French Fries at Balthazar… and other stuff too
My last meal in NY was at Balthazar. I had been crossing my fingers we’d make it there and barely did before they closed, our last night in town. Bobby Flay said the best french fries he ever ate was at Balthazar and seeing as how I love french fries, I needed to try them.
Keep in mind that before we made it to Balthazar, we had a slice of pizza as a snack, dinner at a Japanese izakaya with numerous pitchers of draft beer, a slice of pizza as a snack soon after and gelato for dessert at the place next door before we rolled ourselves a few blocks to SoHo. This was all in the span of four hours. You’ve already seen the pictures of how piggy we were that night!
I didn’t even notice the french onion soup on the menu and would’ve been tempted to order it had I not been obsessed with getting fries. Candace let me try some of her soup and it was all sorts of goodness with cheese melted on top.
Joy got the shrimp cocktail. The color of the shrimp were so beautiful and they looked so fresh!
This was the seafood bar we sat next to. Everything was beautifully laid out on ice.
Boyfriend had a hard time deciding what to order and finally chose the warm goat cheese with caramelized onion tart. It sounds quite wonderful, doesn’t it? By looking at the picture, I’m sure you can tell that is not a goat cheese and onion tart… Boyfriend ended up with a burger because they had run out of his first choice appetizer.
Joy told us that Balthazar is actually known for having good burgers and it was quite an impressive one! The patty was cooked to order and had a great flavor to it.
Now for the star of the show. The whole reason I had any desire to go to Balthazar to begin with were the french fries. They were mentioned on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and I was immediately intrigued. They soak the cut potatoes in water to get rid of the starch and then blanch them in oil. When you place your order, they fry them again so they come out fresh and hot. It’s a two part deep frying process that leaves the fries silky on the inside while crispy on the outside.
This restaurant was amazingly packed at 11 PM on a Monday night. I can only imagine what it’s like at prime dinner time on a weekend!
80 Spring St. New York, NY
Explore posts in the same categories: UncategorizedTags: Balthazar's, Bobby Flay, burger, french fries, french onion soup, New York, shrimp cocktail, SoHo
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For the Love of Food 
September 23, 2009 at 10:53 pm
YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! silky on the inside crispy on the outside! that phrase never fails to make me giggle!
September 24, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I was really looking forward to the goat cheese and caramelized onion tart. My bad luck with food choices strikes again. I was already feeling pretty full, but I managed to finish off the burger. This was probably one of the many reasons why I gained five pounds this trip. The fries and the burger were pretty darn good. I thought the bun was nicely toasted and the burger cooked just right. I still wish I would have been able to order the appetizer sized tart though rather than a full meal.
July 13, 2012 at 3:21 am
[…] “The whole reason I had any desire to go to Balthazar to begin with were the french fries. They were mentioned on “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and I was immediately intrigued. They soak the cut potatoes in water to get rid of the starch and then blanch them in oil. When you place your order, they fry them again so they come out fresh and hot. It’s a two part deep frying process that leaves the fries silky on the inside while crispy on the outside.”–For The Love Of Food […]