French Fry Fairy

I visited a fantastic little French café, A La Folie, on Espanola Way in South Beach. I was so excited to try French fries in a real French atmosphere, but I kind of suspected fries wouldn’t be on the menu. My suspicions were confirmed… no fries. I do want to say that this little gem of a restaurant has really fantastic crepes, but let’s turn our thoughts back to French fries. The lack of my favorite food made me wonder if French fries were actually created in France. That conclusion seemed a little too obvious, so I thought I would delve into the history. Read the rest of this entry »

After coming back from happy hour, and I was happy, Eddie asked if I wanted to go grab French fries. Umm… Yes!  We walked to a little Irish bar in South Beach, Clarke’s, and continued the quest for delicious fried potatoes.

Eddie and I wanted to exemplify the epitome of sophistication, so we ordered French fries as an appetizer. The fries came out hot. The fries had a little skin on them. The fries had a little crunch. The fries were the right texture. There wasn’t anything negative about these fries. That’s good, because the world is a happier place when we focus on the positive. I was a little disheartened when the fries were gone, but a smile returned to my face when Eddie’s meal arrived with more French fries to enjoy. He didn’t have a choice. He had to share. Read the rest of this entry »

Today I had lunch with one of my dear friends, Steven. We decided to eat at Gilbert’s 17^th Street Grill in Fort Lauderdale. There was really no point in looking at the menu because Steven said they had sweet potato fries.  I stopped listening to everything else after he muttered those heavenly words and I couldn’t think straight again until the fries arrived.

Sweet potato fries are really hit or miss. I think they might take a little bit longer to cook than conventional fries because often times they come out as an undercooked disaster.  However, when sweet potatoes are fried correctly, the world should stop moving and marvel in their greatness. As the waiter approached the table with my basket of fries, I saw the steam billow from the perfectly cooked meal I was about to eat. Hallelujah. Read the rest of this entry »

French Fries at Books & Books

I feel that today was one of the most important days of my life as I began the pursuit for the best French fries. The evening began with a twilight bike ride through the heart of South Beach with my favorite neighbor, Eddie. Although his enthusiasm for fries doesn’t quite measure up to my overzealous passion, he made an excellent partner in my fried potato quest.

As we approached Lincoln Road, the bike ride came to end. We arrived at Books and Books and as it turns out, they not only had books, but they also had fries. Hooray! As a matter of fact, we were given the option between sweet potato fries or regular fries for a mere $3.95 each. I wanted to order both, but instead Read the rest of this entry »

Wine connoisseurs have the amazing ability to discern subtle, yet complex, flavors and aromas in wines from around the world.  My simple Midwest upbringing did not offer the opportunity to learn the art of twirling, swirling, smelling, tasting and spitting. Instead, I learned to appreciate the subtle differences in French fries. Not quite as sophisticated, but pretty close!

My French fry obsession began in my early 20s when I started traveling for work. Being a very picky eater, there were often very limited menu options available to vegetarians in some of the smaller towns that I had to visit. There was always the pasta option with watered down sauce Read the rest of this entry »