Salad-Topped Baked Potato

by Celia Sin-Tien Cheng
April 28, 2008

TOTALLY BAKED [CLOSED]
8 West 18th St
(5th & 6th Aves)
New York, NY 10011
646-336-6118

I love potatoes! I once designed a book called “Potatoes are Our Friends.” I even named my company “P. de Terre” short for pomme de terre, which is potato in French. Back in school, for a class project, I conceived of a potato restaurant, but apparently someone has beaten me to the punch.

Totally Baked is a baked potato bar located across from City Bakery on 18th Street. Jason Apfelbaum has revamped his original catering outlet Chef & Company, taking the concept of lowbrow baked potatoes, sprucing up the toppings, and creating a specialty fast food store. And it seems to work as there’s always a line whether it’s noon or 3pm. It’s comforting to know that in image-obsessed New York City, there are still hearty potato fans who refuse to take carbs out of their diet.

The menu offers baked potatoes in five categories: favorites (served in baked Yukon Golds with a small side salad), famous (reserved exclusively for the truffle), fresh (cold salads served over a large wedge of baked Idaho), sweet (sweet potatoes), and create (any three toppings of your choice).

Within favorites, besides the classic (chive, sour cream, applewood smoked bacon and cheddar), there are a handful of fun options such as pulled pork (pulled pernil pork and Mexican slaw), brisket (braised beef brisket, parsley and marsala reduction), and wild mushroom (chanterelle, shitake, oysters, crimini mushrooms, shallots, chives and shaved Manchego).

Most potatoes are between $7 and $11, but much buzz has been around the $55 truffle potato that’s topped with truffle compound butter, truffle oil, truffle salt and fresh truffle shavings.

My favorite is the fresh category — the salad potatoes. There are six choices: spinach, Caesar, chopped, chevre, seared ahi tuna or nova. On my first visit, I ordered the ahi. It’s sushi grade tuna, romaine, seaweed salad, sesame seeds and ginger vinaigrette. It sounded like a disaster to me, with too much going on, and trying too hard for an Asian bent, but in the large display photo, it looked appetizing, so I tried it. Ironically, this is now one of my top cravings.

I also tried the chopped, with romaine, avocado, cucumber, chickpeas, feta cheese and a creamy balsamic dressing. But when I got my potato, the avocado was missing, so I went back to the counter to inquire. They use guacamole instead of whole avocados, and they were happy to give me a side of it. Once I smothered the potato with guacamole, it was perfect. I like the fresh category because the salad dressing provides good seasoning and moisture for the potato so that it’s not so dry. And salad on a potato is lighter and healthier than the other alternatives. Baked potatoes actually aren’t bad for you; it’s just greasy toppings that make them unhealthy. The salad potatoes fill me up without leaving me stuffed. In fact, three to four hours later, my stomach starts to growl.

From the favorites, I tried the Cape Cod Chowder, but found it disappointing. The topping of creamed cod and potato, sautéed onions, parsley, garlic and grated Manchego was heavy and sparse, leaving me with a dry potato that I didn’t want to pick at anymore.

Totally Baked is predominantly a take-out business, and for those in a rush, the line moves fast and the staff is eager to please. But for those who want to eat in, there are seats along the wall across from the service counter. And don’t miss the framed 1970s storyboard sketches of a Mr. Potato Head commercial by the entrance. It’s not fine dining but it’s fun, and at the end of the day, I just can’t resist potatoes.

Also in American, Flat Iron District, Potato