The fry guy

Jim Begley

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 | 7:17 p.m.

Chris Palmeri won’t win any medals from the American College of Cardiology. Cholesterol runs amok on his Naked City Pizza Shop menu—fabulously fine-tasting cholesterol in the guise of various pizzas, sandwiches and pastas. Not satisfied there, he’s upped his infamy with an addition that can only be described as maniacal genius: a French fry menu.

The new offerings consist of standard seasoned fries (wee for $2/frickin’ huge for $3.50) and a collection of otherworldly offerings—six specialty fries ($3.50/$5), including chili cheese, loaded potato and garlic. The best? The poutine, a traditional Canadian fry dish covered in gravy and cheese curds. While his version might anger our neighbors to the north—with its use of shredded mozzarella in place of cheese curds—one taste of his spot-on gravy, with just the right consistency and pepperiness, and all would surely be forgiven.

Almost as remarkable are Palmeri’s pizza fries, no surprise if you’ve had his pizza. Topped with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, they’re slathered in his homemade red sauce with just the right amount of sweetness. The suicide fries are flavorful though not for the faint of heart; the garlic habanero sauce Palmeri concocted during his days at the MGM Grand’s Diego packs quite a punch—it’s not quite ghost-pepper deadly, but you won’t soon forget it.

My lone suggestion: Some of the dishes would benefit, crunch-wise, from double frying. Once you’ve come this far, there’s no point trying to impress the heart doctors.