In between finishing up some longer posts about my trip to Victoria, BC, I stopped by the 8oz Burger & Co. on Capitol Hill for a second visit. My previous review was their Short Rib Poutine which scored an excellent 8 out of 10. Their Sweet Potato Tots followed that up with another 8 out of 10, but for different reasons.

Sweet potato fries are a love ’em or hate ’em food. While I don’t feel strongly enough about it to say that I hate sweet potato fries, they’re not my first choice if there’s another option. When they’re prepared without care they end up gummy, starchy, and…sweet. This was the first time I’d ever seen sweet potato tots so it was worth a shot.

I’ll admit that I don’t actually know how to make tater tots. It looks a little tricky. These sweet potato tots maintain a fluffier texture than I expected, although they are significantly more dense than Napoleon’s pocket tots (I still love that movie). The seasoning on these bad boys consists of cinnamon, powdered sugar, and is complimented with a honey curry aioli. They taste a bit like sweet potato casserole, and on their own can be off-puttingly sweet. My lunch companion hated her first bite. However, when dipped in the curry aioli they achieve the right balance of cream, spice, and sugar. They’re not greasy, they’re not too chewy…they’re a very unique take on tater tots that I highly recommend trying ($7).

If nothing else, this is a good appetizer for a table of people coming to 8oz looking for a killer burger. They have plenty of those. They also have VERY good french fries. I bought a small basket of their truffled garlic fries to have a contrast with the sweet potatoes.

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These are adorable little serving baskets. Just precious. The small order ($3.5) was probably the wrong idea for the truffled garlic fries because I don’t feel like that portion size was able to get adequately tossed in the seasoning salt. The fries were a little bit bland, but even so they were well above average.

8oz Burger & Co uses Kennebec potatoes for their french fries. If you haven’t heard that term yet, brace yourself. Kennebec potatoes will be the new standard for discerning restaurants in the near future. This potato has a slightly more “potato” flavor to it…more pronounced than standard fries. It also holds up well to high heat frying letting the chef achieve a nice crust on the fry while maintaining a balanced soft interior. They’re fantastic, and 8oz Burger & Co. does them justice. I won’t rate these fries because I don’t think I get a good representation of what they are. I needed a larger order.

They also use a fancy shmancy ketchup from Portland. I don’t know anything about it, and I’m not a ketchup expert, but I thought it was fine.

Catalog:
Sampled on 8/31/2016 on Capitol Hill, Seattle.