The Best Dressed Fries In Los Angeles

Fries aren't just those golden potato sticks of deep-fried goodness (shoestring or thick-cut!) that accompany your burger—they can be a whole meal. A number of Los Angeles restaurants take pride in using those fries as a vehicle for a plethora of braised meats, gravy, and cheese curds. Unbuckle your jeans, because here are our favorites for the best smothered, best dressed french fries in town. As always, leave your favorites in the comments section.

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Street Cart Fries at Spitz (Photo via Spitz Little Tokyo on Facebook)
Street Cart Fries @ Spitz

It's great seeing chefs get creative in their kitchen when it comes to smothering their fries. With the Street Cart Fries at Spitz, you get a Mediterranean flare to top those crispy fries with an explosion of color and flavor to boot. The dish is topped with garlic aioli, feta, onion, green pepper, tomato, olives, peperoncinis and chili sauce. Whew, that was a mouthful to say!

Spitz is located at 1725 Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz, (323) 522-3309; 2506 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock, (323) 257-5600; and 3737 Cahuenga Blvd. in Studio City, (818) 755-0400; and 371 E 2nd Street in Little Tokyo, (213) 613-0101;

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Piggy Fries at The Oinkster (Photo by Lindsay William-Ross/LAist)
Piggy Fries @ The Oinkster

The folks behind The Oinkster have some tricks up their sleeves. We've already fallen in love with them for their amazing burger week they have have on occasion where they recreate old fashioned fast-food goodies like the Big Mac and McRib with their own take. But what's a burger without a kicked-up order of fries? We bring to you their Piggy Fries (think In-N-Out's animal-style fries) which are packed with homemade thousand island dressing, a heap of caramelized onions and seriously covered with cheddar cheese.

The Oinkster is located at 2005 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock, (323) 255-6465

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Pastrami gravy fries at Plan Check (Photo courtesy of Plan Check)
Pastrami Gravy Fries @ Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

It's necessary to try to catch this bad boy whenever you're at Plan Check. Their Pastrami Gravy Fries are nearly always on the Sawtelle Ave. location's specials board and served regularly on their late-night bites menu at their Fairfax Ave. location. Instead of deep-frying their fries in vegetable oil, they take it to the next level and cook it in beef tallow. (Vegetarians, you might want to sit out on this one.) Atop of a bed of fries sits pastrami bits, pastrami gravy, melted swiss cheese and chopped pickles. You might want to wear your stretchy pants for this one.

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar is located at 351 N Fairfax Ave. in Beverly Grove, (310) 288-6500; and 1800 Sawtelle Ave. in West Los Angeles, (310) 288-6500

Dynamite Fries @ Oi Asian Fusion

If you're out in the Valley, you might want to check out Oi Asian Fusion's Dynamite Fries because they're "dyn-o-mite!" (Channeling J.J. from Good Times here. Anyone, anyone?) One of the best things about french fries are its cousins, the sweet potato fries. With the Dynamite Fries, you get sweet potato fries topped with a spicy-type of mayo, whole cloves of roasted garlic and cilantro. If you want a little extra kick that matches the dish's flavor, add some Sriracha!

Oi Asian Fusion is located at 6747 Tampa Ave. in Reseda, (818) 776-0282

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Poutine at P'tit Soleil (Photo via P'tit Soleil Facebook)
Poutine @ P'tit Soleil

Nothing says "mmm" like having your fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds. Poutine, disco fries, whatever you call it—we love this brainchild from the French-Canadians. P'tit Soleil is so serious about their poutine, that they have an entire menu on their website dedicated to this goodie. According to their website, back in the 1950s in Quebec, Canada, "poutine" was used as a word for "messy." (Fun fact for the day!) They also have at least 11 different variations of poutine, including the Poutine Marat, which is topped with cheese curds, filet mignon, mushrooms and a cognac cream sauce.

P'tit Soleil is located at 1386 Westwood Blvd. in Westwood, (310) 441-5384

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Galbi Poutine at Seoul Sausage Company (Photo via Seoul Sausage Company Facebook)
Galbi Poutine @ Seoul Sausage Company

When we first saw Seoul Sausage Company Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race snag first place in Season 3, we couldn't help but keep rooting for these guys. Now, from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar joint, it's nice to see they're fitting in nicely in West L.A. Their Galbi Poutine is a great Korean-meets-American-meets-Mexican dish. However, don't let the word "poutine" make you think this is a cheese curds and gravy type of fare. It's their version, which means 8-hour braised short ribs on top of twice-fried french fries with cheese, kimchi pickled onions and avocado lime crema.

Seoul Sausage Company is located at 11313 Mississippi Ave. in West Los Angeles, (310) 477-7739

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Chili cheese pastrami fries at The Hat (Photo by Michael Saechang via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
Chili Cheese Pastrami Fries @ The Hat

The Hat is one of those neighborhood, no-frills burger joints that knows how to whip up good chili cheese fries—and then put a heaping mound of succulent pastrami on top of it. Seriously, this might be a recipe for a heart attack, but it's just so beautiful... (Single tear.)

The Hat is located at 1 W Valley Blvd. in Alhambra, (626) 282-0140; 2300 S. Atlantic Blvd. in Monterey Park, (323) 721-3656; 491 N. Lake Ave. in Pasadena, (626) 449-1844; and various locations in Brea, Glendora, Lake Forest, Rancho Cucamonga, Simi Valley, Temple City and Upland

Oxtail Poutine @ Animal

If you're looking for a fancier night out at a restaurant but still have a craving for dressed french fries, you might want Animal's chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo to help you out. Their oxtail poutine dish, although a little more on the pricier side, will leave you unbuckling a belt loop and smiling. The dish has medium-cut french fries smothered with flavorful and thick gravy, braised oxtail and cheddar.

Animal is located at 435 N Fairfax Ave. in Beverly Grove, (323) 782-9225

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Animal-style fries at In-N-Out (Photo by Misty O via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Animal-Style Fries @ In-N-Out

Sure, almost everyone and their mamas have tried In-N-Out's animal-style fries, but it's hard to keep such a staple of L.A. culture off this list. How many of us have waited half an hour (or more!) in that ridiculous drive-through line just to order from the "secret menu?" (We're not worthy!) First of all, we already love the crispy shoestring fries (where you can order them "well-done"). But then we get to add gooey cheese, caramelized onions and thousand island dressing? Sold!

In-N-Out has several locations in the Los Angeles area.

Carne Asada Fries @ My Taco

Sometimes all you want are carne asada nachos but to swap the tortilla chips out with french fries. (If anything, it'll make you feel like you're in San Diego where that's the norm.) At My Taco, you can get an order of carne asada fries topped with cheese, crema and a scoop of guacamole. The meat's well-seasoned and those golden fries stay crispy under all those delicious toppings. What more could you ask for?

My Taco is located at 6300 York Blvd. in Highland Park, (323) 256-2698

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Ooey Gooey Fries at Chego (Photo by LWYang via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
Ooey Gooey Fries @ Chego

This is what the Gray Lady refers to as haute stoner cuisine. The ooey gooey part comes from all the different kinds of creams and cheeses that smother the beer-battered fries: sour cream, monterey jack, cheddar and cotija. But it has a kick. The sour cream is mixed with sambal, and there are all sorts of intensely-flavored goodies, like chilies, cilantro and pickled garlic. (We like to add Sriracha, too.) The mix is magic, especially if you're in the right * cough * state of mind. You know what I think, man? I think it tastes like Los Angeles.

—Emma Gallegos

Chego is located at 727 North Broadway, #117 in Chinatown, (310) 287-0337

Lindsay William-Ross contributed to this post