B-Frites – NYC (closed)
1657 Broadway (near 51st Street)
Last visited: May 2003, this shop was closed late 2003
Opened in 1999 by Skell who lived in Belgium. These are the most authentic Belgian Fries you can get in New York: Belgian frying equipment, grows his own potatoes (Bintje) and imports original Belgian mayonaise. A pitty the interior is too modern to give it a complete ‘Belgian’ look.
The Americans have one problem with fries: they don’t want their sauces on top of the potatoes but on the side. This is a problem if you use authentic paper cones. So Skell developed a special cone with a seperate container for the sauce. Must have cost him a fortune and doesn’t look authentic at all, but who cares… the fries are OK.
Fries are priced $2.50, $3.50 and $4.50. For an extra $1.50 you get some delicious carbonnade (Belgian beef stew) with your fries.
I finally found this place online today after visiting it in 2004. I’m soooo sad to learn it’s closed. It truly was a find as we walked on Broadway to Central Park. Wish it was still there so I could visit it again this year.