Burger Time

Short Order Calls An ‘Emergency Fry Meeting’ Before Opening

A lot of Fry Kids have been slaughtered in the process
A lot of Fry Kids have been slaughtered in the process

Tomorrow Nancy Silverton’s Short Order burger joint becomes a reality at The Original Farmer’s Market on Fairfax. Today, the L.A. Times charts the typically meticulous process Silverton, dearly departed partner Amy Pressman, and chef Christian Page underwent to make the perfect French fry, which took more than a year to finalize. Apparently, Pressman planned two types of fries for the place a traditional and a hand-cut fry, origianlly a sweet potato version. Exemplifying what makes these two chefs perfect partners, Pressman eventually tracked down a potato grower to serve as the connect to preserved blanched spuds that are delivered regularly to the restaurant (“I think The CIA was involved,” Page joked with the paper).

A lot of Fry Kids have been slaughtered in the process

Ditching the sweet potato plan, Silverton eventually had an a-ha moment when considering April Bloomfield’s duck-fat spud chunks at The Breslin and Jonathan Waxman’s peeled potato chunks at Barbuto. Voila! The smashed, crispy Short Order spud was born, though SIlverton’s team is still obsessing over the details, like which potato variety to employ, how long to cook them, and what level of heat to use. However, all is not necessarily well in fry-ville as Page tells The Times that an emergency fry meeting was held in the wee hours, two days before opening. Apparently, the traditional fry still needed a fine tooth combing over. Hopefully, they pass their secrets on to In-N-Out.

The day of reckoning for Short Order’s fries lands tomorrow. Let us know what you think in our comments!

Short Order puts on its finishing touches [LAT]

Short Order Calls An ‘Emergency Fry Meeting’ Before Opening