Pommes Frites

[randomness]

rosminah had a couple of food places she really wanted to try when she was in New York. Pommes Frites was one of them, so we went.

Pommes Frites
123 2nd Av. (between 7th St and St. Mark's Pl./8th St.)
New York, NY 10003
tel: +1.212.674.1234
http://www.pommesfrites.ws
email: pommesfrites123@hotmail.com
Subway: Astor Place (sorry, no 2nd Avenue subway yet)
Su-Th: 1130-0100
F-Sa: 1130-0200

Pommes Frites is a straightforward kind of place. Everything on the menu is fried potatoes, Belgian-style, except for the poutine, which is fried potatoes, Quebec-style. Belgian fries come in three sizes: regular (pretty big) $4, large (really big) $6.25, and double (how could you possibly eat that much?) $7.25. We got a large and didn't finish it between us. There's a wide variety of sauces, including the traditional frites sauce (mayonnaise), tartar, dijon mustard, sweet chili, russian dressing, roasted garlic mayo, rosemary garlic mayo, pesto mayo, dill lemon mayo, smoked eggplant mayo, sweet mango chutney mayo, tandoori mayo, green olive mayo, horseradish mayo (one senses a theme), curry ketchup, honey dijon mustard, curry (hot or mild), peanut satay, parmesan peppercorn, blue cheese, dijon garlic mustard, Hawaiian pineapple mustard, barbecue sauce, sambal olek (a hot chili paste), Mexican ketchup, and cheddar cheese sauce.

The frites are served in the traditional paper cone, with sauce on the side. They're served good and hot, but the portions are so big that by the time you get to the bottom they can get kind of soggy.

You get one sauce for free. Additional sauces are 75¢ each, or 3 for $1.75. Also, you can get any of: ketchup, yellow mustard, Tabasco, malt vinegar, chopped raw onions, or sliced jalapeno for free.

I haven't yet tried the poutine, which is $3.50 for a small and $4.50 for a large. Depending on how big the portions are, this may be a good deal.

And what is poutine? To quote their website: "Poutine is a French-Canadian dish made from a combination of French fries, chicken gravy, and curd cheddar cheese.
"The cheese and the gravy are imported especially from Quebec to give our customers the most authentic and enjoyable experience."

I'm pleased to see that I can get poutine in New York--somehow, this isn't surprising--but Montreal is nearly as close for me nowadays, and I know I can get good poutine there. It's a great snack on one of those cold winter days they do so well up in Quebec.

Comments

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Yay! Poutine!

I had some in Ottawa this summer; so bad for you, but so tasty.

[ceo]

I need to go here next time I'm in NYC (which seems to be about once a decade). Finally, a place where poeple won't look at me funny for putting strange things on my fries.

They don't have tartar sauce, though. :-(

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

They don't have tartar sauce, though. :-(

But they do! It's the second option on the (admittedly long) list.

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

I've never been to Pommes Frites, but if you get a chance, you should try Le Frite Kot, on West 4th near 6th Ave. (I think. It might be West 3rd. I can never remember :) It's great, and the aioli sauce is to die for. No poutine, but it does have framboise, which is swoony-good (but very expensive!) Belgian raspberry beer.

Mmmm. Frites.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I've been there! We were looking for that place first but I couldn't remember what it was called, which made finding it challenging...

Thanks for forwarding the name! Now I can find it!

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I'm glad I could help! I'm always happy to help people out in the quest for good frites! :)

[infinitehotel.livejournal.com]

Pomme Frites was a good value in that you get a lot of food, but I found it pretty indifferent in terms of quality. The day I ate there, the fries were soggy straight out of the fryer because they don't have enough staff or burners to keep up with three or four people ordering at once. The poutine is a novelty item for them, made with what tasted like gravy out of a can. They DID have real cheese curds though.

And there's a really cool Japanese toy shop right down the street...

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

made with what tasted like gravy out of a can

It's not that unusual for the gravy to come out of a can (or a package) in genuine Quebec poutine--it's sort of like cheese wiz on Philly cheese steaks that way--but if it tastes like it came out of a can, that's bad.

[slyppi.livejournal.com]

I've only ever had poutine at a fast food joint in the mall in Sherbrooke. Considering that it's a gooey comfort food, that might have been the best spot to have it, but maybe it would be even better somewhere else.

I loved it, of course.

[rosminah.livejournal.com]

The actual chips we ate at Pommes frites!