Spud Bros.
2010 10th Street, Boulder, CO 80302
303-444-1836
www.spud-bros.com
Forkful of Fries
The moon was sliced into three-quarters of its natural size, the sky was like a giant blinking eye and my nose was preparing for the decadent scent of fried starch. Dinner was going to include as many food groups as possible within the theme of French fries. It reminded me of a time when I was first allowed to go the mall without any parental presence–the freedom of trying on clothes that I couldn’t afford with my five dollar a week allowance and five dollar an hour babysitting job. For my friends, it was the time to search for cute boys. My inspiration? The food court.
I loved having the opportunity to eat many different genres of food at the same time: a hot dog from Nathan’s, lo mein from Panda Express, a strawberry and banana shake from the Smoothie Shoppe, a slice of pizza and fries. Especially the latter.
Fries: the staple of a good meal. Or, the perfect accessory to a plate of grilled meat (hamburger, hot dog) or as a stand-alone snack for one’s limber mouth. They always felt like a guilty pleasure because I grew up being told they were bad for me. All that oil staining my fingertips with remnants of calories and regret.
As an adult, the world is my food court. I can have ice-cream for breakfast, pancakes for dinner and fries every half hour. However, I do not do this; I adhere to the unspoken rules. Meatloaf for breakfast? No, I couldn’t! What would people think?
Currently, I live in a city labeled one of the thinnest in the country. Almost everyone here walks around with skin made of spandex and feet replaced by bicycle wheels. To be a meat eater not only makes you a minority but dreadlocked vegans will rescind their dinner invitations as the scent of your meaty sweat would conflict with their purity. So imagine my wide-eyed excitement when I learned of a French fry café opening up in town, serving nothing but French fries and happiness.
Spud Bros. is a six-month old eatery originating in Boulder, Colorado, located at 2010 10th Street. It contains four tables placed closely together and an outside patio where you can devour your oil-soaked vegetables while engaging in the soon-to-be Olympic sport of people watching. At almost 6:30 pm, there was no wait in line. Service was immediate and served with a greaseless smile. The process of ordering at Spud Bros. goes like this: First, you choose the type of potato and then your fry style. This includes ultimate–hand-cut, fried in peanut oil, and tossed in sea salt, half-baked–pre-fried and then baked, and just baked–baked in ovens. Then comes size: small ($4.00), medium ($5.00) and large ($7.00). There are sauces offered at no additional charge including buttermilk ranch, Mexican salsa, wasabi ketchup, roasted garlic aioli, sweet heat, barbeque and bleu cheese sauce. Then come the toppings, which are also free of charge–black olives, cilantro, sliced jalapenos, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and green onions. At 50 cents each, there are additional extras which are beef or vegan chili, bacon bits, guacamole, pepperoni, blue cheese crumbles, parmesan, cheddar, and jack cheese. Who knew French fries would include so much decision making?
Spud Bros. also offers a favorites section, which is a little more involved: each size is one dollar more. Some favorites are sweet heat (french fries topped with tropical passion fruit chili sauce, sour cream and green onions), Colorado buffalo (fries tossed in buffalo sauce, topped with shredded chicken, crispy celery and blue cheese crumbles) and Thai’d up (fries with melted pepper jack cheese, smoked chicken, topped with sweet BBQ sauce and green onion. After quite a bit of deliberation, my girlfriend and I chose a medium order of sweet potato fries with blue cheese sauce topped by cilantro, green onions and black olives and a side order of garlic aioli sauce. Imagine all this for only $5.42?
While we waited for our fries, I looked to my right and saw a father with his son, digging into their baskets full of thick fries doused in their customary creations. It seemed like the perfect bonding experience.
Our wait was minimal and as we brought the basket of fries to our table, I felt the need to admire the presentation. The long fries were golden in color and almost uniform in size and width, while the finely chopped cilantro and scallions offered a neon hue over the blue cheese sauce spread evenly over the fries. “Looks like a Caribbean beach with a jungle on top,” said my girlfriend. I got lost inside her image of serene waves, replaced by fried potassium. Like a glass of wine with layered savors, I savored the sharp creaminess of aged cheese, salt from the olives, and tangy spice from the onions and garlic aioli sauce. Each fry tasted fresh–not at all heavy from over-frying or oil-marinade. Their use of organic peanut oil, used as the original source of fuel for diesel engines, offered a lighter feeling in my stomach rather than the generic bloating that often comes with fried foods.
I felt happy. Spud Bros. is more than just a French fry haven–they are environmentally friendly with biodegradable cups and trays, wind powered energy through Excel, and their peanut oil is donated to Colorado University in Boulder for biodiesel buses. Not only are you savoring a possibly guilty pleasure, you are supporting the environment. We left Spud Bros. feeling satiated and ecologically enhanced.
With accelerated service, a clean backdrop (tables cleaned immediately upon customers exiting) and a fresh approach to a historically loved snack first fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, Spud Bros. should have no problem getting Boulderites and visitors alike to stop by and build their own chosen French fried creation.
by Aimee Herman
[Photos: Dave Penegar and Aimee Herman]
