now i already loved me some gladstone hotel to begin with. i enjoy harvest wednesdays every year, their always tasty brunch–but how did i not discover the "fry bar" on their menu until last week?? first of all, they had me at the concept. i love fries, period, salted and otherwise undressed is just fine. but entice me with lots of extra toppings and i get excited (veggie gravy? thanks for thinking of me! really, thank you). but present me with toppings as varied and good as theirs and i become ecstatic and have to create a post on my blog to profess my love for you.
i ordered the cajun mayo dipping sauce, cuz i always do when given the choice, and kinda cringed when my friend chose the maple mustard dip (really?? okaaaaay…) but holy was i the one who chose wrong. i mean, the mayo was good. really good. but the maple mustard was…deep. sweet, but not overly sweet, in a caramel-y way, and the spice from the mustard was the perfect foil. you know when you were a kid and used to dip your mc-d's fries in the bbq, mustard and sweet & sour nugget sauce together? it was that sauce. ok maybe that's only a good taste memory for me…besides, even if you don't pick that sauce, you can choose, say, rye whisky bbq sauce, or maybe top your fries with quebec benedictine blue cheese or zucchini pickle.
and forget everything you think about sweet potato fries, even if you like them. we agreed these were hands down the best we'd ever had. thin yet meaty enough, and fried in a light batter so well seasoned that we didn't add a drop of salt or pepper. this is a dangerous find for me. i will be back all too soon and probably way too often.