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"Having started as a south Los Angeles food cart less than three years ago, I’ve seen chef Craig Batiste (aka Mr. Fries Man) grow his namesake loaded French fry restaurant into a Californian cult-food sensation now serving Gardena, Inglewood, and L.A.’s Figueroa Street and headed to Las Vegas as part of roughly a dozen planned franchise expansions. The compact, counter-service menu specializes in big-appetite portions and heavy customization: fries come with cheese and a choice of sauce and can be piled high with barbecue, bacon, ranch and chicken; lemon garlic crab and shrimp; a chicken, bacon and Parmesan combination; or plates topped with honey garlic shrimp and steak, and a plant-based meat option is also available. Batiste’s team has promised the eastside location will be the first of two local outposts, and the Las Vegas shop is confirmed to replace a 1,350-square-foot Subway at the Flamingo Market Place (a few doors down from India Masala and a short drive from Maryland Parkway); paperwork to overhaul the Subway interior has been filed, though an estimated 2021 arrival date has not been revealed. With more than 375,000 Instagram followers, the brand clearly carries a strong social following." - Bradley Martin