You probably feel like the classiest B on the planet when you sip champagne, but if you want to take things up a notch, you need to be ordering a side of fries with that Dom Perignon.
- French fries are delicious. This is the most important point. Who doesn’t love fried potatoes? No one. Regardless of your choice of dipping sauce and/or topping, fries go well with everything. Champagne is one of many perfect accompaniments to your frites, so it makes total sense.
- The fries/champagne combo comes straight from the pros. Christine Osselin, Moët & Chandon’s wine quality and communication manager is the one who suggested the combo to The Drinks Business. Apparently, this is because the salty, crunchy hit of the fries goes well with the crisp, acidic quality of the champagne.
- Don’t go crazy with disco fries or anything. According to Osselin, the fries you enjoy with your glass of champagne shouldn’t be too complicated. That means no monster or disco fries or anything too complicated. “Champagne is a wine that asks for simple ingredients, no more than three,” she explained.
- It’s not exactly a new concept. Sylvain, a popular restaurant in New Orleans’ French Quarter, has been serving up fries and bubbly for a while now. Available at two price points, $50 and $90, it’s one of their most popular dishes. Sylvain’s owner, Sean McCusker, remembers a friend telling him about the combo and being unconvinced… until he tried it himself. “The next afternoon, a friend and I hit Les Halles where Anthony Bourdain was the chef and was making what I thought were the best fries in NYC. We ordered a plate and a bottle of champagne. We each grabbed a fry, stuck it in our mouths and followed it with a gulp of champagne and it was a revelation,” he recalled in an interview with Eater. Right there I said that if I ever had a restaurant, I’d put that combo on the menu even if nobody ever ordered it. Thankfully they do.”
- If you don’t like champagne, just get the fries. I mean, it’s a no-brainer. If champagne’s not your bag, something tells me the fries would go just as well with a sparkling rosé or even a bottle of beer. Fries don’t discriminate.
