291984 Sat Feb 22 17:08:43 -0800 2003 48 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1591822 Tired of standard ketchup and mayonaise. Looking for something new and exciting for my fries. Any suggestions? Sat Feb 22 17:08:43 -0800 2003 0 cookiemonster 1 1591823 Brown gravy. Sat Feb 22 17:10:02 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Bruce H. 1 1591825 Mustard! Spicey and/or grainy. Sat Feb 22 17:14:11 -0800 2003 1591822 0 ld 1 1591826 Southern cream gravy Sat Feb 22 17:15:18 -0800 2003 1591822 0 JC 1 1591827 Tartar sauce usually but if I really want to be unhealthy I will whip up a batch of Bearnaise for my fries Sat Feb 22 17:32:50 -0800 2003 1591822 0 dzander7 1 1591828 Chili and/or melted cheese. Sometimes ranch dressing for dipping. Getting hungry............ D. Sat Feb 22 17:41:22 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Donna - MI 1 1591829 Brown gravy and cheese curbs, aka "poutine" in Canada. Also, malt vinegar. And ( a new find for me) Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce, made in Goa by Nestle India. I found it at a local Indian grocery, and am using it instead of ketchup on many things. Definitely spices up the meal, and has a wonderful balance of sweet and fiery. Sat Feb 22 17:42:09 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Kirk 2 1591844 Cheese Curbs?? Thanks for the laugh. But now I can't get that image out of my mind - I keep thinking of a city with streets paved of gold with cheese curbs. Sat Feb 22 20:10:27 -0800 2003 1591829 0 Rochelle McCune 3 1591855 Now that's my kinda gold. Sat Feb 22 22:46:47 -0800 2003 1591844 0 C. Fox 3 1591876 Hailing from Canada - poutine is made with french fries, gravy and cheese CURDS not curbs. I've noticed that this French Canadian dish of humble origins is now being gussied up in upscale restaurants (Aux Pieds de Couchon in Montreal) with foie gras. I haven't tried it because it sounds ghastly, but there was a constant demand for it the night I dined there. Sun Feb 23 11:02:29 -0800 2003 1591844 0 Judith Gorman 4 1591888 As a fellow Canadian, all I can say is, we're allowed to make typos every once in a while, eh? Yes, indeed, it is cheese CURDS. Excusez-moi, s.v.p. Sun Feb 23 12:56:43 -0800 2003 1591876 0 Kirk 3 1591887 You should go to Milwaukee or Madison sometime...the streets are paved with Cheddar and Monterrey Jack, and in the fancy sections of town the curbs are made of St. Andre. Sorry for the typo. But I'm glad you got a chuckle out of it! Sun Feb 23 12:53:52 -0800 2003 1591844 0 Kirk 4 1591933 there is not much monterey jack in either Madison or Milwaukee-there is something called co-jack however. Mon Feb 24 00:22:57 -0800 2003 1591887 0 wally 2 1591873 There you go! It's not traditional, but I like to use McCadam label horseradish flavored cheese curd (probably not available on the Canadan side of the river) to add a little spiciness. "Nachos Quebecoise" I guess I would call it. Sun Feb 23 10:53:29 -0800 2003 1591829 0 Gary Soup 2 1591890 Def'y poutine ! I actually had poutine with Montreal smoked meat in the gravy, and I couldn't ask for a better meal at 3am ... that night, anyways. --Nab PS. Of course Montreal is the place to get real Montreal Smoked Meat, but the place in Toronto where I had this poutine did a pretty dang fine job (high quality, hand cut meats, to your specs): Mel's Montreal Delicatessen -- 440 Bloor St. West. Sun Feb 23 13:50:09 -0800 2003 1591829 0 Nab 1 1591831 Barbecue sauce. Sat Feb 22 17:53:35 -0800 2003 1591822 0 GG Mora 1 1591833 I like a nice rare steak over the fries (but only for a minute or so) -- love them in the first minute or so when they're drizzled with the oily juices from the meat and still crispy. Sat Feb 22 18:13:15 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Limster 1 1591837 vinegar,pepper and the only time I use salt! Sat Feb 22 18:30:30 -0800 2003 1591822 0 sandymr 1 1591840 sprinkle w/Old Bay Seafood seasoning! When I have Thrasher's Fries from the Boarwalk (the real thing) then they need vinegar & sea salt Sat Feb 22 18:59:39 -0800 2003 1591822 0 ocdreamr 1 1591842 smoked paprika. Also Frank's Red Hot Sauce Sat Feb 22 20:05:39 -0800 2003 1591822 0 LisaN 1 1591843 Malt vinegar and coarse salt. or Flavored mayos: curry, pesto, lemon, paprika, or aioli. or Mussells! Sat Feb 22 20:07:30 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Lindsay B. 1 1591846 Cajun sparkle from Popeye's and malt vinegar. Brown gravy is also nice, once in awhile. Sat Feb 22 20:39:27 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Middydd 1 1591848 Another good variation is to dip them in jerk sauce. The sauces that are more of a ketchup consistency than a paste. Sat Feb 22 20:42:15 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Middydd 1 1591849 i like dipping in homemade ranch dressing (mixture of buttermilk, mayonnaise, sourcream, green onions, table vinegar, salt and ground pepper). if you're not too sick of ketchup, you could place dollops of ranch and ketchup side-by-side so they mix together slightly. Also, fries with chopped garlic, chopped parsley, and sea salt are always good. Sat Feb 22 21:41:45 -0800 2003 1591822 0 ctan 2 1592050 At a Midwestern, well-known (but I'll keep it nameless since I'm an alumna and I love the place), Catholic, sports-oriented university, several friends of mine created something analagous to what ctan describes. On "steak nights", when we were served shoe-leather slabs of beef with equally slab-like but somewhat tastier "steak fries", we often put sour cream (for the baked potatoes which were also offered) next to ketchup on our plates. We'd then doctor the sour cream with garlic powder and any other herb or seasoning we could procure from the salad bar (chives were always my favorite, others preferred bacos or blue cheese bits) and mix them into the sour cream. The sour cream would touch the pool of ketchup and blend slightly. We would not mix them together, but rather double-dip. It was a good combination of sweet/vinegar plus cool/creamy. It's still my favorite french fry dip. This is the place where I learned to love ketchup on eggs, too. Has an almost shrimp/cocktail sauce-like quality, if the eggs aren't too buttery and you get the proportion of ketchup right. Hm, this is reminding me of college cafeteria foods. Shall we start another discussion of those? Mon Feb 24 18:38:47 -0800 2003 1591849 0 Mrs. Smith 1 1591851 if the fries don't come with eggs sunnyside up so that I can dip in the yolks, then garlic sauce (mashed garlic, salt, a little bit of olive oil, thinned out with water). Sat Feb 22 22:07:50 -0800 2003 1591822 0 mickyme 1 1591857 I was going thru ketchup withdawl in France until a waiter suggested lemon. it wasn't bad Sat Feb 22 23:23:10 -0800 2003 1591822 0 mae 1 1591861 A-1 sauce. Sun Feb 23 00:43:47 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Deb A. 2 1592217 Yes! I'm not alone. I never put steak sauce on steak but I love A-1 on french fries. Also, if I'm making my own fries, I like to sprinkle them with garlic salt, black pepper, cayenne and a little bit of crushed dried oregano ground up in my spice grinder. Tue Feb 25 16:44:15 -0800 2003 1591861 0 sailcat seven 1 1591862 Another approach is to use french fries as an ingredient in another dish. My favorite version of this is in Peruvian dishes like lomo saltado or saltado de mariscos, but there are lots of possibilities. Sun Feb 23 01:00:50 -0800 2003 1591822 0 PayOrPlay 2 1591863 moules frites! Sun Feb 23 01:33:45 -0800 2003 1591862 0 sarahoc 3 1591899 Italian hotdogs with fries, sauage & onion-yum Sun Feb 23 15:17:57 -0800 2003 1591863 0 mae 1 1591865 Ireland, outside Dublin. Near dusk at a chippie next to a pub owned by U2, I ordered smoked cod with a side of curry fries. There was no place to sit anywhere around, so I grabbed a bus bench underneath a bushy tree off a narrow side street, and greedily tore open the fragrant brown bag. The combination, the craziest thing I'd seen in any fish and chip shop anywhere, was divine. The fries were drenched in a soupy bath of spicy yellow curry that burned my mouth as I ate it too hot but too delicious to resist. And the rich smoked cod played perfectly off of the strong flavors of east and west melting into my grateful mouth. Nearing total pleasure, I quickly wished I had had a drop with which to wash such flavors down! As it stood, I ate until my digestive tract could take it no more, and my hair, clothes, fingers (no napkins, either), and lips were anointed with the oily, smoky, smell of curry. Nowhere else, I'm afraid, have I found the same preposterously delectable harvest of empire. Sun Feb 23 02:59:19 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Spoony Bard 2 1591868 Wow..... that sounds incredible! I wonder if fries would hold up well with a covering of Japanese-style curry. Sun Feb 23 07:47:41 -0800 2003 1591865 0 Queen of Hearts 2 1591869 What kind of yellow curry would this compare to? Thai? How could it be recreated? Sun Feb 23 08:15:00 -0800 2003 1591865 0 LindaH 3 1591915 Bisto brand does a tin of something called 'Chip Shop Curry', you mix it with water or stock to make a fairly thin curry sauce that you then pour over fries. It's not bad, although I imagine you could do the same with curry powder, stock, and any thickener (flour?). You're really just making curry gravy. Sun Feb 23 20:30:47 -0800 2003 1591869 0 tonifi 2 1591879 One of my favorite things about visiting the UK is gettting curry fries. I've had it in several places in NYC but never even close to what I had in London and Ireland. Sun Feb 23 11:38:53 -0800 2003 1591865 0 Abbylovi 2 1591882 Haven't been in awhile,but Le Frite Kot in NYC has served fries with a good curry mayonaise,which I love.I've never had curry fries in Great Britain,so can't compare.. Sun Feb 23 12:16:37 -0800 2003 1591865 0 M.K. 2 1591932 I've had fries & curry at the Brendan B. in JP (Boston) and at the Overdraught in E. Cambridge... good! Mon Feb 24 00:04:09 -0800 2003 1591865 0 agreeleyo 1 1591877 How about truffle oil and shaved parmesan? Sun Feb 23 11:02:31 -0800 2003 1591822 0 RedRaider 1 1591878 Benny's on 30th Street in San Diego makes nacho fries, otherwise known as cholesterol-on-a-plate. It's a huge order of crispy real fries, covered with hot melted nacho cheese sauce, bits of carne asada, as many pickled jalapeños as you want, and sour cream. Most definitely not Mexican food, but nevertheless the thought of these makes my mouth water. Sun Feb 23 11:34:09 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Cristina 1 1591884 Here's my take on the Gordon Biersch Garlic Fries served at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco. I find the raw garlic used there a bit too harsh tasting, so I saute the garlic a bit before tossing it with the fries. Enjoy!! Garlic Fries 2 Tablespoons finely minced garlic 1/4 cup good quality olive oil canola oil or peanut oil or other vegetable oil, for deep-frying 14 ounces 3/8-inch french fry potatoes, skin on 1 Tablespoon kosher salt-and-pepper mix, (see Note) 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped Saute garlic in the olive oil at medium heat just until garlic is translucent -- be careful not to burn garlic. Reserve. Heat oil in deep fryer to 400 degrees F. Pre-cook fries for 4 minutes or until light golden brown and crisp. (Fries can be held at this point.) Drain. Bring the oil back up to 400 degrees F. Refry for 1 minute for added crispness. Drain well. Place in stainless steel bowl and toss with sauteed garlic, salt-and-pepper mixture and parsley. Coat evenly to avoid clumps of garlic. Note: For the salt-and-pepper mix, use 60% salt, 40% pepper. Sun Feb 23 12:29:16 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Nancy Berry 1 1591893 My wife and I like to dip them in tartar sauce. Sun Feb 23 14:44:03 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Ray 1 1591896 People may think I'm crazy, but I absolutely love McDonald's sweet and sour sauce on my fries. I think it has something to do with the tartness. Does anybody know where I can buy them by the jar? Fries are also great with vinegar as well. I prefer sharp white vinegar to the more mellow malt. Sun Feb 23 14:56:17 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Miss Needle 2 1591951 I didn't think anyone else like that!! I have to have sweet n' sour sauce on my McD's fries as well. Mon Feb 24 09:44:24 -0800 2003 1591896 0 Tatyana 2 1591955 I love their sweet and sour sauce on my fries ! I also like Chick-Fil-A's Polynesian Sauce on my fries. And I make a chipotle mayo sauce to go on my fries as well. Mon Feb 24 10:19:37 -0800 2003 1591896 0 M. Allen 1 1591938 Pico Pica hot sauce. Straight up. Mon Feb 24 04:49:19 -0800 2003 1591822 0 Sonia 1 1591958 Cider vinegar and old bay, wing sauce, brown gravy, warm queso dip, seasoned salt and hot sauce... Mon Feb 24 10:28:49 -0800 2003 1591822 0 M. Allen 1 1591991 Thanks everyone! Fry boredom defeated! By the way, when I was in Holland, curry fries were served with a weird meat gravy that had some curry paste in it. Not quite as world-shaking as your curry-fries-cod experience. Mon Feb 24 13:25:46 -0800 2003 1591822 0 cookiemonster