There is a lot to love about Liberty Burger. The ingredients are thoughtfully sourced, the menu is creative, and the spirit of sensible coexistence with our planet rules in their business model. All of the napkins and packaging are tree-free and compostable, the take-out bags are re-usable, and they recycle all packaging and empty bottles. The Lakewood location contributes to a compost pile at the gardens located at Paul Quinn College. Lakewood purchases the vegetables grown at Paul Quinn and uses them on their sandwiches and burgers. I wish more restaurants, especially fast-casual spots, would take a few lessons from Liberty Burger. A quick perusal of their website illustrates their dedication to local food and giving back to the community. They list over 25 charities they support.
I usually skip the fries—both sweet potato and skinny white—and order the luscious onion rings. Here they are hand battered with a peppery coating and delivered thick and hot. Today, I went to the original location on Inwood and Forest and picked up two orders of fries. They were steamy and hot when I got in my car. By the time I got to Forest and Preston Road, they were tepid. Five minutes later they were stone cold. Hence, if you order skinny fries anywhere, eat them in the restaurant.
The first few I tried were crispy and spiced with just enough sea salt. My gut reaction was that the fries had been frozen. Is that a bad thing? I know a lot of high-end restaurants in Dallas that use an upscale brand of frozen fries and season them with butter. Customers rave about them. Who wouldn’t? I could eat almost anything swathed in butter. I reached out to Mariel Street, the brainchild of this restaurant for answers.
Street says the fries are hand-cut from either a whole russet Burbank or russet Ranger potato and specified that they were “not from mush.” They are flash frozen before they are cooked in soybean oil, a trans-fat free oil. Her approach to making fries is this: “Our skinny fries are simple – cut thin and seasoned with sea salt. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I wouldn’t say these fries are broken. If you love skinny fries, you will like these. They are crisp with nice crispy nubs. Just make sure you eat them in the restaurant. They don’t travel well.
