Hot chippies. You’re probably familiar with the concept. But have you ever had yours twice-fried in 100 per cent grass-fed beef fat and sprinkled with mineral-rich flakes of Celtic sea salt? These are no ordinary chips, friends. They’re full-throttle Flemish frites available only at Chapel Street’s Friterie, a two-year-long labour of love from founder Huey Pham, inspired by the chip shops of Belgium he frequented (and fell in love with) during a recent Euro trip.
“Frites culture is so big over there,” says Pham. “In Australia we usually only eat fries as a side dish, whereas in Belgium they go out to eat fries as their main course. It brings people together, and it’s just such a warming dish to share with your friends and family.”
There are seven variations on the theme on the menu for you, your friends, and your family, and the options range from traditional to trailblazing – at least in the context of Flemish-style frites. The patat special keeps things simple with lashings of house-made curry ketchup and mayonnaise, plus a sprinkling of onion; the loaded frites flips the classic on its head with plenty of béchamel sauce, a solid whack of crisp pancetta and an even bigger dollop of sour cream; and the truffle parmesan, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the label by featuring lots of parmesan and lots of truffle on top of your chips.
And Pham isn’t cutting any corners when it comes to quality. He worked closely with Victoria’s very own Spud Sisters to identify the best potato for the job, with the sebago variety emerging as the most versatile from a talent pool of six. Each was tested for months and twice-fried in tallow to achieve what he believes is the ideal ratio of textures in the chip.
“We twice-cook them – the sebago gives us the best fluffy, cloudlike interior and the crispiest exterior when we put them in for that final fry.”
Right now, Pham says lunchtime is most popular with Chapel Street’s chip lovers, though he does also says his frites are “great beer-drinking food”, and that it’s only a matter of time until the afterhours crowd catches on. Keep your eyes on the fries – Melbourne’s first Belgium-style friterie is about to take off.
Friterie, 167 Chapel St, Windsor, open Wed-Thurs 12 noon-10pm, Fri-Sat 12 noon-midnight, Sun 12 noon-9.30pm, friterie.com.au, @friterie.au