Real hand cut fries at Ramova Grill

[Ron Rosenbaum]

Stopped at Ramova Grill today on South Halsted to give their burger a try. I didn't have any chili today, and the burger was okay, but...those fries.

How long has it been since you had really great french fried potatoes? Surely you remember them? You know...not all of the pieces are the same length, they actually taste like potato, they still taste great three minutes after you are served, and those little crispy bits on the bottom of the plate are heavenly. You know you remember. Most of the fries are uniformly crisp, but there are always a few limp, soggy ones, which taste even better than the crisp ones, more potatoey. Then you usually get a few super hard dark bits too. When I am served fries like these my hand is in constant motion, until every speck of potato is gone.

Yeah, it's a lot of trouble to do real french fries. First of all, you have to get russet potatoes. No other type of potato works as well. The next step is to peel the potatoes, and then cut them. They are soaked/washed to remove excess starch, and then dried before being fried twice. The first dip in the oil, usually about 275F or so, cooks them without any browning or crisping. They are then held at room temperature until ready to cook, at which time they are immersed in app. 360-375F oil to crisp them up. They should be salted immediately, and that is exactly what the counterman at Ramova does. He drains the basket, drops the fries in a stainless steel bowl, sprinkles with salt, and then tosses to distribute the seasoning. As I was leaving, I complimented the counterman on his fries. He smiled and seemed to perk up a bit. How many short order cooks have the discipline and pride to produce such quality at 95 cents a pop?

Real french fries cannot be held in the refrigerator. That ruins them as they seem to dehydrate and become almost leathery. They must be held at room temperatiure for service and thrown away at the end of the night.

It's much easier to reach into a freezer, pull out a bag of Simplot, Sysco, or whatever frozen shoestring fries, but what a difference.

As I was approaching my booth today, I got a good look at the fries and knew that I was in for a treat. I'm alseady planning my next visit there-probably a tuna salad sandwich or a BLT with those great fries.

I'm not sure, but I have a hunch that they cook the fries in beef fat, rather than some hydrogenated, chemical laden frying compound designed to withstand high volume frying.

[belgepunk]

>

I disagree highly. The ONLY potato we use in belgium is the bintje. It's perfect for making french fries.

[Ron Rosenbaum]

Now that you have proven your superiority, let's talk about chow in Chicago.

[kristen]

Belgian food is wonderful and Belgians are well represented in Chicago. Any good Belgian restaurants
in the area to recommend? I thought I heard a while
back that a local bar was planning to feature a Begian menu.?

[Rene G]

The Hopleaf, the Andersonville bar specializing in Belgian beer, is adding a kitchen and will serve some traditional Belgian dishes. The kitchen was supposed to be in operation in the autumn but apparently things are behind schedule. I was there last Friday and work is clearly being done but it looks like there is still lots to do. I’ll try to remember to get more information next time I visit. While there, I drank a bottle of a 1985 Belgian (blanking on the name), probably the oldest beer I’ve had.

[RST]

Rene, from your posts, you sound like you frequent the Hopleaf and know Michael (that's his name, right?) the owner personally. If you do, pass him Ron Rosenbaum's terrific post and urge him to consider keeping the highest standards by taking the extra "trouble" of using hand-cut fries/frying in beef fat only to make their Belgian frites.

Just the other day, I had a superb bottle (a 750 ml) of 1994 Lindemans Gueuze/Lambic "Cuvee Rene". Blow your mind away beer! Complex, rich, expansive, authoritative. You should consider tracking it down since it's your namesake beer: I was told that it is available retail for about $10.

RST

[leek]

Hi -

I recall Jeffrey Steingarten doing a piece in Vogue on fries and I think he said you couldn't get the Bintje potato in the US, but there was another that he recommended - maybe it was one of those new fancy ones that are coming out, but lacking that he suggested one of the normal old potatoes we have had here for a long time...

[Ron Rosenbaum]

...the Idaho russet potato.

[leek]

Actually, no. I re-read the article by Steingarten, and he recommends white boiling potatoes first. If unavailable he then says go ahead and use the russet.

[Ron Rosenbaum]

I guess everyone from Julia Child to James Beard has been wrong all these years.

[ironmom]

My personal experience (having made fries at home for many years) is that you can use any potatoes. The controlling factor is the blanching - if you blanch them to the same doneness (and some potatoes take much longer), then they will always cook up fabulously crisp at the end.

When the fries float, the blanching step is complete. This is not something you can time, you need to observe the process and respond to your fries as they call out to you.

[RST]

Thanks for explaining the whole process in such detail! This really makes me understand what qualities to look for. Unfortunately, it's also making me want to rush around town to sample and blind-taste french fries and I'm not sure that that's healthy ;).

Was there a discussion on the other top fries/hand-cut fries around? Which places are these? I'm assuming the duck fat place-where else?

Also: how is beef fat sold nowadays? In tubs, like lard? Is this how duck fat could be found as well?

RST

[Ron Rosenbaum]

Richard,

The only place I've seen beef fat, and it was kidney fat, the best type, is Paulina Market. You would have to render it yourself. For commercial use, rendered beef tallow is still available, but more and more difficult to obtain. Incidentally, Paulina had whole pork loins with the rind on the other day for the holidays, and one of the butchers told me that they can supply this throughout the year with just one day's notice. I didn't see any duck fat but they do have goose fat with griebenes (cracklings). Try sauteeing your next batch of home fries in that!

I have seen rendered duck fat here in town and I believe it was the freezer section at Treasure Island, where you can also find Empire brand chicken schmaltz.

[dougk]

My wife loves to tell our friends how I take up all of our freezer space with my rendered duck fat etc., but she so rarely complains about the cooking...

[zim]

Ron,

did you get a gander at the old style pot they do 'em in? pretty cool