The Local Fry specialty fry shop coming to Federal Hill

Kevin Irish from Ireland met his now wife Baltimorean Elizabeth while she was living in Europe and upon their marriage moved to back to the United States in 2009. Now with 4 years under their aprons as proprietors of a West Baltimore wing and sub shop they decided to try their own new restaurant concept, enter The Local Fry.

Federal Hill seemed ideal, a good neighborhood, a community they can support. The Local Fry will be located at 21 E. Cross Street and should be opening in November. The main feature of the menu will be specialty fries. Irish explained, “Our menu will showcase specialty fries using fresh ingredients, all prepared in house. We will be offering other menu items such as a variety of buffalo-style wings, salads, and possibly even sliders, but our main focus is on our gourmet specialty fries menu. Without giving too much away, our specialty fries menu will feature fries loaded with unique toppings, sauces and seasonings. Fries are oftentimes overlooked as just a side dish and our goal is to make it the star, a meal in itself. Think poutine times 10!”

A trip back to Ireland was the inspiration for the Local Fry, there were just some dishes the couple craved and couldn’t get here. Think Irish chips, which are reminiscent of our French fries but thicker, usually about 16 fries to an average sized russet potato. The Irish use malt vinegar on their chips, fries here in Baltimore are often time topped with our regional favorite, beef gravy. The potato is a blank canvas, like pasta and rice it can be topped with almost anything. Back in my youth, at the shore, some Rhode Islanders were dipping their fries in mayonnaise which wasn’t appealing to me as was the thought of Baltimore’s beef gravy on the fires was disgusting to them.

Fried potatoes are everywhere as Don Odiorne, Vice President Food Service of Idaho Potato Commission reminded me of the hundreds of McDonald’s in Tokyo. He gladly sent along a link to Idaho® Potato Daigaku Imo, Japanese caramelized potatoes.

Looking forward to the tasting and discovering the numerous variations on the fried potato at the Local Fry – I’m food curious to eat what poutine times 10 tastes like.

The Local Fry – 21 E. Cross Street – Baltimore, MD www.thelocalfry.com @thelocalfry and Facebook – Opening November, 2014