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See 85 Different French Fries Made in NYC at Pop-Up Exhibit

By Sybile Penhirin | November 4, 2014 12:07pm
 Three of the fries that will be part of the "Fries of New York" exhibition on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, 2014.
Three of the fries that will be part of the "Fries of New York" exhibition on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, 2014.
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Sir Kensington's

NOLITA — French fries in New York come in all shapes and sizes, from the crispy shoestring to the plump oven-baked. 

A new pop-up exhibit on the Bowery called "Fries of New York" aims to capture that tasty array, showcasing 85 different french fries that are served in restaurants across the city.

"Our No. 1 focus was to show the diversity of french fries there is in the city,” said Scott Norton, the curator of the exhibit and the co-founder of Sir Kensington’s, a New York-based company that produces ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard.

"We wanted to get a selection where every fry was different from the other."

Norton, 28, and his business partner Mark Ramadan started scouting the city for unique fries in early July, and picked some classics, like the ones from Delmonico's, along with a taro fry from Boahaus restaurant, a pomme soufflée fry from 21 Club and a cocoa and chili-dusted waffle fry from Max Brenner.

Last week, employees from Guild, a production company that helped with the exhibition, picked up the selected fries from the restaurants' kitchens and transported them on bikes to the company's studio in Brooklyn. The workers then coated the fries in a special resin to preserve them.

"It looks great," Norton said. "The fries look like they just came out of the fryer."

The fries will be displayed in small glass cases and won't be available for the public to try. But visitors to the free exhibit, which runs Nov. 7 and 8, will receive samples of Sir Kensington's organic ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard.

Norton and Ramadan got the idea for the exhibit while working with several New York restaurants where they sell their company's condiments.

"You can't be obsessed with ketchup without being obsessed with fries by association," Norton said.

"Today we have Mediterranean restaurants making fries with zaatar, which are Middle Eastern herbs, we have restaurants that boil their fries in truffle oil… We wanted to show that diversification."

"Fries of New York" will be on display at 168 Bowery on Nov. 7 and 8 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.