Crispy russet potatoes with Greek accoutrements evolved from a staff meal at Iron Gate. (Photo by Josh Novikoff)

Dish of the week: Greek fries
Where to find it: Iron Gate, Kapnos, Zaytinya, Yamas, Greek Spot, Zorba’s Cafe, Cava Mezze

Could you find an order of “Greek fries” on a visit to Greece? A pile of shoestring potatoes with crumpled feta, slicks of olive oil, essence of the herbal seasonings, squeezes of lemon juice, and maybe a little bowl of tzatziki to dip into? They’re all things one might associate with classic Mediterranean flavors, after all. But finding them abroad isn’t that easy.

“You go to a taverna and that’s not how they’re going to serve it there,” explains Iron Gate’s (1734 N St. NW) executive chef, Tony Chittum. “That’s a very American thing to do, to ask for tzatziki with everything. We get made fun of when we go over [to Greece]. But it tastes good.”

Chittum, whose wife is Greek and is a frequent visitor of the country, serves a crispy russet potato dish inspired by what he would expect to find in the alleys of Athens and a staff meal at his Dupont Circle restaurant.

The kitchen needed something to do with the leftover potato parts that had been scraped out for a potato ravioli dish. Adding Greek yogurt to the fried remnants of the russets was a bit like making a comforting plate of stuffed potato skins. He then uses a house rub of coriander, fresh lemon, sumac, and a sprinkle of fried rosemary, parsley, lemon zest, and extra virgin olive oil. From that meal, a simple but popular menu stalwart was born.

For an order of Greek fries at Kapnos (2201 14th St. NW), George Pagonis and Mike Isabella ditch potatoes entirely. The fries are actually discs made from chickpea flour. And instead of popular feta cheese, the fluffy, crisp fritters are topped with shavings of mizithra, a whey cheese that is a bit like a drier version of the more familiar Italian ricotta salata.

Cava Mezze (527 8th St. SE) has another twist on the dish, though it’s not exactly a fry. They’ve got a fritter made of cornmeal (a.k.a. hush puppies), which acts as a vessel to deliver their luscious crazy feta, the cheese whipped to soften it and blended with chopped jalapeño peppers. The puppies stand up to a dip in the condiment in a way a standard French fry could not.

The fries at Yamas Mediterranean Grill (4806 Rugby Ave., Bethesda), while no longer served on the U Street Corridor, are still plugging away in Montgomery County as a celebration of Greek flavor and cheer. They dish here goes by the name “Opa! Fries.” How could you not order a dish that has both such a fun word and an exclamation point in its name? The hand cut fries are served with crumbled feta on top. If you call in an order, the kind folks at the grill will thoughtfully wait for you to come in before firing off your fry order, ensuring takeout spuds stay as fresh as possible. Zaytinya (701 9th St. NW) goes with their garlicky yogurt sauce instead of feta.

And it gets simpler from there. The Greek Spot (2017 11th St. NW) adds only seasoning to call their fries Greek. That addictive seasoning was enough to win them honors on a DCist 10 best fries list in 2014.

At Zorba’s Cafe (1612 20th St. NW) it is purely about the potato. The pitates tiganites placed on the blue and white-checkered tablecloths are the oversized circles of peeled potatoes sliced lengthwise, fried in peanut oil, and served just like that.

If that’s too much for you, just ask for your side of tzatziki. Opa!

Previously On Dish Of The Week:
Local Hard Cider
Pizza Pinwheels
Dip Into Muhammara
Ice Pops
Creamy Burrata