No Lies Fries

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You step into No Lies Fries and it smells like a French fries heaven as the aroma of fried potato fills up the air. Being one of the two eateries that did exceedingly well at the Karachi Eat Festival this year, the eatery has been on the radar of many. The owners, who claim to love French fires beyond the point of sanity, have finally opened up a small space that seats around 10-12 people and offers dine-in, take away and delivery, though they advise against the last two options. “Our chips are made fresh with russet (high starch, low moisture) potatoes. People have to realise that the crunch will die down as time passes instead of hardening up like the ready-made fries rest of the eateries use,” says one of the owners. But I will take fries that go softer by the minute instead of the hard ones any day! By the time I reached home, just about five to seven minutes away, the fires had actually become softer but didn’t taste bad at all! I ordered The NLF – a burger with smashes beef patty, cheese and caramelised onions, The Poutine Burger Meal – smashes beef patty, frites, gravy and fried cheese curds, and Jalapeno cheese frites. The frites (basically Belgian cut fries that are thicker and longer) tasted really good, only I would have liked a bit more flavour in them whether from the seasoning, or the cheese sauce or the amount of jalapenos on top. I had run out of the sauce and pepper pretty soon and was left with plain fries. Same was the case with the frites served with poutine burger; the gravy was less than required. Poutine is a traditional Canadian French fries dish served in gravy and cheese cruds. The burger meal is served in a similar manner. The gravy is finger-licking good. The burger patty, served as medium-well, is soft and juicy. The ground beef is so fine that it almost melts in your mouth. It is not seasoned at all, which works in its favour when it is combined with a strong flavour (like the sweetness of caramelised onions), but when it is paired with a mild one (like the salty beef gravy), it fails to stand out. Perhaps a bit of pepper seasoning would make much improvement to the overall taste. This is why The NFL was my favourite! Their soft and spongy burger buns need complementing as well. However, they need to improve on their sauces; the Korean BBQ and sriracha tasted really good, but the roasted garlic-mayo and pickled-mayo were a bit bland, while the lemon-and-herb had a medicial flavour.


Location: 35-C, Lane 5, Khayaban-e-Nishat, Phase 6, DHA, Karachi.
Average cost for 2: PKR 1,800 approx.


TASTE

The eatery is mostly on the right track. It packs good flavours and shows promise for one that has just opened a few months ago. From what worked on my table, the team has a long way to go if they make a few tweakings.

AMBIENCE

There is music, good air-conditioning, nice view and natural light from the glass wall. The seats, however, all face towards the walls. Which means the diners are forced to stare at the wall while they eat and find it difficult to have a conversation with fellow diners.

SERVICE

For most part the owners are on the floor themselves, making sure the service runs smoothly and getting feedback from the diners.

PRESENTATION

There is much room to improve as far as presenting the dishes and packing them go. Burgers and fries are served in paper trays and are packed in the same without so much as paper wraps which isn’t too visually appealing and by the time you get home, the food gets all over the shopper.

VALUE FOR MONEY

No Lies Fries is one of the places which if you love, you love. And if you don’t develop a liking for them, then nothing will make you. But even for one-timers, the menu holds a few things that they would enjoy at the price tag being offered.

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