A Love Affair With "Frites"

Everyone knows that McDonald’s or McDo, as it’s known in France, has not always been a welcome institution in the Hexagon. “The French are eating too much fat.” “They’re eating too quickly, like the Americans.” Obesity and poor digestion aside, there’s another problem. You see, here in the North of France, French fries are sacred and McDo means one thing to many people—competition.

Like foie gras in the Southwest, oysters in Brittany or snails in Burgundy, the French fry is a gastronomic symbol of the North of France. I will never forget spotting a menu du jour in Dunkerque (about an hour north of Lille) advertising the day’s special: Lasagne with a side of frites—and a coffee. I have to admit that this combination was surprising, even after living here for nearly three years. Normally, fries come with most Northern dishes, from carbonade flammande (think beef stew with beer and a touch of sugar) to potjevlesch (a terrine made with chicken, veal and rabbit), but lasagne?! Just a word of advice: If you’re planning a trip to Lille and the North of France and want to sample the regional dishes, put your diet on hold.

After searching the internet to uncover French the fry’s culinary roots, I can tell you one thing—I’m confused. The Belgians claim that they first started eating “French” fries in the late 1600s and say that the French like to believe that they “invented” the fry. By other accounts, the French are the proud owners of the recipe, dating back to the mid 1800s. And then there’s the name: French fry. So either the name comes from the culinary term “to french” meaning to cut into batons OR from the fact that Americans used the word French relating to the fried spud’s home. Again, talk to the Belgians about this and you’ll probably get an earful.

Illusive origins aside, French fries are such a defining part of the North that recently, a book was dedicated to the subject. Le Nord de la Frite by Rémy Robert contains photos and text highlighting local French fry vendors who sell their crunchy, salty snacks out of trailers known as baraques à frites (literally, fry houses). Go to any street fair, antique fair or beachfront and you’re sure to find hundreds of people eating fries out of paper cones, either with their hands or with the tiny plastic forks provided. And the sauces are endless, ranging from mayonnaise to Mexican. But beyond snacks, French fries in the North sometimes act as an easy Sunday night dinner. And a local once told me that at some very chic weddings around 2 a.m., guests go crazy when fries are served– to accompany their glasses of Champagne, bien sûr!

And you thought the French fry was just for burgers.

Le Nord de la Frite
by Rémy Robert
www.le-nord-de-la-frite.com