You Want French Fries IN That? (The Berber at Falafill)

You Want French Fries IN That? (The Berber at Falafill)

Last year, I wrote about a “taco” I had in Lyon, France, that had French fries in it, as well as harissa, the peppery North African condiment [http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=37881]. I felt strange love for this sandwich, which combined European, African and New World ingredients.

A sandwich I had last week at Falafill in Oak Park also had French fries and harissa in it. Called “The Berber,” it was designed by Chef Farid Zadi, and contains falafel, Algerian radish, orange-onion and yogurt-cucumber salad, harissa and French fries.



The addition of French fries into a sandwich – carb-on-carb – seems a little odd, but it is not an uncommon practice.

• The word “butty” is a British slang contraction of “butter-bread,” and I’ve written about the Conny-Onny Butty, a Liverpudlian favorite [http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22968]. The people of my ancestral homeland also make a butty with French fries called a Chip Butty. It’s working man’s food: cheap, filling, and packed with energy-generating carbs.

• The signature sandwich at Pittsburgh’s Primanti Brothers [http://www.primantibros.com/] contains French fries as well as meat, Provolone and slaw. It was introduced around the time of the Great Depression. According to their site, “"One winter, a fella drove in with a load of potatoes. He brought a few of 'em over to the restaurant to see if they were frozen. I fried the potatoes on our grill and they looked pretty good. A few of our customers asked for them, so I put the potatoes on their sandwiches." The rest, as they say, is history.” In Chicago, Lucky’s Sandwich Company [http://www.luckysandwich.com/] follows the Primanti Brothers lead and adds fries to sandwiches.

• Locally, Gene and Jude’s serve fries piled on the hot dog, so you can, if you want (and you should) eat the fries with the rest of the sandwich. I find that the somewhat assertive condiments on the dog (sport peppers, primarily, but also the onions and relish) are modified by the more neutral-flavored fry, which is nice.

French fry sandwiches are also, I am led to believe, popular in the Middle East [http://mideastfood.about.com/od/appetizerssnacks/r/frenchfrysand.htm] – they’re quite common, I’m told, in Israeli falafel sandwiches.

The Berber at Falafill was pretty good. The orange-onion and yogurt-cucumber salads added moisture, which is necessary with all the starch from wrap, falafel and French fries, and the slight sourness of these salads was balanced by carb blandness. There were just a few fries in the sandwich, which is kind of too bad because PETA assures us that French fry sandwiches can save your life [http://www.peta.org/living/food/french-fry-sandwiches-can-save-life/]…some assembly required.

Hi,

Years ago, Vital Information described how Israeli's dressed their falafel sandwiches with lots of vegetable salads and French fries. Back then there was nothing approaching what he described in the area. I pretty much thought I'd have to make-it-myself or go to Israel.

In 2008, Mizrahi Grill, a Kosher Israeli street food (dare I suggest fast food?) opened in Highland Park. Sure enough they have French fries in their sandwiches:

Cathy from May 12, 2008 wrote:I lunched at Mizrahi Grill today. I ordered the Schawarma sandwich for $6, then paid $3 additional for Laffa bread instead of pita. While the addition of Laffa bread may seem high, it may also take into account additional cost of ingredients because this is a large sandwich. Following the lead of the man who was before me, "Load it up like they do in Israel!" I had them add generous quantities of the cabbage salad, eggplant salad, hummus and a chopped tomato-cucumber-onion salad. Before laying out the meat, he also added some thick cut French fries, then squeezed on the tahini sauce. I tried to negotiate just a wee bit more eggplant and cabbage salad, but I was reminded that folding the sandwich would be tougher.

Regards,

This thread immediately popped into my mind after I popped into SP Kebab for lunch recently. Tucked away in a mall on Sheridan Road in Rogers Park they advertise "Superb European Style Kebabs" and surely enough one of the options is with french fries inside. They also have "Kebab in a Cup" but I went with the lahmacun wrap. The good? They use the machines the kebab spots thru-out Spain use (there's one on every block in Barca) and this results in well browned thinly sliced meat. I cant stand the places that use the gyro machines and hack away at the cone browning large chunks of it on the flattop, whats the point in using the vertical spit? Also a plus is the option for "Mixta" which is both pork and chicken. The shaved bits have some actual seasoning going on. The bad? Way to big. In Europe this is supposed to be cheap fast food but due to the portion size this isn't a cheap snack. Over $8 and I only ate half. I could see how the local college kids like this place but they don't stay open past 10p. Bullshat. End result? I'd go back if nearby and the wraps were half the size and with that half the price, though I'd get the fries on the side. Too much starch for a sober man to handle.


Mixed Meat Wrap with Fries and Sauces inside

SP Kebab
6808 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 856-3755

A long time ago I went into a Gatsby Sandwich shop in Cape Town South Africa and bought the most expensive sandwich on the menu, which come to nearly five American dollars. They gave me a family sized loaf of bread filled with French fries that had been drenched in sweet curry sauce. Some internet searching tells me the Gatsby Sandwich was developed by putting leftovers into a loaf of bread, its like their version of the sub sandwich.

Da Beef wrote:I cant stand the places that use the gyro machines and hack away at the cone browning large chunks of it on the flattop, whats the point in using the vertical spit?

So true. The point, I think, is that this practice makes it easier for the servers to just grab some already cut meat (which is cut when there's a little downtime) and serve. That's not a good enough reason for me, and I do prefer the crisp meat cut directly from the frustum.

I recall having french fries in schawarma in west africa (Ivory Coast) and in Lebanon.

Burger King is testing a french fry sandwich in New Zealand called the Chip Butty, Eater reported. And Wendy's is mocking them for it.

Link https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... =mainstage

Wasn't sure where to post this, so please feel to move it to a more appropriate thread.

Xexo wrote:Burger King is testing a french fry sandwich in New Zealand called the Chip Butty, Eater reported. And Wendy's is mocking them for it.

Link https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... =mainstage

Wasn't sure where to post this, so please feel to move it to a more appropriate thread.

Good use to provide new information and by bumping reminding us of old. I do it as often as reasonably possible.

I think this French fry sandwich is already an established sandwich, though now offered via Burger King.

Cathy2 wrote:

Xexo wrote:Burger King is testing a french fry sandwich in New Zealand called the Chip Butty, Eater reported. And Wendy's is mocking them for it.

Link https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation ... =mainstage

Wasn't sure where to post this, so please feel to move it to a more appropriate thread.

Good use to provide new information and by bumping reminding us of old. I do it as often as reasonably possible.

I think this French fry sandwich is already an established sandwich, though now offered via Burger King.

From reading the linked story, and the twitter response, I guess it is common in England, and call, surprisingly enough, a Chip Butty.

Super Pitas in Niles puts fries in their pita sandwiches.

I was in Jerusalem in the late 70's and there was a pizza shop selling Sicilian slices, one of which was topped with fries. On a (much) later trip to Sicily we walked into a local mom & pop restaurant near Cefalu that served a more New York-style pizza than any of the other offerings in the region. Toppings included french fries.