Interview with Little Big Burger, Eugene Oregon. 

The French Fry Redefined

Founded in Portland Oregon, Little Big Burger serves little burgers and fries with fresh all-natural ingredients. They have a branch in Eugene and I’ve stopped by to talk food. 
(Soundbite Ordering)

Little Big Burger, the little burger that packs a big bite. But I’m not here for the unique burgers, I’m here to talk, and taste truffle fries.
(End soundbite)

In a lull during the early lunch rush I sat down with Ryan Greg, the manager of the Eugene Branch. My question for him is, why truffle oil?

Ryan Gregg: The short answer is because they tell me to. We use truffle oil I think because it’s, when they opened Little Big four or five years ago, no one was really doing truffle oil fries, now Dickie Joes is doing truffle oil fries, every nice restaurant around here has something like it. 

Truffle oil is made and used to impart the flavor and aroma of truffles to a dish. But the oil is not actually made with the fungi itself due to its rarity and high cost. That doesn’t mean the truffle oil is any less cheap. Little Big Burger cuts their truffle oil with olive oil to reduce costs. They toss the fries in the two oils and sea salt. But does it really make better fry or is the truffle oil just a fad?

Ryan Gregg: Yes. I do. I that it really pulls out… I mean a French fry is just salt and potato, I mean dropped in oil. It good, it delicious, I love French fries without truffle oil I think every six months I take a month and I don’t eat truffle fries just because I get so worn out of them, but it really does bring out this whole other side and the flavor of it that’s really good. 

Ryan is convinced, or maybe he is just being a loyal employee. So before I leave I had to answer the question for myself.
(Soundbite fries in oil)

And yeah, the truffle fry is pretty darn good. 
(Fade out soundbite) 



nate.heinle