Mumbai Food: Try out Bandra's new joint dedicated to fries

Classic tornado. pics/Sameer abidi

"I can live on fries," says our colleague when we announce in office, "Guys, there is a sh'tload of fries here for us to try," even as another workmate says, "God, I miss my college days so much right now," after taking a bite of the order we have placed at The Bombay Fries, a new joint in Bandra East. Their reactions are a reflection of the universal love accorded to this versatile potato dish. For - be it fish and chips in the UK, burgers with fries in the US, cheesy poutine in Canada, or the version in the Middle East where they are packed inside pita bread along with other sundry fillings - you are as likely to find fries all across the world as you are to find snow in winter in a Scandinavian country.

But Mumbai, if you have noticed, suddenly seems to have new eateries dedicated solely to different types of fries. The place that we try out is one of the newest additions to that list. And the order we place includes multiple versions of the basic dish, such as double cheese (Rs 100), Bruce Lee (Rs 120) and fiery chicken wings (Rs 140), apart from a classic potato tornado (Rs 50) and a lemon iced tea (Rs 50) to beat the searing heat.

Fiery chicken wings and fries

The first thing we notice is that the fries in each of the three varieties are all yellow in colour, leading yet another colleague to question, "Have they put haldi in it?" They haven't, of course, but we must admit that the sunny colour doesn't sit too well with us because fries, at least in our experience, are best served golden. The miniature length of each piece doesn't instil much confidence either, since it defeats the concept of "finger chips".

And our fears are confirmed when we try the double cheese fries first. Now, cheese and potatoes are like the Batman and Robin of the culinary world. But given the stingy layer of cheese on this dish, we are left feeling as disappointed as the Caped Crusader's enemies are after he's foiled yet another one of their evil schemes.

Bruce Lee fries

So we move on to the Bruce Lee fries, so named because they come with an accompanying portion of fried noodles, a pairing that piques our curiosity. Sadly, this dish too leaves us cold, despite the hot sauce that the fries are coated with. It's the same sauce that's used in the fiery wings version, and the problem is that it leaves a distinct aftertaste of commercial ketchup. Also, it doesn't bode well for a fries joint if we'd rather leave a good word about their chicken wings.

The classic tornado, though, lifts our spirits to some extent. This is a roughly two-year-old trend that has come to stay in the city, wherein a long kaathi stick is pierced with a fried potato cut into twirls, leading to its alternative name, twisted potato. The light masala flavouring in this version tingles our taste buds, though by the time we attack it half an hour after picking it up, the dish is no longer as crispy as we had hoped for it to be. And that is a concern that runs through our order, since all the fries in the various dishes were equally soggy, leaving us wanting for more, as is the case with our hungry colleagues.

Time 11 am to 11 pm
AT Shop A/3, Upnagar, opposite New Administrative Building, near Chetana College, Bandra East.
CALL 7045588252

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On May 27, 12.30 pm to 4 pm
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cost Rs 3,300 onwards

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