There was no better way to celebrate National French Fry Day than enjoying the deep fried side dish Friday at Tallahassee’s inaugural French-Fry Festival.
The event took place at three College Town restaurants: Madison Social, Township and Centrale. With the purchase of a $25 ticket, participants indulged in bottomless fries with 12 diverse options to choose from in the style of waffle, curly or shoe-string fries. Patrons also received a beer to help wash down the crunchy treats.
“I didn’t believe it was real until I saw Madison Social’s tweets about it,” said Janay White, a FAMU senior and festival attendee. “Once I saw the collection of fries, I really wanted to go. Plus, this is one of the most creative events I’ve seen in Tally.”
With variety playing a major role in the event, each restaurant served fries that catered to the establishment’s particular style.
From salty and savory to sweet and unexpected, the 12 specialty flavors offered an opportunity for customers to try something new and find their own unique favorite.
Centrale dished out fries that remained true to their Mediterranean-Italian style. Their selection included pizza fries, garlic parm fries, gorgonzola fries and eggplant fries.
According to a Centrale representative, over 120 tickets were sold and the restaurant received a lot of positive feedback.
Township also served a great amount of happy customers. Sara Sierra, a server at the bar, confirmed that their crowd’s favorite choice of the night was the funnel cake fry made with curly funnel cake and apple compote.
“It was an amazing turnout,” Sierra said. “A lot of people purchased tickets at the door and I thought it was cool how people could hop between all three restaurants with one ticket. It seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves. I was happy to be a part of the fun.”
While it is too soon to confirm the return of the festival, many foodies are excited about the possibility of the festival becoming a Tallahassee summer staple.
Tallahassee residents like FSU graduate, Curtisha Shaklewood is looking forward to similar events piggybacking on the success of the festival.
“Events like this spice up the summer and give us something fun to do on a summer night. I hope to see more fun stuff like this popping up soon,” Shaklewood said.