When I first visited New Orleans as a young and adventurous 21-year-old, I had the luxury of staying at my friend Zachary’s house in the burbs (with 9 other young and adventurous 21-year-olds), under the incredibly generous hospitality of his mom, Miss Dawn. Miss Dawn kept us well-fed, full of hearty, delicious, filling sustenance that would…er…provide the proper base, if you will, for a night of revelry. Two of my favorite meals from our time there was the epic crawfish boil she set up our first night in, and the constant supply of po’ boy makings she kept on hand for 1 pm breakfasts…5 pm snacks…4 am nightcaps. Piles of roast beef, fresh French bread, and plenty of mayo. Mmmm, thanks, Miss Dawn!

As soon as I saw Yats‘ menu, I was brought right back to sultry nights of sucking crawfish out of the shell and feasting on the ubiquitous po’ boy.

In case you’re wondering about this order window with the sign “Yats” pointing to it, well, that’s it. Yats is actually, brilliantly, located inside Jack’s Club, an homage to the divey, friendly bars of New Orleans, and naturally, makes good use of its well-loved, deep fryer.

Cue…specimen A: NOLA Fries. Thick, golden, wedges of starchy goodness, dusted in a snowfall of parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. These huge steak fries were crispy on the outside, nice and soft on the inside.