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A widely-read national food publication released its updated guide to the best french fries in New York City this week, narrowing the field to 18 restaurants across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. A single Upper East Side institution earned a place on the list.
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That restaurant is J.G. Melon, the burger and bar mainstay at 1291 Third Avenue at 74th Street, open since 1972. Its signature cottage fries — thick, ridged rounds with crisp edges and a softer interior — have been part of the Melon experience for decades, served alongside the equally famous burger.The roundup, published April 28 by The Infatuation, calls out the cottage fries as a textbook version of the style. The publication’s list focuses on what it describes as straightforward fries, intentionally setting aside poutines and other elaborate variations.
The cottage fries’ place on Melon’s menu was briefly in jeopardy in late 2021, when we first reported the restaurant’s confirmation that supply chain issues had pulled the fries from service. Customers responded with a Change.org petition urging potato supplier Lamb Weston to resume production after “leaving thousands of New Yorkers feeling in the dumps.” The cottage fries returned to the menu by 2023.
J.G. Melon was the only Upper East Side spot included in the updated guide. Other Manhattan picks ranged from Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village and Pastis in the Meatpacking District to Le Rock at Rockefeller Plaza and Superiority Burger in the East Village, while Brooklyn was represented by The Long Island Bar in Cobble Hill, Bernie’s in Greenpoint, and The Fly in Bedford-Stuyvesant, among others.
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One name elsewhere on the list shares more than a list placement with Melon. Roll N Roaster, the Sheepshead Bay institution also known for its cottage fries, was the other restaurant affected by the same Lamb Weston supply chain disruption — and was named alongside Melon in the original Change.org petition. Both restaurants have since restored cottage fries to the menu, and both landed on the new fries list.Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
