Street Fries serves up late-night eats
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Catch the food truck roaming across the Steel City. Photo: Alexis Johnson/Axios
A local french fry vendor is using a restaurant co-op and food truck to put a new spin on loaded fries, and it's open late.
The intrigue: Street Fries is a Black-owned fry spot that is offering creative, loaded toppings and customizing how customers can pick up their orders.
- Owner Eric Williams, 37, of the East End, operates Friday and Saturday nights out of The Mill Food Co in Oakland, a restaurant co-op that rents space to takeout-only food businesses.
- During the week, Williams operates out of a food truck with a rotating schedule throughout the city.
What they're saying: Williams says his time in the Peace Corps inspired his love of potatoes and how affordable and versatile they were to eat during his travels.
- When the Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland closed its doors during the pandemic, he saw an opportunity to fill the void for fries in the city and began doing pop-ups in 2021.
- "Street Fries are made for sharing and bringing people together," Williams tells Axios. "The best way to understand how the world works is through food, and potatoes are so universal."
- Williams started working full time last year before settling at The Mill Food Co this year.
Dig in: Street Fries offers toppings like Philly cheesesteak, Jamaican jerk, and poutine fries with cheddar cheese curds and brown gravy.
- We tried the hibachi fries with shrimp, chicken, yum yum sauce and teriyaki.
- We followed up with the Alfredo fries with chicken, Alfredo cream sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- To balance the savory, we finished with the Strawberry Carnival Fries, which is funnel cake topped with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries.
If you go: Street Fries operates out of a food truck throughout the city with a weekly rotating schedule.
- Fridays and Saturdays at The Mill Food Co at 451 Melwood Ave.
- ⏰ 8pm-3:30am.