Hand-cut french fries

Hand-cut fries are just sooooo much better than those frozen cardboard slivers of starch that are foisted upon the public!

Fries should:

NOT be uniform in size.
Have some skin left on.
Have some crunch/crispness.
Be a lovely golden hue; browned tips are acceptable.
Be slightly greasy, but never oily.
NOT be bendable or flaccid (eh, Gene & Jude's?)
Taste like a POTATO!

I've been partial to Hey Bud's at 65th & Pulaski for years.
Hey Viv's on Ogden in Brookfield is good.
Even Parky's on Harlem in Forest Park has its charm.

Who do you like?

Unfortunately great fries can be inconsitent even at the best places. My favorite place, I'm sure nobody has heard of, is Mr. D's on Diversey. When it's not real busy the fries are absolutely perfect. But when it gets swamped, which it usually is around lunch, Mike can't keep up and they tend to be a little flacid. Now we're not talking Gene and Jude flacid, but just not perfect.

Mr. D's Shish-Kabob's
6656 W. Diversey
Chicago

The best french fries I've ever had were at Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City. Hand cut russet potatoes, fried in lard, to a dark golden crispy deliciousness. I've never had any that came close to being this good. In fact I consider them as great as the BBQ there.

Dorty

Since you seem to be out south, try the bar at M&M Windjammer Marina on the banks of the beautiful Calumet river. Fries are hand cut to order with an old fashion,lever operated spud slicer.Good burgers too!


Sometimes after sunset you can see methane gas being burned off the garbage dumps across the river

M&M Windjammer
13701 S Hoxie
Chicago
773 646 2077

Bruce,

Along with Arthur Bryant's I'd like to add Crisfield's on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland.

But around here:

Top Notch Beefburger - 2116 W. 95th - fried in lard

Ramova Grill - 3510 S. Halsted

Smith and Wollensky - 318 N. State - they also do some of the best fried onion rings around

The Superdawg - Milwaukee at Devon

Evil Ronnie

Hi,

At Gross Point Road and Central Avenue in Evanston is 'the Little Island.' You can choose for the same price to have regular or fresh cut fries. Whether you have the regular or the fresh cut fries, both are fried in 50% lard and 50% oil. The fresh cut fries are not twice cooked as fries are often prepared. Once the fries are done, they are lifted out of the grease and quickly dropped into a bag, which is immediately very greasy.

I have offered the fry's pedigree, however I remain uncertain whether I indeed liked these fries. I have had their hot dog, which was mediocre. I had a burger which I ordered medium rare and received it cooked through. I am not enchanted by this place, though I can confirm they are a source for hand cut fries.

Regards,
Cathy2

the Little Island
2600 Crawford Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
847/866-7670 or 71

Winter hours:
Mon-Fri: 10:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Sat: 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Sun: 10:30 - 3:30 PM

Summer hours:
Mon-Fri: 10:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Sat: 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Sun: 10:30 - 3:30 PM

Cathy,

I agree with your assessment of The Little Island. On our last visit, my son and I opted for the hand-cut fries. Frankly, we were disappointed.

While hand-cut is more appealing than machine-processed, execution of the entire process counts, too.

Also, we agree that the hot dog is mediocre.

Our conclusion was that The Little Island is tolerable if you're in the area and have limited time. However, if you want a better hot dog & fries, take a few minutes and drive south to Dempster. There you'll have a choice of (from east to west) Herm's, Poochie's or Hot Dog Island. The Dempster Street trio are all very close in quality and definitely superior to The Little Island.

George R

I had some pretty nice hand-cut fries at Poochie's the other day.

Also, the fries at the Great Steak and Potato outlets at various malls aren't bad.

But I agree it can be variable no matter where you are.

Poochie's
3832 Dempster St, Skokie
(847) 673-0100

FYI, The Little Island is the original home of Hot Dog Island, hence the name. They moved to their Golf Rd. location many years ago and just recently moved to the Dempster and Bronx location because the world needed another CVS pharmacy SOOO badly in the Golf location:)

No, Hot Dog Island moved because I cursed them, remember?

I agree that Arthur Bryant's fries are practically a reason to go there by themselves. Even from Chicago (if Southwest has cheap flights).

Probably my favorite fries of recent times were (and hopefully will be again) Hot Doug's-- the regular ones, not the duck fat fries. Light and crispy, I admire that Doug worked on them after opening to get his technique down. Manjovin's on Damen just north of Belmont makes greasier but pretty good fries, as well as a largish but recognizable 30s style burger.

Try Susie's, on Montrose just west of Elston (N. side of Montrose). A little joint, but great fries (with skins), shakes, and sandwiches (try the Confused Chicken and the grilled cheese). Open 24 hours, with drive-through but limited parking and seating.

The rumored Chicago outpost of the CA-based In 'N' Out Burger also promises nice hand-cut fries.

In-and-Out here? HERE!!!???

Oh please, oh please, oh please.

The rumored Chicago outpost of the CA-based In 'N' Out Burger also promises nice hand-cut fries

Impossible(?) Sure you are not thinking of Fatburger, which has started to go national with out posts in FL and soon the Chicago area?

I sincerely hope to be proven wrong, since I usually prefer the balance and freshness of In n Out to the excess and grease of Fatburger.

I have to admit I will be sorry if that happens.

It's more fun to anticipate being able to go to In-N-Out in LA or Vegas when I find myself there (every year or two) than it will be if it's one of the places I run through the drive through when I'm too indolent to cook for the kids.

Go ahead and flame, but that's how I feel.