All in on the fries
At the new Southdowns Grille, the chef takes his time with the fries. Try them with bubbles.
French fries used to be a gamble. You'd order a burger at some local restaurant, and half the time your side of fries came out limp and greasy, sagging in the basket like they'd been suffering from the vapors.
Food technology changed the odds. These days, bagged fries are nearly foolproof, the result of food companies applying enough science to make a frozen fry taste almost as good as a golden one from McDonald’s.
Southdowns Grille, a newcomer, has chosen a truer route. Its chef, Eric Sibley, uses Kennebec potatoes, prized for their high starch and low levels of water and sugar. They crisp without burning. The shoestrings arrive pre-cut, but convenience ends there: Sibley soaks them for two days, blanches them until tender and flash-fries them to produce a crisp exterior.
The frites run $8 and come with a herb aioli for dipping. Order them with the 8-ounce flatiron and chimichurri for $28—a safe bet, because Sibley knows this combo cold. He ran the kitchen at L'Auberge's Casino’ steakhouse before taking over the Grille and its sister spot, Bin 77.
Or eat them with a glass of champagne. Fries this good deserves that pairing.
—Mukul Verma