Duckfat Belgian Fries appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Duckfat Belgian Fries · Portland
Duckfat's house specialty: hand-cut Maine potato fries fried twice in rendered duck fat, served in a paper cone with one of seven dipping sauces (truffle ketchup, curry mayo, garlic aioli). Maine's most photographed fry.
Duckfat opened on Middle Street in Portland in 2005 under chef Rob Evans (formerly of Hugo's, the city's first James Beard winner) and his wife Nancy Pugh. The conceit was a casual sandwich shop where the fries were the structural centrepiece: hand-cut Maine potatoes fried twice in pure duck fat, in the Belgian frites tradition rather than the American style. The dish became Maine's most-photographed plate of food, written up by Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and the New York Times within the first three years. Evans expanded with Duckfat Frites Shack at Allagash Brewing and a takeaway shop, but the original Middle Street counter remains the canonical address.
Where to eat in Portland:
- Duckfat
- Duckfat Frites Shack
- Bite Into Maine at Allagash