Pommes Frites is a New York City restaurant which specializes in Belgian-style fries. The restaurant was located in the East Village at 123 2nd Avenue (near 7th Street),[1] but relocated to 128 MacDougal Street after the original building was destroyed in a 2015 natural gas explosion.[2]
| Pommes Frites | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original (2nd Ave) store | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | January 1997 |
| Owner(s) | Susan Levison, Omer Shorshi |
| Food type | French fries |
| City | New York City |
| State | New York |
| Country | United States |
| Website | http://www.pommesfritesnyc.com/ |
Menu
editThe restaurant sells only one food item: fries, served in paper cones, with a variety of sauces to choose from.[3] Fries are prepared in the Belgian style, deep fried twice at two different temperatures.[4] Additionally, a variety of European beers, soft drinks, and fruit smoothies are offered as beverages.
History
editThe shop was opened by Susan Levison, a Bronx native, in January 1997 after returning from a backpacking trip through the low countries.[2] (At the time of its destruction, she co-owned the restaurant with Omer Shorshi.)[2] Nine months after it opened, New York Magazine reported that there were lines outside the restaurant every day.[5] At one time, the restaurant had expanded to two locations, as well a copycat restaurant under the same name with a different owner, but by 2013 only the original location remained.[4]
Gas explosion
editOn March 26, 2015, the restaurant was destroyed when the building which housed it collapsed, following a natural gas explosion.[2] No Pommes Frites customers or employees were seriously injured, although an employee and a customer of another nearby restaurant were killed.[6] Pommes Frites reopened on May 23, 2016.[7]
References
edit- ^ Sietsema, Robert (1999). Secret New York. ECW Press. p. 89. ISBN 9781550223743.
- ^ a b c d Maslin Nir, Sarah (27 March 2015). "Owners of Restaurants Destroyed in East Village Explosion Mourn Their Losses". New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Kaminsky, Peter (24 February 1997). "Hot Potatoes". New York Magazine. pp. 131, 179. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ a b Sietsema, Robert (27 December 2013). "Guerre des Frites: Pommes Frites v. Newcomer La Frite". New York Eater. Vox Media. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Big Dippers". New York Magazine. 27 October 1997. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ Yee, Vivian & Otterman, Sharon (29 March 2015). "Two Bodies Recovered at East Village Explosion Site". New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ^ Maslin Nir, Sarah (22 May 2016). "Pommes Frites Restaurant Opening 14 Months After Fatal Blast". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-02.