When you’re ready to throw up some middle fingers to that stupidly restrictive diet and take a luxurious tongue bath in some hot oil, these are the latest in delicious fried foods that will help you enjoy that decision the most:
Fried Jalapeños
Perhaps you want to imbibe your revolt against your diet with caloric frozen drinks and the like, which could be handily solved through multiple rounds of prickly pear margaritas at Palm House. However, you wouldn’t want to overlook the genius bar snack of fried jalapeños, served with a fine snow of guava salt. (See photo above)
Fried Lobster with Chinese Honey and Black Pepper
One of the crown jewels of the new fall menu at Hakkasan is this decadent crustacean creation. The sweet buzziness of the honey and black pepper combination is an idea worth stealing in general, but here it works really well with the succulent lobster meat, which retains some juiciness in the deep fry.
Churro Donut Holes
The month-old Hecho is right on trend by having anything churro-like on its menu (here as a starter for brunch and a dessert at dinner). It might be an accident that these little beauties are a standout of the brunch offerings, though. They’re served, perplexingly at first, with sharp spoons and a buttery whipped cream, but once you understand how thoroughly fried and crunchy they are, the utensils make perfect sense (pile ‘em high with the cream, too).
Nduja Potatoes
Porcellino is not afraid to use lard as a frying agent for these chunky potato wedges, which are covered in a spicy spreadable salami called Nduja and green onions. The result makes for a singularly awesome crisp you’ll feel extra guilty about, so enjoy that ish, yo.
Maple, Bacon ... Doh!
Bluestem Brasserie has a new pastry chef named Curtis McDonald who has just unleashed a dessert menu encompassing comforting fall flavors like pumpkin and cranberry, but these hush puppy-like maple bacon fritters, served with a warm apple gastrique, could end up being a secret weapon to snag diners who don’t have the biggest sweet tooth or drinkers looking for a sinful snack.
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Photos by Tamara Palmer