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June 16, 2006
L.A. Style Cheese Fries Suck
Every city tries to accommodate transplants in the best way they can with some nosh from their home city. BJ's offers "Chicago Style" pizza. If anyone has ever tried their Chicago Style pizza, they know BJ's is as confused about their pizza as their own name.
But one thing irks us a little more than fake L.A. "Chicago Style" pizza, and that is L.A. cheese fries where they sprinkle on some shredded cheese and call it a day. The only things that can save these fries are Ranch (like Islands) or an aioli (like Skooby's).
Metroblogging Chicago describes the Chicago style amply: "Budacki's cheese fries to go come in a bag, with the cheese squeezed in with the fries and a fork for eating." That cheese is not Velveeta (puke) or even nacho style (lame). We're talking super sharp spreadable.
As of yet, we can't find the real Chicago deal in L.A.. Taste Chicago in Burbank doesn't taste much like Chicago. The owner of QT Chicago Dogs (various locations in the Valley) tell us business is hard enough to add a new menu item. So if you know of a restaurant that serves Chicago style cheese fries the correct way, let us know. Otherwise, you can see us in our own kitchens with the below recipe:
- French Fries (straight cut, curly, criss-cut, seasoned, etc)
- Spreadable Cheese (we're talking the quality of Merkts or Kaukauna, you can even use spreadable wine cheese)
- Optional: Milk (or soymilk, sure)
Two Options for completing your heart attack:
1. Melt down cheese with milk in a saucepan and pour on fries.
2. Ditch the milk and when the fries are just out of the fryer (or stove), quickly spread the cheese on with a knive and let it melt.
Photo, appropriately by DeepFry via Flickr
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Although it's closed and gone now, Ed Debevic's on La Cienega had some pretty formidable cheese fries. Perhaps the high level of development and popularity of Los Angeles chili fries has retarded the development of equally good cheese fries.
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I guess I'm on a pro l.a. kick right now, but here's my opinion on the subject. Different regions have different styles of things - pizzas, sandwiches, baseball teams, et al. I've written more than a few rants about people who come to l.a. with a chip on their shoulder because they can't get (fill in the blank) like they have "back home."
L.a. may not have spreadable cheese fries, but we've got chili cheese fries, and I'll take them over Chicago style any day of the week! I can't count the times I've gone on a Tommys bender and woken up the next morning with at least one empty Tommy's chili-cheese fry boat in my hand (yellow pepper stems sprinkling the ground)....
More or less any corner restaurant in l.a. that has pastrami is gonna have what it takes for yummy chili cheese fries. I think the reigning champion fries (maybe not in taste, but in stature!) are OKI DOG's Chili Cheese Fries... they fill an entire to-go box with crispy golden fries, about a pound each of chili and cheese, a quarter of a diced onion... and a 10% off your first visit to Cedars.... Loves it.
I've been looking for good poutine here, and i've been mostly unsuccessful (the closest is an all-night diner with a good white gravy to pour on steak fries) but recently i did try french fries with crumbled bleu cheese, which were surprisingly good.
So.... ummm... in conclusion... cheese fries?
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Dude, this is LAist. If you don't like our cheesefries don't eat them. Bashing on anything in L.A. is so lame and overdone, it pisses me off that I have to see that kind of thing here on this blog. This is one of the few places on the net, in the media, anywhere for that matter, where people can take unabashed pride in all things Los Angeles. I dont' care how unimportant cheese fries are. Talk about that shit somewhere else.
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Steve - you've got it. Oki Dog chili cheese fries & Tommy's are at the top of the LA chili heap. The Oki Dog chili also has this magical/potentially radioactive property of staying hot for hours upon end. What sucks is getting old and not having the iron stomach to down a whole Oki pastrami burrito with egg, accompanied by a tray of fries.
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steve, have you tried DUSTY'S on sunset at descanso? they have poutine on their menu, but i've not yet tried it. everything else on the menu that i have tried, though, has been delectable.
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steve, have you tried DUSTY'S on sunset at descanso? they have poutine on their menu, but i've not yet tried it. everything else on the menu that i have tried, though, has been delectable.