Frjtz re-opened in Hayes Valley
Walking around Hayes Street yesterday evening and noticed that the new Frjtz is open (right next door to the old location). The new cafe is much larger than the old one (probably 3-4 times the size), and is located in a former sofa/high end furniture store. Sadly, there's no longer a back patio, but the cafe's design is meant to mimic some futuristic, minimalist forest - lots of white airy space, with some interesting abstract nature motifs and murals as decoration.
Menu looks the same - I forgot to see if they had mussels on the menu (as they do at the Valencia Street location).
Perhaps not the finest in gourmet dining, but as a resident of Hayes Valley, I welcome a place where I can get a beer and a sandwich and not spend a zillion dollars in the process. I'll miss the patio, though.
581 Hayes
(between Octavia and Laguna)
nugget moped
Apr 22, 2008 10:54AM
The one on Valencia St. exists too. I was under the impression it closed, but I was confused. Glad to set the record straight.
What are the fries like anyway? Long, or short nubs?
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Sounds like they went for the same dining-in-a-modern-furniture-store look as the Valencia St location. I'm going to miss the back patio of the former setup.
I live in the area and I've been on a moules frites craving streak as of late. I'll try it out tonight and report back.
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Peeked my head in and they were unfortunately, not doing mussels. The cashier said they didn't have the space for it. The menu consists of the fries with various dipping sauces plus sweet and savory crepes, salads, and sandwiches from the Valencia St menu.
I decided to head down to Bar Jules and had a killer medium-rare skirt steak with white beans, artichoke, and chimichurri. Everything coming off the grill in that place rocks.
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I have tried the old Hayes St. location and the one in Ghiradelli Sq. ( is that still there?)
Even though I asked for CRISP fries in both locations, mine were little better than flaccid oil sponges....have they improved?
Has anyone gotten truly crispy fries there?...if so what's the secret to getting them that way?
Thanks
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We had the frites at the Valencia St. location a couple of weeks ago, and they were done perfectly -- much crisper, less greasy, and generally better than they ever were on Hayes. The "secret", if there is one, (as with any place that serves fried food) is to go when the kitchen's less busy. Most restaurants seem to have a tough time keeping their oil at proper temp when they're busy -- that's my theory anyway.
The Ghirardelli location closed some time last year. And to answer sugartoof, there were a lot of nubs, consistent with the product on Hayes. Other Belgian-style frites places I've been to (in San Diego and NYC) seem to have longer fries and less nubs.
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Thanks, Steve. I've actually always been cursed with nothing but greasy nubs at the New York favorites, which is why I thought to ask. I don't know why anyone would serve squishy fries intentionally though.
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I remember getting decent crisp fries a long time ago but not in the past 4-5 years, if not longer. Never been to the Valencia St branch.
The thing is unless you frequent the place, you forget...and then it's too late. Usually it's like once a year if you're there and you think, hey Frjtz lets get fries. Last time I went was not too long before they closed Hayes St and the fries were really bad...enough to remember.
Didn't they use to double fry their fries?
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