PARK SLOPE — Potato perfection is coming to Park Slope.
A former public school teacher is opening Perfect Potato, a shop that will serve Belgian-style french fries, baked potatoes, milk shakes and the Canadian culinary invention, poutine.
The small space, at 172 Fifth Ave. near Degraw Street, won't have table seating but will have a counter with enough room for about 12 people to stand. Most of the business will be takeout, said owner Stephanie Seitman.
The former high school English teacher, who also worked as an executive chef at a restaurant in Breckenridge, Colorado, says she wants to serve "gourmet comfort food" at Perfect Potato.
She's cooked up a list of about 20 sauces to top the Belgian-style fries, and plans to eventually serve six different varieties of poutine, which is french fries topped with beef gravy and cheese curds.
Toppings will include coconut curry smoked with Darjeeling tea and brown sugar, cashew lime with Thai chili, Sriracha ketchup, smoked beef barbecue meat, hot cheese sauce, and the classic malt vinegar.
“I’m trying really hard to make it reflective of my approach to flavors,” Seitman said. “Something that when you bite into it, you have that sense that I’m happy I’m eating this."
The Belgian fries will be cooked twice: first parboiled in advance, then fried moments before they're served.
“That gives them a really really crisp crust and they’re soft inside," Seitman said. "If it's a soggy french fry, there’s no point in eating it.”
The milk shakes will include a banana cream pie flavor made with bananas grilled in butter, salt and sugar with a graham cracker crumble on top.
The gravy on Perfect Potato's poutine will be made from scratch using grass-fed beef bones, and Seitman will use organic ingredients as much as possible. Serving containers will be completely biodegradable, and there will be some vegan and vegetarian options on the menu.
Seitman aims to open Perfect Potato in early May.
Other recents comings and goings on the local business scene include the following:
► A taco and burrito shop using freshly made tortillas opened at 412 Fifth Ave., between Seventh and Eighth streets, Park Slope Stoop reported. Varrio 408 is operated by the owners of the nearby Rachel's Taqueria and serves traditional Tijuana food.
► Gowanus Darkroom, where photographers can practice the art of printing photos on paper, opened recently at 160 Seventh St., between Second and Third avenues, Brownstoner first reported. The facility has a group darkroom with 10 enlargers and will offer studio rental and classes in the future.
► A recording studio and music education facility opened recently at 435 Ninth St., off Seventh Avenue. Acme Hall Music Studio's recording space has a Soundcraft 24-channel Ghost mixing console, and the facility offers both private lessons and group music classes.
► A bagel and sandwich shop, Ollie & Ry, opened at 242 Fifth Ave. between President and Carroll streets, Here's Park Slope reported. The menu includes housemade lox and locally made bagels.
► A New Orleans-themed bar called Brooklyn Voodoo Lounge opened recently in the space last occupied by Lucky 13 Saloon, South Slope News reported. The Voodoo Lounge, at 273 13th St. off Fifth Avenue, is owned by the same people who own Lucky 13, which moved to Gowanus in 2014.
► East Wind Snack Shop, where veteran chef and Windsor Terrace resident Chris Cheung is serving Chinese dumplings and Asian snacks, opened recently at 471 16th St. off Prospect Park West. The menu includes specialties such as foie gras bao.
► Buttermilk Bakeshop recently expanded its cake and pastries business to a second location at 260 Fifth Ave. between Garfield Place and Carroll Street. The bakery opened its first Park Slope outpost at 339 Seventh Ave. near Ninth Street in 2014.
► A new cafe called The Estaminet is in the works at 107A Seventh Ave. at President Street, in the space formerly occupied by Spectacles.
