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Fantastic Fresh Frites

Fresh Pommes Frites is a great addition to Washington Street late-night grub options.

 

You may think you like French fries, but you have no idea. Pommes Frites will open you up to a new world of possibilities when it comes to those perfectly cut, double fried pieces of potato.

Fresh Pommes Frites is a tiny, no-seat, restaurant on Second and Washington Streets that opened in December in the space where Itty Bitties used to be. They exclusively serve Pommes Frites—or french fries—that are fried twice and served up in a paper cone, like they do in Belgium and the Netherlands.

What they might lack in menu item variety, they more than make up for in dipping sauce choices. Sixteen sauces were available on my visit and new varieties are added weekly.

I hit the small shop on a freezing afternoon and ordered a regular sized order of pommes frites ($4.50), the three sauce combo ($2.50) and a diet coke ($1.75). 

It was difficult to choose sauces,  but I finally settled on  Jalepeno Cilantro, Pesto Parmesan and Buffalo Blue Cheese.  

My favorite was easily the Jalepeno Cilantro. A sucker for all that is spicy, this sauce did not disappoint. It was spicy, creamy and complemented the crisp, savory fries perfectly.

The Pesto Parmesan was also delicious, but I had a hard time shaking the feeling I should be eating pasta with it.

Although the sauces were great, the frites themselves were the star of the show. 

Each batch of fries is made while the customer waits. The process is open—customers can see the fries being thrown into the boiling oil as the fries turn crispy gold. The attention to freshness really pays off. The frites are cut thick and come out of the fryer crisp, hot, and most importantly, delicious. A touch of salt is added at the end, right before the fries are tossed into the paper cones. 

It should be noted that the fries are just as good with ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce, all of which are free and available at the dining counters. (For those of you who are willing to branch out, try them out with mayonaise).

I spoke briefly with very sweet and helpful employee Dominique Strobert, whose favorite dipping sauces are Mango Chutney and Pesto Parmesan.  

"I've worked here since we opened in December," Strobert said.  "We open every day at noon but we get really busy late at night." 

Smiling, he added: "that's when we cash in."

Fresh Pommes Frites is located at 207 Washington St.  It's open daily from Noon-3 a.m.

Melissa Napoleon

9:30 am on Monday, February 7, 2011

yummmmmmm! i can't wait to try them out!

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