We continue to countdown our 100 favorite dishes at local restaurants. We'll be sharing these with you every weekday until our annual Best Of Issue comes out. Enjoy!
#85. Beef Fat Fries at SideDoor
Fries are fries, but what if you cooked them in beef fat? Thank yourselves that it's not at every corner McDonalds. If any fast food chain ever figures out how to replicate these puppies for mass consumption, they would be a public health hazard. Obesity would rise. American lives would shorten. Heart disease rampant. They are simply too good, too addicting, too dangerous.
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In fact, I'd go as far as to say, it wouldn't work outside of niche restaurants like SideDoor because they're so rich, you'd probably get sick of them if you horded them for yourself–you need to share this.
They're crisp, of course, like any fries, but then there's the unmistakable flavor of beefiness, almost imperceptible at first, then asserting itself as the aftertaste. It's like the effect of eating steak and fries by just eating the fries. And you need to consume it fast while it's hot, piping hot, because once it cools, beef fat fries kinda taste, um, not so great, revealing themselves to be what they are: potatoes cooked in meat grease.
SideDoor, 3801 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, (949) 717-4322; www.sidedoorcdm.com
The list so far:
#100. Jerk Carnitas Torta at The Crosby
#99. Nem Nuong Cuon at Brodard
#98. Pork Chop Anything at Nice Time Deli
#97. Flying Saucer at Alberto's
#96. Frozen Custard at Marc Burger's in Macy's Signature Kitchen
#95. Collard Greens at Johnny Reb's
#94. Strawberry Shortcake from Job's Daughters
#93. Cuban Sandwich at DeSimone's Deli
#92. Lamb with Preserved Cabbage at Mas Islamic Chinese
#91. Baked Rice at Luc Dinh Ky
#90. Beans on Toast at The Olde Ship
#89. Midnight Al Pastor Burrito or Taco at Taqueria Tapatia
#88. Budino di Cioccolato, Pizzeria Ortica
#87. Beef Teriyaki Bowl, Teriyami
#86. Salmon Onigiri at Cream Pan
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.