If you haven't read up on your European culinary history, you might not know that what we call French fries are actually from Belgium. And why do Belgian fries taste so good? They're hand-peeled, hand-cut and double-fried, first at a low temperature to cook the potatoes, then at a higher temp to crisp the fry.

That's the idea behind Netherlands native Jeroen Hasenbos' new Frietkoten "fry shack" in the French Market — the first in the Chicago area. You'll find them all over Amsterdam, served in paper cones and crispy on the outside. The fries come in two sizes: Klein ($4) and Groot ($5).

Frietkoten serves 20 different special sauces to choose from on a given day (75 cents per sauce). All sauces except the standard ketchup and mustard are homemade. Be brave and try the Oorlog peanut mayonnaise. Or maybe the sweet chili ketchup, tartar sauce, cheese queso, sweet & sour ketchup, curry mayo, red pepper ketchup, green tomato and chili, bleu cheese mayo, Harrison mayo or the Wasabi mayo.

Oh, and this is too important to miss: Frietkoten will soon serve Dutch and Belgian beers (the best in the world).

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Jacob Wheeler