There is a poutine popularity explosion happening that's catered to all ages with the opening of US Fries on Mill Avenue. Business for the most part has been booming for the newly opened establishment, but this is not your typical poutine restaurant. The menu features a variety of selections of the Canadian-favorite dish including sweet BBQ pulled pork, cheeseburger, chicken fajita and even vegetarian options.
A typical US Fries dish consists of hot french fries, Wisconsin cheese curds, US Fries signature brown gravy and your choice of meat and vegetables. A favorite among costumers is the Philly cheesesteak poutine, which includes thinly sliced steak, onions, and red and green peppers. This poutine variation is also the favorite of assistant manager Russell Holland.
“It just melts in your mouth,” he said.
A must-try at this restaurant is the deep-fried cheese curds, which might be the best you have tasted in your life.
As if cheese curds weren't amazing enough. pic.twitter.com/Z2bexuHmcC
— US Fries Tempe (@USFriesTempe) August 11, 2015
The restaurant also serves burgers including the Tommy Boy burger and the Dixie Rae BBQ pulled pork burger. Despite this, Holland makes it clear that this is not a fast food place.
“We consider ourselves to be more of a poutine place rather than a fast food joint," he said.
Holland added that the food at US Fries is also more organic than most fast food joints.
“All the food we do here, we make from scratch," Holland said.
The desserts feature red-velvet cakes as well as a favorite drink of Tucson natives: Eegee’s, a mixture between a slushy and a smoothie.
Your experience at this restaurant may depend on when you go. During the daytime, expect it to be fairly quiet; the restaurant seems to cater to a more professional crowd and tourists visiting the area during the day. At night, it's a different story, as the restaurant is catered more towards college students, especially considering US Fries is open until 4 a.m.
Medical studies junior Hillary Tacadena talked about how the employees at US Fries made the experience worth her while.
"The service is really great and the workers were extremely friendly to me because it was my first time," she said.
"It was cool how they split our order, letting us try two different poutines for the price of one," her brother Daniel added.
Tempe is the second US Fries location in the country, the first being in Tucson. The store on Fourth Avenue in Tucson has been a huge success and Holland is hoping for the same in Tempe.
“Tucson was the experiment and now we have decided to take on Tempe, which is a much bigger market,” Holland said.
From my experience, any college town would be lucky to have a US Fries.
Reach the reporter at obie.dieke@asu.edu or follow @20crowndancer14 on Twitter.
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