Since we had to spend at least $10, we had to get the “double” size order for $7.75 and then three dipping sauces for $2.50. This put us at $10.25, perfect! While there is a lot of debate about whether these deals are actually a positive or negative for restaurants that participate in them, the people who redeem the deals inevitably go over and spend more on top of what they originally paid for the deal. I did that at Bon Chon, but stayed on target here.

Good thing there is usually a line to order because they have a plethora of sauces to choose from.

We went with the Cheese Sauce, Wasabi Mayo, War Sauce (peanut satay, frite sauce, onions).

It is kind of hard to tell from the picture but it was a LOT of fries. We got a good batch (CT said she has had some not so good batches previously). They were super crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They could definitely be in the Top 3 French Fries in NYC.

I would say the Wasabi Mayo was my favorite of the three for the sinus clearing aspect. I’m not sure what the War Sauce was trying to accomplish, it just tasted peanuty to me.

Pommes Frites is pretty much a takeout place although they had 2 small tables in the back and a couple stools along the wall. I was impressed with the holes in the tables that held the cone of frites perfectly. Next time I would order the small because no matter what I would eat the whole thing, so better to limit myself.

We knew that sharing some frites, does not a dinner make, so we headed to St. Marks Place to grab a bite somewhere else. What compliments frites? Sliders, do. Mark is a bar/restaurant that specializes in sliders. Our friend, KR joined us for some tiny burgers. She was supposed to share some of the frites with us but got held up and I accidentally ate most of her portion. Oops!

The menu was quite simple with just a choice of regular slider ($2.50) or bacon ($2.95) with a couple variaties of fries and shakes. Since we already had way too many frites, we stuck to the sliders.
Neither of us were particularly hungry, but felt bad if we only ordered one each. So, CT ordered two, while I stupidly felt the need to order three.

While waiting for our sliders, I was intrigued by the varieties of sauces on the table. There was barbecue, jalapeno, chipotle, and ketchup.

All sliders are cooked with onions, but I believe you can ask to for them without. Here are my three in their unique, little tray.

The sliders had a little bit of char for some nice flavor. I liked the jalapeno sauce the most to bring a little heat to the burger. The sliders were good, although I didn’t really appreciate them as much as I would have if I had been hungrier to begin with.

All in all, Pommes Frites makes some very good fries and Mark makes good sliders. However, I wouldn’t recommend going to both on the same night. Be wary of those deal website, 5 or 6 months may sound like a long time to redeem a deal, but time flies!

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2012. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: frites, Google Offers, sliders

For a recent Midtown Lunch Happy Hour, I chose Loreley as our venue because SpB had whispered in my ear… “meatballs. frites. same basket. wtf. wtf. wtf. MEATBALLS AND FRITES IN A BASKET” – this sounded ridiculously appealing to me – hello!? – so I quickly made plans to drag my HH lush friends.  Plus, I’d been to Loreley years ago and enjoyed the quirky atmosphere; a German biergarten right outside Chinatown?  Sold. 

It wasn’t that difficult to convince everyone of the greatness, either; as with any biergarten, the beer selection was pretty decent (though I’m sure Beer Boor will speak up and confirm or deny this, as I, um, stuck to drinking hard cider or something along those lines…). 

When I arrived, everyone was enjoying large steins of beer, though I didn’t bother to ask what they were drinking.  TT was sitting next to me, and we began discussing the merits of ordering food.  “Meatballs and frites,” I said.  He responded, “No meatballs.  Meatball’d out.  No meatballs!”

So he ordered a burger.  He said it was good, but not life changing.

Hungry also ordered a platter of some sort, while CheeeEEEeeese ordered soup.  I didn’t take pictures nor did I happen to hear how they liked them (they were sitting at the other end of one of the long picnic tables in the outdoor back patio area), so hopefully they will speak up and share their opinions… 

Meanwhile, Nommables’ Dean and I both went straight for what we’d come for: meatballs and frites. 

When the basket arrived, I was pretty surprised by how many meatballs there were – 8, I think.  I’d expected a low number – 3-5, perhaps, just tossed in with my frites.  Plus, these were pretty huge! like small hamburgers that hadn’t been flattened (pre-cooking, I don’t press on my burgers once they’re on the grill, I’m not crazy). 

What really struck me immediately as I placed a ball in my mouth was how soft they were.  I knew they were pork from the menu, but just how succulently soft each piece was; it was along the lines of biting into a meat cloud, a burst of meat juice released into your mouth along with the lovely flavor of happiness.  Provided with each basket were small cups of ketchup, mustard and curry ketchup; but the surprise win was definitely the curry ketchup – a slight kick of curry in there, the smell of curry, and just yum.  The frites were pretty tasty too – properly fried, crispy, and great to munch on while chatting with everyone; since the portion was so generous, it was easy to share as well.

Yvo says: Well, that was a win.  My cider was $5, and for $10, that ginormous basket of meatballs and frites was an excellent value that totally stuffed me.  I’d say it stuffed me for the night, but I’ll be honest: directly afterwards, we headed over to Quickly Shabu Shabu because I wanted hot pot.  Mostly cuz I’m a pig, though, not because I wasn’t full already.  With a pretty extensive menu for a biergarten, I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t return to Loreley sooner than later… mmm!  
recommended

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: frites, Meatballs

UPDATE: I am becoming a blogging machine, so I will also be reporting on Thursday afternoons for you.

CT’s sister and her brother-in-law are not only high school sweethearts, their birthdays are a week apart. Isn’t that cute? I was invited to the dual-family brunch to celebrate both of their birthdays at DBGB Kitchen & Bar. It is one of the newer restaurants in the building Daniel Boulud empire. The restaurant’s name is a homage to CBGB, the pioneering music club that used to be a few doors up on Bowery. It is quite amazing how this neighborhood is changing. Bowery used to be one of the most rundown streets in Manhattan, but with DBGB, Whole Foods, and now Pulino’s, it has become quite gentrified. Is that a good thing? It remains to be seen. There ended up being 10 of us, so it was quite a large brunch crew, so I wasn’t able to document all of the food, but I got most of it.

Since it was brunch afterall, we started with some cocktails.

CT got the blood orange spritzer with gin. She could have gotten it with vodka, but I think gin was the better choice.

I got the Aztec. It had tequila, jalapeno, and cucumber slices. Quite strong, but quite tasty.

One of the stars of the menu is the selection of sausages, nine to choose from. The birthday girl decided it would be best to order a whole bunch for the table to share as appetizers.

Chipolata- pork sausage link, pommes mousseline, burgundy truffle. (below center, with truffle on top)

Espagnole-fresh chorizo sausage with piperade, basil oil. As expected from a chorizo, this had some nice heat to it. (below, right, red)

Boudin Basque- spicy blood & pigs head sausage, scallion mashed potatoes. One of the most unique sausages on the menu. I haven’t had blood sausage in a long time. It was quite good. The black blood was nice and creamy and worked well with the chunks of pigs head.

Tunisienne- spicy lamb & mint merguez, lemon braised spinach & chickpeas.

Vermont- smoked pork & cheddar link, hash browns, red onion crème frache. This was also very good. Pork + cheddar = WIN. I really like the hash browns too.

As if this wasn’t enough to start with, we got some other appetizers too.

Charcuterie plate- tasting of pâté, saucisson, rillette, & fromage de tête with sourdough toast. All of the items here were very good. I think I might have a heart attack before the end of the meal.

Housemade blintzes- ricotta cream, poached rhubarb. I had a taste of this and it was pretty amazing. So rich and creamy. Quite better than the frozen blitzes I am used to.

The Viennoiserie was also ordered for the table. It is a basket of fresh baked pain aux raisins croissant, pain au chocolat, & madeleines with butter & jam. Fortunately for CT & I, the other end of the table grabbed most of these items, so we were able to hold off. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to take a picture.

For mains, CT & I decided to get two of the burgers on the menu and share them. Daniel’s Piggie & Frenchie burgers have gotten some good press since the restaurant opened. He even gave out the Frenchie back in January in a food truck as part of a NBC contest.

The Piggie- 6 oz beef patty topped with Daisy May’s bbq pulled pork, jalapeno mayonnaise & boston lettuce on a cheddar bun with mustard-vinegar slaw & fries. I like Daisy May’s pulled pork a lot and used it get it from their cart when I used to work near there. To have it on top of a burger? Yes please. The burgers are pretty small, but the flavor is big. Very tasty and all the ingredients work quite well together.

inside shot

The Frenchie- 6 oz beef patty with confit pork belly, arugula, tomato-onion compote & morbier cheese on a peppered brioche bun with cornichon, mustard & fries. WOW! Pork belly on a burger! Basically it is the most decadent bacon cheese burger you ever had. I think I liked it even more than the Piggie. Take note too that the fries were amazing. Perfectly crisp and then give you a ton of them. I am so glad CT & I decided to share these burgers.

inside shot

Since it was a birthday celebration, we were getting dessert. I was pretty full and used this opportunity to get something light since I probably ingested enough salt to kill a small dog. Their sorbet of the day was grapefruit. I got a scoop. Boring for some, but perfect for me. It was nice and tart- very grapefruity.

CT got the strawberry sundae. Unfortunately the DGBG website has an old menu listed, so I can’t give you an exact description. The ice cream was basically strawberry cheesecake in ice cream form. There were also marshmallows, strawberry sauce, and whipped cream. CT was quite happy with her dessert. I thought I took a picture, but I guess I accidentally deleted it.

CT’s sister got Mymi’s Rhubarb Tart- italian meringue, rhubarb ice cream. She liked it a lot. Her husband got the cheese plate and was also quite happy with it.

The design of the restaurant is very cool. It is a slightly open kitchen, but the star is the copper cookware that lines the shelves. Each item was donated by a world-renowned chef. There is a tag above each one to show where it came from. Here is shot of the pot donated by one of my favorites, Anthony Bourdain.

All in all a great meal to celebrate a special occasion. Everything was delicious. It was very generous of CT’s father to treat us. I would definitely recommend this if you have a special occasion coming up, but not if you have a doctor’s appointment. They also have a great beer list, so The Beer Boor may have to make a visit.

© TT for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: TT

Yet another one of my last days down in the Financial District, and the Wafels & Dinges truck finally showed up!  I was so excited to get to try them finally before I left for good.  (Actually, I’m pretty sure this was my last day ever down there, so it was excellent timing.)  I wound up having a long conversation with one of the guys working there while they made my wafel fresh… they were both very cool and fun to talk to, but of course, held my wafel hostage! 

Yes… come to me, my preciousss

A BACON WAFEL! with the bacon embedded, banana slices and maple syrup.  All that’s missing is peanut butter, or it could have been an Elvis take (which I told them, so if they’ve started selling that combo in the time since, it was MY IDEA YOU CAN THANK MEEE!).    I have to say, I was really impressed by the wafel.  I hadn’t expected to like it that much, eat half, get rid of the other half (my coworkers surprised me with a red velvet cake that day, actually), but I totally inhaled it all.  Crisp bits of bacon littered throughout a crisp but soft wafel (I waited a bit to eat it, so I’m sure the maple syrup absorbed into it, softening it up a bit)… the banana did amazing things with the salty, smokey bacon… I just really enjoyed my wafel more than I’d thought would be possible.  I don’t like waffles in general, but was game to try this Belgian kind.  I was very happy.

Yvo says: Pleasantly surprised by how this turned out to be so tasty!  I liked the combination I got, but I would love to go back and try more things.  Yum!
recommended

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© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: pastries

SpB’s birthday passed recently, and after a day of feet-measuring, ice skating, karaoke, a ton of fun, we headed to Resto for some grub.  Yeah, we’d been there before – three years ago – but hell she wanted frites and we were nearby. 

And I’ve been dreaming about these deviled eggs since three years ago… they were even more amazing this time around!  Of course, since I’m also way more conscious about my weight and health this time around, I opted to share these and only eat one piece.  That ‘pork toast’ bit on the bottom? crisp with a delicious fatty center, and just. amazing. omg. I wanted to cry from joy.  Then AB pointed out the trail of fat drizzling its way down my hand, down my arm, and I thought “Maybe I can live without that…” 

NAH!!! 

AB and SpB both opted for the chorizo moules frites this time, and surprisingly, neither liked it very much.  The flavor was pronounced much too muted, too bland and unremarkable for what they wanted.  FAIL.  Last time, she’d liked the moules very much, so this was a bit of a surprise. 

The frites, however, were delicious per usual.  Crisp on the outside, potato goodness on the inside – perfect frites with some great dipping sauces.  In fact, they both began using the sauces (lime pickle & sweet chili) for their moules, saying that bumped the flavor factor of the moules much better. 

ShB ordered a burger?  I didn’t really get her opinion unfortunately, but here’s a terrible photo of her food.  She made no comment about the dish, so I presume it was sufficient. 

I have this really great affinity towards pappardelle, so when I saw the pork ragout pappardelle on the menu, of course I ordered that.  The pork ‘sauce’, a super soft, succulent mash on top of the wonderful pappardelle… let’s just say, I was very quiet as I cleaned my plate happily.  So. Good. 

I really like to have vegetables with my meals, so I opted to add on a side dish of beets with creme fraiche.  (I could have sworn that I read somewhere creme fraiche is actually a style/type of cheese, but I guess I am wrong because Google tells me otherwise, d’oh!)  The beets were delicious with the creme fraiche, though some of the herbs were a bit pungent, while others went excellently.  Since I couldn’t identify the herbs on sight at the restaurant, I can’t tell you which it was, but the dish was delicious in either case.  Yum! 

Yvo says: I really love Resto’s casual atmosphere, and the place is just fun to grab a bite.  They have a huge selection of beer – if you’re into that sort of thing, heh, which you know I’m not – and some solid offerings, though apparently, skip the chorizo/saffron/potato option for the moules frites.  DEFINITELY get the deviled eggs, if you like fat, pork, deliciousness… with deviled eggs on top of that   Yumm- I have to go back sooner than 3 years from now!
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© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: frites