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La Belle Patate, 1215 Davie St.

West-end upend: La Belle Patate vs. Fritz European Fry House

In the Montreal Canadiens jersey, weighing in at 30 different flavours and 2 locations, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, boasting  Quebec…

By Daniel Hallen , in La Vie Vancouver , on March 23, 2010 Tags: , , , , , , ,

La Belle Patate, 1215 Davie St.
Fritz European Fry House, 718 Davie St.

In the Montreal Canadiens jersey, weighing in at 30 different flavours and 2 locations, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, boasting  Quebec beer and

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Fritz looks afraid.  Clearly a sign of curd-size-envy – not pretty.  La Patate is indefatigable here.  I literally have never seen cheese curds that large.  It’s like they escaped from some sort of secret government cheese testing program.

In the face of such huge wallops of cheese, Fritz is staying loose and wiry; the curds may be smaller, but, look at that depth – its curds are piled 2 layers-deep!

Fritz: 3/4

LBP: 4/4

Judges tally – Split decision, LBP leads by 1.

Round 3 (Fries)

Fritz fries left something to be desired.

Fritz is known for fries; that’s where the moniker Fritz comes from.  Frites (pronounced Fritz) is French for French Fries.  And they they have the best fries in Vancouver.  But arrogance breeds complacency, and complacency breeds mistakes.

Fritz clearly didn’t know what hit it, when LBP brought its home cut fries into the ring.  Fritz tried to battle back, but its performance looked half-baked, and tasted overcooked.  Maybe it was the bitter taste of defeat.

Fritz: 2/4

LBP: 4/4

Judges tally  LBP by unanimous decision.

Round 4 (Final round – Ambience)

Fritz recovered well from the last round, although it looked a little dazed – as if someone had turned the lights on at the bar at closing – much like those patrons who find Fritz a welcome post-party respite.  Without much seating room, Fritz seemed destined to stand up to LBP’s salvos.

LBP had tricks up its sleeve, however.  It landed a devastating combination: 80’s rock music, Quebec beer, Quebec license plates adorning the walls, Quebeckers speaking in French in the corner.  LBP pummelled Fritz, and finally broke through the exterior with a magnificent upper cut – service available completely in French!

Fritz:  2/4

LBP: 11/4

Judges tally – LBP by knockout victory.  LBP advances to semi-finals.

Click to see the entire tournament bracket.