Kenmare's Killer Fries

Joey Campanaro isn't very trendy.  He's a low key, Italian guy who likes to cook things like roast chicken and ricotta cavatelli.  But he took New York by storm with a 28-seat eatery named The Little Owl and his gravy meatball sliders.  Four years later, it's just as hard to get a prime-time reservation at this charmed, Greenwich Village spot.

Now, you can also try Campanaro's sliders at Kenmare, his newest, Nolita venture and collaboration with nightlife impresario, Paul Sevigny.  But that's not really what diners are fawning over.  Oh no, it's the cheddar fries.  These crazy crispy fries are Campanaro's riff on cheese & gravy-smothered "disco fries." (There's a disco ball in the buzzing lounge downstairs.)   Kenmare's golden-brown fries aren't doused, but sprinkled with a phenomenal combination of English farmhouse cheddar, green onions, curry, cayenne, and salt.  The crowning touch is a side of chicken gravy that the chef makes for Thanksgiving, which you'll want to pour on just about everything but dessert. 

Side Dish: This beloved fried creation originated in Canada and is known as poutine.  Disco fries were a New Jersey & New York diner phenomenon of steak fries covered in mozzarella & chicken gravy.  A lot of people confuse disco fries with Elvis fries, but Elvis liked his fries doused in sausage gravy & cheddar.