Monnik won a 2018 Critic's Choice award in the 2018 Best of Louisville awards.
Monnik Beer Co., 1036 E. Burnett Ave.
monnikbeer.com
The chefs at Monnik must put a spell over each order. On paper, the combination seems more frightful than delicious: mayonnaise, peanut sauce and diced onions. Maybe it’s the creaminess of the house-made mayo, or the smooth, almost-syrupy texture of the peanut sauce. Is it the bite from the onions that breaks the velvet-on-butter sensation?
Maybe it’s the thick-cut, skin-on fry itself, apparently made from the longest potatoes Idaho has to offer. Many fries are longer than the length from palm to fingertip. Triple fried — first in a bath of salt and vinegar, then for exactly six minutes at 300 degrees. When you place your magical order, they go for yet another dip in oil.
On Monnik’s open-air patio, I order a batch. The waitress explains that the name comes from the Netherlands, where war fries are a common street food served in a paper cone with sauces poured on top — a battle of flavor, a carnage of toppings. Here, we sit and savor.
This originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of Louisville Magazine as a Best of Louisville Critic's Choice winner. To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. To find us on newsstands, click here.
To see more Critic's Choices, click here.
Cover photo: Monnik // Facebook
