Snack Attack: Fries and a Mudslide at the Automatic

Fries and a mudslide at the Automatic. / Photo courtesy of Creative Katz

Whether it’s an artisan Hot Pocket or PB & J-inspired sweets, local restaurants love to channel childhood memories on their menus. That tradition is in full force at the Automatic, where the no-frills Kendall Square bar is serving a late-night take on fries and a milkshake.

From 10-11:30 p.m. on weeknights, you can pair a mini Mudslide cocktail with a cup of fries for a dippable dessert. The combo debuted this week, and co-owner and bartender Dave Cagle says the team plans to make the special available every night soon.

“It’s surprisingly good,” Cagle says. “The salty, warm fries and chocolatey frozen Mudslide are a strangely perfect combination.”

The shake in this equation is more grown up than your average Frosty, though. The Mudslide, on the Automatic menu simply as “frozen awesomeness,” is a mix of hazelnut-infused vodka, coffee liqueur, Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and Irish cream. For this special, the sweet and creamy concoction is served as a shooter and paired with a half-order of the bar’s Standard fries.

If you ever rolled through Dairy Queen or Wendy’s as a kid and found yourself loading up your fries with blobs of milkshake, the Automatic is here for you—with booze. And before long, the team could have this nostalgic fix all week long.

$8, the Automatic, 50 Hampshire St., Cambridge, 617-714-5226, theautomaticbar.com.