- Hey everyone. I'm Shane Torres.
And this is a show where we take ordinary foods
and kick 'em up to the next level.
And I'm here on MacDougal Street
in Manhattan's West Village,
outside of Pommes Frites, where my friend Suzanne
is making up something extra special for us.
She's got crazy sauces,
Pomegranate Teriyaki, Vietnamese Pineapple Mayo,
Bordeaux Wine, Fig and Sage Mayo, White Truffle Ketchup,
Sweet Mango Chutney, Sweet (mumbles) (beep),
it's gonna get nuts.
And this is 'How Good Can It Get?'
We're about to find out.
Let's go inside.
(upbeat music)
- There she is. - Hey Shane.
- Hi Suzanne. What's up?
Give me a ten. How are you today?
- I'm great. How are you today?
- I'm good.
Thanks for having us in Pommes Frites.
- Welcome to Pommes Frites.
- So, tell us a little more about Pommes Frites.
- So traveling through Europe,
and I remember getting off of the train in Belgium,
in Brussels, and there was a Frites stand,
right there at the train station.
So, I had my first cone of Belgium fries
doused with a dollop of mayo.
I was bitten by the Belgium frite bug, as they say
(laughing)
- Is that what they say? - Yeah, literally,
Yeah, as they say.
So, I come back to New York City
and I would look for Belgium Frites stands here in New York.
- You could not - Yeah.
- find a shop that had been serving
authentic Belgium Frites. - They really didn't?
- No, nothing.
For years I thought, "Hey that's a business."
So, we opened for business in '97
and we've been serving Pommes Frite for the past 22 years.
- That's amazing.
You got sauces.
So tell us about your sauces.
- The customers can sample any and every sauce they want
until they want until they know what they like.
And I don't care. - That's great.
- Yeah. And just today I was counting
how many sauces we have.
Right here on this board alone
we have at least 40 sauces (Shane laughs)
- and every thing else behind me.
So, I think we're up to maybe 50 different sauces at least.
Limited only to the imagination of course.
- You know I like that, I really do.
- (laughs) So you can mix and match and do
whatever you want with the sauces, we have everything.
- You don't have to paint yourself in a corner here,
there's a lot of options.
- That's right, that's right.
- So, what are we gonna try today?
- So, we're going to start with
a piping hot cone with a dollop of mayo.
- Yeah. - And then we're going to do
something extra special.
- Let's go try some fries. - Let's do it.
(upbeat music)
- Tell us about the Belgium Frite Fries
- We do everything fresh.
We start from scratch.
We use a fresh potato every single day.
- Okay.
- We peel them, we cut them,
we fry them for the first time
at a lower temperature - Okay.
- for about six minutes until they're nicely cooked.
And once the customer comes in
we throw them in for a second time
which is call the "shock",
which gives the potato that crispy and crunchy outside
- Nice cook in the center. - that people crave and love.
Yeah.
- Tell us about a classic Pommes Frite.
- Yeah, as you see although we have little seating here.
- Yeah.
- Pommes Frite is really a street food.
So the best way to serve Pommes Frite
is in an open cone with the sauce layered on the fries.
- Run around the city. Yeah, yeah.
- Enjoying fries. - I like that.
- We're going to start with a classic cone of Pommes Frites,
with a dollop of mayo. - Alright.
- And you're good to go.
- Alright, I'll be right here.
(upbeat music)
- Time to make Shane some Pommes Frites.
First step, the potato.
We peel the potatoes.
(peeler machine knocking)
After the potatoes are peeled, we slice the potatoes.
(slicer clanking)
And now they're ready for the first fry.
(soft upbeat music)
So here we have fries have been cooked
for the first time, we've gone through the whole process,
and as soon as the customer comes in,
they're cooked for a second time at a higher temperature.
(tapping on metal)
Probably about three to four minutes,
and they are ready to come out.
(tapping on metal)
(knocking)
(shaking)
Looking good.
Let's see what Shane thinks.
- What do we have here?
- So this is our traditional cone of frites
with a dollop of mayo.
- Oh my goodness, these things are huge.
Look at all the fries exploding out this thing.
They smell great and crisp and fresh
and they're all salty and golden.
Do I need to use the fork?
Is the etiquette poor if I don't use the fork?
- It's completely up to you.
- Do you use a fork?
- I don't use a fork. - Oh, me neither.
(laughter)
- Holy (beep) that's good.
(laughter)
The fries are better than any fries I've ever had
- Oh, thank you.
- I bet to most people
double frying something sounds a little, I don't know....
irregular, but it really does make a difference.
(soft upbeat music)
I don't wanna come into your studio
and tell you how to paint,
but am I going to come off like some kinda jerk
if I ask for some ketchup?
- Oh, no. Absolutely not. - Okay.
- We have a lot of traditionalists.
- Yeah, that's how I take it classically, but this is...
You know mayo is pretty (beep) good.
- I'll get you some ketchup. - Thank you very much.
(upbeat music)
- Here you go. Some traditional ketchup.
- Thank you very much.
Please sit back down.
I'm not done praising you.
(laughter)
This is just....
I mean...
I don't wanna come off like I'm not a patriot.
Because ketchup and french fries is pretty American.
But mayo really gives it a run for it's money.
This is reminiscent of what I'm use to,
and it is so great,
but on this show we like to take a classic dish,
and bring it up to the next level.
So how are we going to do that today?
- We have so many awesome sauces here at Pommes Frites,
not just the traditional mayo.
Limited again, only to the imagination.
- I don't know what you're going to bring us next,
but I can't wait to see it.
(upbeat music)
- Lets surprise Shane and we'll bring all the sauces
out to him to sample.
(drumroll)
Truffle mayo, it doesn't get better than this.
Let's see if he likes the Wild Mushroom.
Delicious Peanut Satay sauce.
I think this will be one of Shane's favorites.
Tequila, Lime and Chipotle.
Dill Lemon Mayo.
Horseradish Mayo is a favorite.
So many.
Pomegranate Teriyaki.
Sweet Mango Chutney Mayo.
Gravy.
Sun-dried Tomato Mayo.
Parmesan Peppercorn.
(muttering names of sauces)
Okay Shane, open your eyes.
(laughing)
- Jesus.
Well.
- Where to start? - Yeah, yeah.
You're going to have to tell me, this is too much.
- Let's do it.
- Okay, what are you gonna go with.
- I'm gravitating to one of my favorites,
which is the Vietnamese Pineapple Mayo.
- Which is? - Right over here.
- I'm gonna to try this one.
It does look pretty. - Really good.
And you're allowed to... - This is really good, Jesus.
- Wow. - And we do double dip here,
so it's okay.
- You do double dip here? - Definitely.
(laughter)
- That's a poor etiquette question in a place like this.
(laughter)
- No, no, there is no etiquette here.
- I'm gonna try this one.
- Oh yeah, the Peanut Satay is so yum
- Peanut Satay.
Oh my goodness.
This might be my favorite so far.
Really rich.
- And our brand new white truffle ketchup
is to die for.
- White truffle - So good.
- I need to cleanse my palette.
This is s good. - Yeah.
(grunts)
That is incredible.
- Isn't that delicious?
- Yes, the white truffle just blows it up.
Yeah, yeah.
It's super familiar,
the note, got a little zip on it.
I like it.
- Another classic that we have here
is our especial, which is our European mayo
that we actually import from Europe.
It's our Frite sauce with ketchup and onion.
Of course that's good.
It's just mayonnaise and ketchup and onions.
I'm going to try the Thai. - Yeah.
- It's got a little spice to it,
- It does. - a little kick.
- Yeah, Thai chili. - Got a little heat on it.
I'mma try another one.
- The Sweet Mango Chutney Mayo, as I said
- This one here? - is one of our big sellers.
Yeah.
- Sweet.
Yeah.
- Our Parmesan Peppercorn,
which is hiding somewhere behind here.
- That's what I like.
I love peppercorn.
- Yep
(beep)
This is really (beep) good.
(laughter)
Oh my god.
This was ridiculous.
Thank you so much for having us in today.
- Our pleasure.
- Clearly you're taking french fries
to the next level here.
So if you guys are ever in the West Village in Manhattan,
stop by Pommes Frites and see Suzanne and everybody here.
I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)
Woo.
Sweet baby James, that's a lot of sauce.
I wannna thank Suzanne for having us in today,
and everybody else at Pommes Frites.
If you are looking for a perfect night,
come catch a show at the Comedy Cellar
then walk across the street and get some Pommes Frites.
I'm Shane Torres.
And this is "How Good Can It Get?"