Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Frysmith, a Fry Truck Launching in Los Angeles

Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 28, 2009 at 10:45 AM

Kimchi pork fries

Justifying fries as a whole meal has been one of life's challenges for a while. Frysmith, a gourmet fry truck slated to roll out in Los Angeles this August, has taken on this noble mission. The truck will serve "ethnically infused" hand-cut fries that are piled with enough meats and cheeses, you could sort of argue, at least more than before, that it's a well-balanced meal.

Rajas fries

It's a scientific process where they throw stuff on top of fries. The menu includes chili-cheese fries (and a vegan version with tomatoes, mixed beans, and soyrizo), as well as Rajas fries (topped with shawarma-marinated steak and roasted poblano chiles), and sweet potato fries with organic chicken and cashews. Inspired by the Kogi, what has become the almighty trailblazer of tweeting West Coast street food, Frysmith also gives a nod to Korean fermented cabbage. Kimchi fries will be topped with Kurobuta pork belly, onions, and cheddar cheese.

Husband-and-wife owners Brook Howell and Erik Cho, both 29 years old, liked the Los Angeles burger stand culture, but didn't want to sell burgers. Instead they multiplied the diverse flavors of the city—the Latin, Asian, and Middle Eastern influences—by deep-fried potato rods.

Brainstorming name ideas.

They've been blogging about the whole Frysmith process on eatfrysmith.com: from finding a custom-built truck with an 18-foot kitchen and two deep fryers, to debating the merits of different colas for the soda menu, to creating a logo, to figuring out how to convert the truck's diesel engine to run on straight fry oil instead.

During the truck-naming stages, Powell had a tough time avoiding the obvious punabilities. Lord of the Fries and, her personal favorite, Rosespud, were both name options. But eventually they stopped har-harring and settled on two options: FryBot and Frysmith. Upon discovering that FryBot was a name for a McDonald's Happy Meal toy of yesteryear, it was settled.

Frysmith is planning to hit the streets on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule, working both weekday nights (5 p.m. to midnight) and all day (until 2:30 a.m.) on weekends. They're not exactly sure where the truck will park, but they'll be updating us on Twitter (@frytruck).

Related

A List of Street Food Vendors Using Twitter
Is Street Food the New Bacon?
Meet & Eat: Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck

6 Comments

Tags: California, french fries, fries, Frysmith, Los Angeles, street food, Twitter