Noshwellmenu

[rating:4]

Fries are normally considered a side item. But there’s been a rise in its popularity, elevating its status to actually becoming part of a dish’s name: Steak Frites, Moules & Frites (Mussels & Fries). And in some cases, it’s become the dish itself (i.e. Poutine). One place that keeps its focus on the sliced tater is Belgian Fries on Commercial Drive.

Inside Belgian Fries is a slightly cramped and narrow building. A handful of seating is scattered at the front of the house. Facing the street is a dining bar. During the summers, the garage door that makes up the front wall is lifted and the restaurant becomes open air. In the middle of the restaurant is a prep area and cashier, glassed all around half way up so you can see the cooks prep the fries and deep fry the various battered goodies.

Case and I ordered a cone of fries and a hot dog. At Belgian Fries, they serve their fries with a side of Dutch mayonnaise, which is creamier and less tangy than the North Amercian variety. Bottles of this stuff line the glassed fridge facing the front. They also have an entire assortment of flavours. We ordered the curry mayo.

As we sat waiting for our order, a poster on the wall caught our eye — deep fried Mars bar. We’ve heard of the rumours. We’ve seen the Cook’s Tour episode where Anthony Bourdain goes off and tries all sorts of deep fried delicacies including the famed deep fried Mars bar. We’ve never been able to find a place that was brave (or insane, depending on how you look at it) enough to serve it. And here it was staring us in the face, taunting us: you know you want it. Before our meal was ready, we already made up our mind that we were going to have a deep friend Mars bar. So I tacked that onto our order.

The fries are dope: slightly crispy on the outside with a sweet, fluffy texture on the inside. The curry mayo is a perfect accompaniment. The hot dog isn’t anything special — but it’s pretty decent. Once our dog and fries are polished off, our attention turns to the deep fried Mars Bar.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect, they basically unwrapped a Mars Bar, dunked it in a wad of batter and deep fried the hell out of it. They serve it to you on one of those egg carton material vessels you find at the race track — and the whole thing is topped off with some sort of raspberry sauce and whipped cream. Decadent. Or a heart attack waiting to happen, depending on how you look at it. We dug in. And were pleasantly surprised. It’s not as rich as we expected it to be. The batter, although thick, is surprisingly light. The Mars bar becomes this soft, gooey, chocolately goodness. Delicious. I wouldn’t recommend trying to polish off one of these on your own, though.

The Details

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