Last week, I began my soon-to-be-Pultizer-Prize-winning blog post series on French fries. I chose to write about the fries at Becks Prime only because I was stuck in traffic and they were open.
Today, I am writing about the fries at Super-Chix. I didn’t set out to drive to Super-Chix. I was headed north on Preston, and I missed the green light at Belt Line. I glanced left, and there it was. And the sign out front was a sign from the writing gods: “hand-cut fries.”
Luckily, it was early. I pass this place a lot, and there are usually tons of kids and their parents swarming around the door. At 11 a.m., there were only four of us. I can see why this place is popular with families. The menu is short: chicken (breaded tenders or grilled chicken sandwiches), fries, salads, and custard. There is also a nice list of craft sodas (Agave Vanilla Cream Soda, Caleb’s Kola, IZZE twiZt Grapefruit), “hand-spun” shakes, and “cold infusions” (custard with candy or cookies swirled in). The Dallas-based chain owned by Nick Ouimet has three locations—North Dallas, Richardson, and Plano.
I resisted temptation and checked out the fries. They offer three varieties: sweet, salt, and rosemary with black pepper. Ever the investigator, I ordered one of each.
I usually don’t order skinny fries when I am not dining in a restaurant. They get cold in transit. Even though I was back home in five minutes, fry rigor mortis had set in. The fries on the top were stiff and cold. I popped them in a preheated 450-degree oven for a minute, and they sprung back to life.
The rosemary-and-black-pepper version was my least favorite. But that’s because I suffer from rosemary burnout thanks to many of Patrick Esquerré’s roasted chickens at La Madeleine in the mid-’80s. If you love rosemary, you could serve these fries at Thanksgiving. Your kids or grandkids will stay at the table.
Next up were the sweet fries. Not sweet potato fries. Fries tossed in salt and sugar. I liked these better than I thought I would. Bonus feature: you can’t eat as many. The sugar cuts your appetite faster. I loved the salt fries. They were everything a skinny fry should be: some were crisp, some were soft, and the sizes varied from five inches to one-inchers.
You can tell they try hard on their fries. After I ordered, I stood in front of the open kitchen and watched them hand cut potatoes, deep fry them in peanut oil, and toss individual orders in silver bowls. I liked the fries at Super-Chix, but I’m a fat-fry gal, so I’d still go to Becks over Super-Chix. But if I miss that light again, I’d go back.
