Bobby Flay's Favorite Fries Come From A New York Staple

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New York City's Balthazar is among its most perfect restaurants. The sweeping downtown brasserie that first opened in 1997 is ensconced in the Manhattan dining canon. It is the not infrequent backdrop for both celebrity sightings and brushes with people who just believe themselves to be very important. And its lovely dining room is so nicely lit that almost everybody looks great in either case. It's the kind of restaurant atmosphere that literally makes food taste better. Balthazar is also the rare locale that still feels deeply local even when filled with flocks of tourists, and its crowded bar is one of the five boroughs' best places to be alone. Its kitchen also makes a great french fry.

So says chef Bobby Flay, known chicken washer, Food Network star, restaurateur, and occasional gossip page bold name, who christened Balthazar's french fries as "unbelievably perfect" on the "Totally Fried" episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." Flay attributes the fries' success to the gravitas granted to the humble Idaho potato throughout its journey from simple spud to crisp, golden glory.

That same "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" segment goes on to peek behind the scenes for a look at how Balthazar prepares its rarefied fries. Potatoes are peeled and run through a hand-cranked cutter one by one. The sticks are then submerged in water overnight to soak off some of the starch that can make french fries too chewy. Once drained, the tubers are blanched in lower-temperature peanut oil to cook through without collecting any color before they're finally fried in crackling hot oil and salted à la minute to finish.

Balthazar's french fries factor into plenty of its brunch, lunch, and dinner menu items. File into the huge and always bustling dining room, and you'll see them piled alongside Benedicts, steak, and lobster. Ketchup and aioli in little metal cups are the classic enhancements, and cocktails feel compulsory for an even more successful snacking experience. Order a martini like you know what you're doing to unlock the achievement. If you can't make it to the SoHo hotspot but still want to try Bobby Flay's favorite fries, the brasserie's widely touted technique is meticulously outlined in the "The Balthazar Cookbook."