Pommes frites, aiguillettes, papas fritas, frietzak/fritzak, allumettes, chips, frietkot/frituur, batonnets or frittentüte. No matter what you call them, French fried potatoes are enjoyed by young and old around the world.
The myth is that in the winter, when the river froze, the fish-deprived villagers fried potatoes instead. It’s said that this dish was discovered by American soldiers in Belgium during World War I and, since the dominant language of southern Belgium is French, they dubbed the tasty potatoes “French” fries.
They are often salted and may be served with ketchup, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato sauce, tartar sauce, or both of my daughter’s favorite; thousand island dressing.
“I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and French-fried potatoes” – Jimmy Buffet
Then some are topped with local specialties. While in Montreal I had an order covered in a strange concoction called poutine, a brown gravy mix that included bits of cheese curds. Now I love me some chili cheese sweet potato fries, but I just couldn’t get used to poutine. In Japan, okonomiyaki fries are served with a topping of unagi sauce, mayonnaise, katsuobushi, nori seasoning (furikake) and stir-fried cabbage.
Today, I’ll celebrate by reliving the days of my youth and place an extra-large order of steak fries with a side of cheeseburger (in paradise).