Beef Fat Fries from Miller’s Guild (by request). For being a plate of straight up french fries, these were phenomenal! I already know what you’re thinking. “Beef Fat? That’s disgusting?” You’re wrong.

Beef tallow has been used for a long time to fry foods. It stays stable at high temperatures and imparts a deep flavor. There’s also research showing that beef tallow may lower the occurrence of certain breast cancers. Regardless, get over your squeamishness. It’s oil. You’ve been suckered by some powerful lobbies into believing that highly processed vegetable oils are better for you. They’re probably not. Put your tin foil hat securely back on your head and try these fries!

Miller’s Guild hand cuts their potatoes, blanches, freezes, and then fries again in beef tallow achieving a perfectly crisp fry with a soft interior. I don’t know what variety of potato they use, but I’d describe the flavor as “potatoey”. Combined with the subtle depth of the beef tallow they taste hearty. Since beef tallow can hold a higher temperature than most other oils the fries come out with a crunch that lasts long enough for you to finish the dish. They’re sturdy enough to fight off a cyclops with a well placed jab to the eyeball, if that’s important to you (looking at you, Odysseus). The kitchen finishes the fries off with some smoked sea salt. I found them perfectly seasoned, a wonderful texture, and a satisfying side. The enameled cast iron serving dish didn’t hurt their presentation.

My only criticism is the aioli they provided. It tasted like steak. I asked what was in it and was told that they mix beef fat (drippings) into their mayonnaise. It was fine for the first few fries but became overwhelming. While I like the idea of having a savory dipping sauce along with ketchup I didn’t enjoy this. Even so, these fries earned a perfect 7 out of 7.

Remember that unless the fries have some additional element (poutine, greek, or other varieties), the rating scale only goes up to 7. Had the the dipping sauce been better I might have raised the bar, but since I didn’t like it, and I wasn’t forced to eat it, it’s ultimately ignored.
Well done, Miller’s Guild. Besides the fries, the whole menu looked really interesting. These guys have one of the coolest grills I’ve ever seen in a kitchen and they put out some gorgeous burgers, steaks, and sandwiches during lunch. It’s on the high end of the price scale, but not unreasonable (if you’re visiting with the company credit card).

Catalog:
Sampled on 6/17/2016