New York's $200 French Fries Offer 'Escape' from Daily Life

The agency that watches inflation in the United States, the Federal Reserve, might have to reconsider the cost of food after visiting a restaurant in New York City.

The restaurant, Serendipity¹ 3, serves the world's costliest² french fries. The restaurant can be found in Manhattan's Upper East Side, a neighborhood known for its high living costs.

French fries are long, thin pieces of potato that are cooked in fat at a high temperature.

Serendipity 3 is well known in New York City. Many famous people, including Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe, have eaten there. Singer Cher even wrote something for the restaurant's cookbook.

Serendipity is a really "happy place," said Creative Director and Chef Joe Calderone. "People come here to celebrate, to really escape the reality of life sometimes."

Serendipity 3 already claims the world record for the most expensive hamburger, at $295. It also claims the world record for priciest ice cream sundae, a cold sweet treat, at $1,000.

And on July 13, the Guinness World Records credited the restaurant with the costliest french fries in the world.

The creation is named "Crème de la Crème Pomme Frites." It begins with Chipperbec potatoes. The restaurant briefly³ cooks the vegetables in boiling vinegar, an acidic liquid, and champagne⁴, a special alcohol. Then they are cooked two times in goose fat. The bird's fat makes the potatoes crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside.

The fries are topped with gold that a person can eat. They are also topped with truffles – a rare and tasty fungus⁵ that is very costly⁶.

"Truffle is the main star here," said the restaurant's Corporate⁷ Executive Chef Frederick Schoen-Kiewert.

Like many restaurants, Serendipity was closed during the COVID-19 health crisis. Calderone and Schoen-Kiewert thought the specialty⁸ fries would be a good way to announce the restaurant's return. It reopened on July 9.

The move is working. There is an eight- to 10-week wait list for the fries.

"It's been a rough year and a half for everyone, and we need to have some fun now," Calderone said.

Words in This Story

expensive – adj. costing a lot of money

hamburger – n. a flat, usually round cake of finely chopped beef that is cooked and served usually in a roll or bun

potato – n. a round root of a plant that has brown, yellow, or red skin and white or yellow flesh and that is eaten as a vegetable

french fries - n. a long, thin piece of potato that is fried in deep fat

crispy – adj. pleasantly thin, dry, and easily broken

rough – adj. difficult or unpleasant to deal with

chef – n. a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant

1 serendipity   

n.偶然发现物品之才能；意外新发现

参考例句：

• "It was serendipity all the way,"he says.用他的话说是“一直都很走运”。
• Some of the best effects in my garden have been the result of serendipity.我园子里最珍贵的几件物品是机缘巧合之下意外所得。

2 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

5 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。