The Unvegan » fries

Ungodly Food at Damon and Pythias

The Unvegan — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:00:54 +0000

Blue cheese and fries is heaven.

Greek mythology tells the tale of Damon and Pythias. It is a tale of friendship that has withstood the ages and while I won’t get into the details, calling a restaurant Damon and Pythias is kind of like saying, “you’re gonna be best friends with this place.” It is quite a claim and one that I was ready to test. Located in the heart of Westwood, Damon and Pythias serves mostly sandwiches and salads, but with some more normal entrees and even some hot dogs. The food is priced a little bit high for college students in the area, but for a working man like myself, the prices looked amazing.

The first thing you notice when walking in is the succulent smell of garlic. This is due to their garlic fries, which I just had to try. But then I noticed the menu also had other fry options, one of which being Blue Cheese fries. Struggling to choose between the two, I decided I had to have both and would just split them with the table. But fries would not be enough to get me through the meal, I also needed something meaty.

Time for a rename.

Enter the LA Cheesesteak, one of the specialties of the place. This cheesesteak was a world away from it’s cousin in Philly other than the fact that there was both cheese and steak in the sandwich. The steak was sliced up thick flank steak that had been marinated in balsamic and spices and the cheese was blue cheese dressing. On top of that, it was made with crispy onions, field greens and tomatoes. And rather than being contained by a hoagie, this cheesesteak was put inside grilled focaccia bread. I ordered mine without the onions, field greens and tomatoes to make it a true cheesesteak, then added a beer to the tab and took my seat.

While waiting for the food to come, I took a look at my receipt and noticed I had been given a 10% student discount on everything except the beer. And they hadn’t even asked me for a student ID. Still got it!

The blue cheese fries came first and looked heavenly, even Greek godly. These weren’t simply fries with blue cheese on them, but perfectly crispy curly fries that refused to get soggy even under the pressure of the blue cheese dressing. Not only that, but they were also topped with garlic to add additional, yet not overwhelming flavor.

Then came the cheesesteak with my additional garlic fries. The sandwich looked mighty tasty and I dug in immediately only to come back with the taste of disappointment. It seemed they had neglected to prepare my sandwich without the crispy onions. While these onions are much less offensive than their raw or caramelized buddies, they were wholly unwelcome in my cheesesteak. I opened the bread and quite easily removed them from the situation, then got back to my eating. I found the blend of blue cheese and steak to be an interesting take on the cheesesteak, but it did not compare to the Philly sort with Cheez Whiz. The steak itself was cooked quite well to a nice medium, but the blue cheese dressing seemed much better suited for the fries.

In truth, I think the LA Cheesesteak had doomed itself based on its name. Had it just been called a steak sandwich, I wouldn’t have held such high hopes for the thing. Instead, though, I found myself comparing it to the original, against which it couldn’t hold up. Taken just as itself, it tasted great (after the onions), so I will review it thus, but do not try this sandwich thinking it will be the next Philly Cheesesteak or you will be let down.

Oh and before I forget, the garlic fries were damn good, but not quite as good as the blue cheese fries. I fear the first fries spoiled me, but if you’re not a fan of blue cheese, the regular garlic fries will not let you down.

Despite my complaints, Damon and Pythias is definitely a place I would return to. For their fries alone it is worth it, and although they didn’t make the world’s greatest cheesesteak, they still came up with a unique sandwich that is often hard to find. Next time, though, there better not be any onions.

A Nightcap at Smoke’s Poutinerie

The Unvegan — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:00:22 +0000

I like my poutine with gravy and curds.

A few more beers into the night and not yet having satisfied my craving for poutine in Toronto, my drunken munchies search became a quest for poutine. The quest ended when we discovered Smoke’s Poutinerie in the Queens West area. This place was a chain, but still had the look of a greasy hole-in-the-wall style poutine joint. Their menu had a few different variations of that delicious treat, even one including bacon, but we decided that the traditional was the way to go. We got a large for 8 loonies and waited about 30 seconds for them to toss the fries, curds and gravy into a box for eating.

Shiny, glistening, Canadian fries.

Now this was how poutine was supposed to be. The curds still retained their shapes and although the food looked deliciously sloppy, you could see exactly what you were about to eat. The gravy tasted different from any I’d ever had with poutine before, but not necessarily in a bad way. After a few bites, we decided it must have come from some sort of foul, be it chicken, turkey or otherwise. And it was delicious, chain or not. Each bite had the perfect mix of ingredients and there was enough gravy and curds in the box so that no fry went unflavored. Even though the gravy was thin, it didn’t destroy the fries completely. They definitely got a bit soggy by the end, but they retained their individuality and I never felt like they had been turned to mush.

It was the perfect treat to end a night of drinking in Toronto. Look out, French-Canada, it looks like I don’t have to travel all the way to your part of the country next time I need some poutine in my belly.

Almost Canadian at Pommes Frites

The Unvegan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:30:57 +0000

Oooh curds.

After a few drinks, our tour guide (aka the girlfriend’s bro) took us to a little hole in the wall called Pommes Frites. Here, they specialized in cones of Belgian fries served with some crazy sauces like Pomegranate Teriyaki Mayo, Irish Curry and more. These seemed all good and well, but I saw something on the menu that tickled my fancy even more: Poutine.

For the uninitiated and un-Canadian, poutine (pronounced pooh-teen) is a gloriously unvegan treat consisting of fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. This combination creates something spectacular, yet rarely found south of the Great White North. It had been a long time since I was in Canada and I was with a couple poutine virgins, so we ordered a large one to split for six bucks.

I watched as the cook scooped up some fries, grabbed some curds and ladled the gravy into a styrofoam cup. I had never seen poutine dished out in a styrofoam cup like this, but I reserved my judgment for the taste. We grabbed our forks and went at it. It was actually surprisingly good for not being in Canada. The fries maintained a level of crispiness in all that gravy and the cheese curds made it halfway into that semi-gooey state that makes poutine so good. The gravy happened to be of the chicken sort and was nice and flavorful and definitely went well with those fries.

Poutine at Pommes Frites was definitely an unexpected treat for my trip to New York. Although not perfect, they definitely did poutine justice and the place could definitely be a little taste of home for any homesick Canadians hanging out in Manhattan.

Frysmith Rolling Out Today

The Unvegan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:47:34 +0000

Try them out tonight!

The newest food truck to roll out onto the streets of Los Angeles will be Frysmith and their official launch is none other than tonight at 6:30 at the Brig was November 20th. I haven’t had a chance to test out their offerings yet, but what I’ve seen on their website looks pretty impressive. I did catch up with owners Erik and Brook to get a few questions in.

Check out the interview below.

Unvegan: First off, what took you so long? I was beginning to think your truck was an elaborate hoax.

Frysmith: Basically, the main hold-up was that our builder drastically oversold their finish time. That was compounded by some crazy random hold-ups like the truck breaking down the night before a health department appointment that we then had to reschedule.

Unvegan: What was your inspiration for starting a fry truck? Deep fryers in a moving vehicle sounds dangerous to me.

Frysmith: The fryers have lids attached, which is a must seeing as you can hear the oil sloshing around when you turn. The inspiration is pretty much that I really like fries. And Brook and I have always wanted to own our own food business.

Unvegan: What are the best fries you ever had, aside from your own truck?

Frysmith: That’s like asking a mother to choose her favorite child, but at the moment what comes to mind are the pommes frites Brook and I had at Bouchon in Las Vegas last year.

Unvegan: For a totally unnatural city in the middle of the desert, it is amazing how good the food can be in Vegas. I see that you have chili fries on your menu, but for some reason, there are onions on the fries. Can this be remedied to fit my dietary restrictions?

Frysmith: Onion removal for dietary restrictions or religious concerns are not a problem.

Unvegan: Hmmm I wonder if Unveganism can become a legit religion…You also have vegan chili fries, which may be offensive to some of my followers or disciples. Do you have plans for any sort of unvegan specials? I’m thinking some Montreal-style Poutine topped with steak and bacon. Those would be some fries I’d love to get my hands on.

Frysmith: Oh, there’ll be a lot of un-veganation going on. We’re definitely doing a poutine special, but I hadn’t considered putting bacon on it until I read that question. And you know what they say, everything’s better with bacon.

Unvegan: So so true. Sweet potato fries are all the rage right now, but what do you think is the next step in french fry evolution?

Frysmith: The fried rutabaga is going to take the world by storm! Actually, I don’t know what the next fry craze is, but fried parsnips are pretty tasty.

Unvegan: Damn, I was hoping taro or ube for something both purple and fried, but that’s why I am not in the fry making business. Thanks for your time and good luck!

As you can see, Frysmith looks to have fries for just about everyone. They’ll be launching at the Brig tonight from 6:30-10:00 They launched on November 20th and can now be found on the streets of LA. I can’t make it that early, but would love to hear some preliminary feedback.

Getting Cheesy at Mad Dogs

The Unvegan — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:00:53 +0000

Nothing green here.

After a long day of drinking in Santa Barbara, I stumbled upon a little hole in the wall joint called Mad Dogs. Hot dogs were their specialty, which was perfect for me to soak up the remains of the day.

They had a variety of hot dog choices to please anyone, and I decided to do a little custom thing. I ordered a bacon and cheese dog with a side of cheese fries. Apparently I am not afraid of destroying my arteries in one sitting.

The price was a little steep, but so is everything in Santa Barbara, so I just chalked it up to the location.

When my food was done, it looked quite nice. I was a bit baffled by the fact that my hot dog went way beyond the size of the bun. You would think that a place specializing in hot dogs would be able to match up sizes better, but apparently not. The real issue with this was not so much that the dog didn’t fit, but that the parts of the dog that didn’t fit were naked, cheeseless and baconless.

The cheese on both the dog and fries tasted pretty dry, which was a strange feeling. It tasted almost dehydrated, which was probably better for my health, but not very good for my taste buds.

Nonetheless, I scarfed down all of my food in a few minutes and was ready to tackle the rest of the night. Mad Dogs was a great drunken stop, but a sober man could certainly find some better food in the area.

The Habit I Can Get Used To

The Unvegan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:22:47 +0000

Literally out the door.

The most exciting food news to hit El Segundo since Chipotle is most certainly The Habit. Taking over the dilapidated former building of the Grand Cafe, The Habit put up signs months ago and began renovations. Just this week they opened for business, and I knew it was time for me to see what The Habit was all about.

When I arrived, the line was coming out the door. I hoped and prayed that the line would move fast and my wish was granted. In only five-ish minutes I was at the counter and ready to order. The menu is pretty basic if you stick to burgers, but they also offer salads and other non-burger sandwiches. On the menu, the burgers are called charburgers, which really leaves the impression that they will be overcooked. I hoped this wouldn’t be true and ordered the BBQ Bacon Char. Cheese cost me an extra 50 cents, which I wouldn’t have noticed if they had just added the change to the regular price, but since they didn’t I was a little upset. Honestly, who (without a lactose intolerance) orders a burger

I know there's beef somewhere in there

without cheese these days? By default, the burgers included mayo, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and caramelized onions. I ordered mine without any of those offensive toppings, then ordered fries and a chocolate malt.

There was about a ten minute wait before they called my number, but I was happy to find that the burger was exactly as I had ordered it. The meat was pretty good and not at all charred. The bacon was nice and crisp, just the way I like it. I was a bit disappointed by the overall size of my burger, which would have to be a lot thicker to quench my meaty appetite. The fries were cooked perfectly, despite being a little over-salted. The malt was actually pretty disappointing, as it tasted virtually the same as a milkshake should have. For the extra 50 cents that it cost me to get the malt, they should have put in a much heftier amount of malt powder.

In all, despite the diminutive scale of the burger, I left The Habit fully stuffed. And the best part was that the whole meal cost me less than 10 bucks. In fact the receipt came out to exactly $9.99 including tax. Not too shabby.

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s

The Unvegan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:18:40 +0000

Things between buns should always have double-meat.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4. Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

When I pulled up to the window, I asked what sort of vegetables typically came with the burgers I wanted, which were the usual ones you would expect, except for the onions, which came chopped. That didn’t really matter to me at the time, since I just ordered my food without everything. I also ordered some fries to join my sandwiches.

The wait was a little long for drive-thru, but they came out quickly enough. I lifted the top buns off of each to ensure that they were prepared correctly, and in the dark they looked fine, so I left the Rally’s drive-thru with my double-meaty burgers.

I laid them out and began to dig in. The Buffalo Chicken burger was great with a nice kick and a good crunch. I never thought about having a double chicken burger before, but now I wish more places would offer them. The bacon cheddar burger was a different story, though. Upon my first bite, I tasted something bitter and crunchy.

Oh No!

Onions!

And not just an easy ring of onions that I could lift from the patty, this had to be chopped onions and, of course, they were mixed in with the melted cheddar cheese. Dammit Rally’s, you had so much promise. Instead of just eating, I spent ten minutes picking out the tiny little onions while wasting precious little morsels of heat and cheese. By the time I was finished, I never wanted to see a chopped onion again. I bit back into the burger and was pretty happy, but so much time was lost. It was on the salty side, but still pretty tasty. Luckily I still had the fries, which were nothing short of incredible. They were perfectly seasoned and crunchy. In fact, I think Rally’s may be the best fast food fries I’ve ever had.

I was really happy to have tested out Rally’s, and as long as they can avoid dropping bits of onion into my food, I will be sure to pay them another visit.

Sliders Done Right at Greene’s Hamburgers

The Unvegan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:46:24 +0000

Those are what I call sliders.

The Metro Detroit area seems to have been blessed with a number of great slider joints. Although Hunter House in Birmingham seems to get the most public acclaim, Greene’s Hamburgers in Farmington is no less worthy, if only for the fact that they are open 24 hours a day.

Greene’s resides in a little unassuming porcelain tile-covered building with the words Greene’s Hamburgers written in a basic black font, with the emphasis on Hamburgers. Inside, the place smells like burger heaven, with no large number of stools placed around the counter and against the windows. The menu barely contains more than hamburgers and fries, but there’s really no need to look beyond those items, because they are the real reason people come to Greene’s.

After a long night of drinking Labatt Blue with a buddy of mine, I ordered two double cheeseburgers and some fries. The nice lady behind the counter told me that onions and pickles were optional and I politely told her I had no need for such things. My meal was promptly served within five minutes and just as beautiful as I remembered. These were sliders the way they are meant to be. Nothing in my burger looked like it had come from some pre-packaged patty. Instead, it looked as if the cook had grabbed a handful of beef, flattened it with a spatula on the grill, turned up the heat and finally tossed some cheese on.

These were prime examples of the word “slider,” which some people believe to mean mini-hamburger. This is wholly untrue. A real slider is a greasy burger that, well, slides right through you. Accompanied by the perfectly crunchy krinkle fries, this late-night snack made my unvegan stomach happy. It also left my unvegan wallet happy, as the prices are unbeatable. Beware vegetarians and vegans, there is no alternative for you here.