that each place has when they are asked to prepare cheese fries. In some sense it a test of their creativity and ingenuity but more importantly their craft skills. These photographs range from the simple (place a slice of cheese on fries + place under broiler) to complex (cheese + salsa). Enjoy the gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/akasped/sets/72157621957732838/

As a closing statement, I was quite pleased to find a Cheese Fries photo gallery already in existence at Flickr (albeit somewhat defunct) called, oddly enough, Cheese Fries Whores. See http://www.flickr.com/groups/cheesefrywhores/

Beer Bistro Bust

2009-07-26T13:25:00.008-05:00

Found a great little beer place on the west side of the city called the Beer Bistro.

And in Chicago fashion, no cheese fries on menu but a very accommodating waitress was able to get the product but no without mention that they dont have any "liquid cheese." Yikes.

What I got was a order of fries served with a mix of cheeses broiled and placed in a basket. Interesting since it must have been move to the basket or.... microwaved?

The product was good but a bit too salty. My hunch is that the fries are salted so adding cheese amplifies that saltiness. Good ability to pull a fry away from the pack without a fork.

RATING
Fries: 3 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: Salty and good mix of cheese
SUMMARY: 2

Poutine and Disco Fries

2009-07-23T21:16:00.005-05:00

Recently been told about the Canadian version of cheese fries called Poutine. Nice that the French came up with 1 beautiful word to name this food.

And that help me notice that Wikipedia has an entry in Cheese Fries.

All of this reminds me of being in Jersey diners and ordering fries with brown gravy which according to Wikipedia is called Disco Fries. All of this starts to confrontational since this the urban dictionary claims the Canadians started it but NJ perfected it.

Deli interpretation in Portland

2009-07-23T20:22:00.003-05:00

In Portland for weekend and having lunch at Kenny & Zukes (a NYC Deli wannabe).

And all sandwiches do come with fries (I do however pass on the Pastrami Cheese Fries Large Plate of Fries Piled with Pastrami and Melted Cheese ONLY $8.50) so on the experiment in the Pacific Northwest.

Ordered the tuna salad sandwich. Huge points on presentation (may have to do with beer you can see in the background) but among the most beautiful sandwiches and a golden heap of fries.

The fries were excellent shoestring with potato skin on the ends. Very clean. Cheese however was weak. Seemed like a slice of cheese on the fries and placed under the broiler. Very easy to eat (no fork needed) but hardly cheese fries.

RATING
Fries: 5 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 3 out of 5
Taste: hardly cheese
SUMMARY: 2

Confusion with Cheese at Pig N Pancake

2009-07-23T20:10:00.006-05:00

While looking for lunch at Cannon Beach, OR we stumbled upon the Pig 'N Pancake. And noticing that all the sandwiches (even though this is a breakfast place, it was around 3pm) come with fries. So we had to order the fries with cheese. So its the Halibut burger (pressed halibut meat made into a patty)

What came was everyone's meal but mine. The "chef" put cheese on the Halibut (yuck) instead of the fries. 10 minutes later my meal comes.

The cheese was barely noticeable, as if the chef took a slice of cheese and put it on the top of the fries then under the broiler. And no type of cheese was requested so I assume they simply used cheddar since we were near Tilamook.

Hardly cheesy but the fries were crisp and delicious.

RATING
Fries: 4 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 1 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: non-evident
Cost: $1.00 (extra charge on menu)
OVERALL: 2

Clark St Dog - traditional chzfry

2009-07-12T08:36:00.007-05:00

Clark St Dogs has a unique spot at the corner of Halsted and Clark with a mini parking lot and a convenient bar. This place is a stop-over between bars for most people and just that for me Friday night. Friends wanted a bite and sure enough the menu includes cheese fries. Although known for of all things, their philly-cheese steaks, its also about the hot dogs. And they have the claim of "World-famous Cheese Fries."

Ordered the cheese fries (to go). So, in summary, they are pretty good. Very traditional fries and typical processed yellow cheese. Was expecting the cheese from the philly steaks (white american I believe it the correct philly cheese but they use swiss) to be used on the fries but suppose that the yellow stuff is also for their nachos.

Not too salty but cheese was a bit tangy. Overall almost exactly what you'd expect. And nice that they include a fork in the take-away bag knowing the you need it to eat the final fries.

RATING
Fries: 3 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: tangy
Cost: $2.99
OVERALL: 3

Cheese Fries: 20 Worst Foods in America according to Mens Health

2009-07-08T16:14:00.003-05:00

Interesting article from Men's Health claiming cheese fries are the #1 most unhealthy foods in the US:

http://www.menshealth.com/20worst/worstfood.html

NOTE: they rated Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing

Pick Me Up Cafe - Vegan Cheese Fries!

2009-07-08T16:02:00.005-05:00

Yes, could not believe it. Walked in to the Pick Me Up Cafe here in Lakeview after a Cubs game and there on the special board was "Cheese Fries (Vegan)." Wow.

Soy cheese on my fries it is. Fries were the shoestring variety. Cheese, hmmm, well it was so-so but there were some spices added (oregano?) and it does not have the right consistency. Tasted processed, assumed it was heated somewhere then spread on the fries.

With a bottle of PBR these were so-so.

RATING
Fries: 2 out of 5 fries
Cheese: 2 out of 5 wedges
Presentation: 2 out of 5
Taste: additional spice
OVERALL: 2