Alison Cook became a believer after trying these loaded fries at Cowboys and Indians.
One of my least popular critical opinions, along with my dislike of Whataburger, is that I dislike loaded French fries. I mean, vehemently dislike. I am a lonely voice in the wilderness in these trying times, when poor innocent fries heaped with all manner of extraneous trimmings have taken over the food universe.
Or, at least, I was until I visited the unlikely-sounding Cowboys and Indians Tex-Indian fusion restaurant and had my thinking rearranged.
When I hopped onto a tufted pink barstool at the restaurant, I was on the lookout for my latest Burger Friday feature. CNI (as they abbreviate it) now occupies the former BRC space on Shepherd, where it was previously located in a deep-Montrose gas station.
Rice Military meets the West End. I was intrigued by CNI’s Himalayan Heat Burger, which promised jalapeno, tomato, and onion jam in addition to Halal beef. It was happy hour, and I was given the option of adding a side of Masala Fries to the $17 burger for three dollars, so the evil imp in me thought, why not? They had to make good copies.
They did, but not in the way I anticipated. I took one of the skinny, crusted fries from the mini-tarka it was served in, balancing its cargo of pico de gallo, cilantro aioli, and “65 sauce” (think ketchup transformed by garlic, ginger, and onion). Boom! I couldn’t believe how lively it was, how the superb dark-gold crust of the potatoes contrasted with the cling of sauces and amplified the crunch of the pico de gallo.
“This dish is built on chaat principles,” I thought to myself as my palate bounced around from sweet to tart, spicy-hot to cool, egging me on until I realised my tall, dramatic burger was sitting there untouched after a few minutes. I couldn’t stop eating the fries and marvelling at little discoveries like corn kernels and black beans in the pico de gallo, or how perfectly cooked what I suspected was a base of frozen fries was.
I swear I’d come to Cowboys and Indians just to eat those Masala Fries. (A regular order from the menu costs $9.) It was one of those rare occasions when a frozen fry was put to the best possible use.
What about the burger? It was excellent. I enjoyed the clear, authoritative flavour of the thick Halal beef patty, was pleased that my server asked how I wanted it cooked, and was pleased that “medium rare” emerged with some pink in the centre. From the “jalapeno, tomato, and onion jam” that had the surprisingly mild manners of an Italian peperonata to the substitution of red cabbage slaw for the advertised romaine, the trimmings entertained.
There was a layer of mozzarella inside, a smear of yogurt-based raita on the bottom, and a lavishly sesame-seeded bun to hold it all together. It wasn’t what I expected (where was the “Himalayan heat”? ), but this hefty half-pounder had its own quirky style and substance.
Still, the brilliant loaded Masala Fries will stay with me and bring me back. They are the first example of the genre that I have ever admired, nay, desired.
I mentioned this to a gentleman who turned out to be executive chef and general manager Vinny Lantigua, who oversees Cowboys and Indians for owner Imran Khan. Chef Vinny is originally from the Dominican Republic.
