Deep-fried dream

He hovers silently above his living room, an island of sanity in a world gone just this side of mad. OK, maybe all the way mad. Sporting a Vandyke goatee and a sexy red box, he provides the only source of reason and meaning to what otherwise would surely be chaos.

The strong, (almost) silent type, he can make me quiver with just the arch of his clearly drawn brow. His name? I swoon to think of it: Frylock.

I have an unmitigated teenage crush on a large order of fries.

Part of the threesome that makes up the main characters of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim series “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” Frylock is, if you will, the superego of the trio. Master Shake (called simply Shake, with a pink straw and yellow hands that look like dish gloves) and Meatwad (yes, a meatball), his cohorts in what was once an attempt to “fight crime for money,” are the ego and id, respectively. Which means that Shake is an insipid little twit who’s always trying to get away with something dirty and Meatwad behaves like a small child, only in a more, um, meaty, tomato-saucy way.

Dually fascinated with Freud and food, I decided to go to the source and interview the show’s creators, Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis. Why are their heroes fries, a shake and a meatball? How did they work the id, ego and superego into the characterizations? What brilliance is the force and inspiration behind the show’s oddball (sorry, Meatwad) comedy?

“Motocross,” replied Maiellaro, deadpan, picking through a large bowl of candy on the table at Williams Street, the office building in Midtown where the two spend at least some of their time. (The rest of their time, I think, is spent at Daddy D’z or possibly the Highlander.)

So there’s no master plan behind Master Shake? Or Frylock’s superego?

“Most of what we write about in the show has to do with something that might have actually happened to us,” explained Willis, “but that’s about it.”

“But we’re exploring Frylock’s character a lot more in the new season,” Maiellaro offered as a concession. A new DVD will be issued this year, with four unseen episodes and a live-action short called “Terror Phone,” which I had the opportunity to see during the interview. Let’s just say that “ATHF” fans will not be disappointed. And there’s talk of a live-action movie.

What about Shake’s flavor? Since he spewed green gunk at one point, everyone assumes it’s lime. Doesn’t that represent our need to free ourselves from the slimy scum of societal existence?

“We really just don’t know Shake’s flavor,” said Willis, who also gives life to Meatwad’s high-pitched voice on the show.

“Never really thought about it,” added Maiellaro.

These revelations could have dashed my hopes completely; this might have been the culmination of my dreams of rescue and romance, after all. But since I am probably the only female in her 40s who watches the show in the first place (the demographics for this type of male potty humor are usually guys from say, the ages of 1 to 92 …), I realized it was time to — dare I say it? — admit that Frylock and I might never be.

“You guys wanna go to lunch sometime?” I conceded, promising to take them somewhere other than rib joints and places that serve Tater Tots in a pitcher.

Oh, well. There’s always the Super Sugar Crisp bear.

• Short stack: Rumors that BLT Steak, the New York City-based bistro from French superchef Laurent Tourondel, was pulling out of the W Downtown Hotel & Residences have been squashed. The restaurant’s New York-based public relations firm, Bullfrog & Baum, confirmed last week that it would continue with plans to open in early 2009. Muss & Turner’s plans to open a second location in Buckhead. … Cafe 458 is expanding to be open for dinner from 5:30 to 8:30 Thursday and Friday evenings. All proceeds from this Samaritan House of Atlanta’s restaurant go directly to support programs that help the city’s homeless men and women become self-sufficient.

• 5 Seasons Westside has finally begun construction, after three long years of setbacks. Owner and brewmaster Crawford Moran confirmed last week that plans to open the new location, inside the Brickworks development in Midtown West, are coming to fruition, and construction has begun. The space is more than 17,000 square feet and can seat more than 400 people, which will make the brewpub the largest in the Southeast. Three floors, with three separate bars (plus rooftop dining), highlight a space with an industrial feel and lots of wood and brickwork. David Larkworthy, executive chef and owner, has chosen Phillip Rainwater, chef de cuisine at the Sandy Springs location, as chef for the new locale. The dedication to using local and seasonal ingredients that 5 Seasons has become known for will continue on the Westside, with an organic garden and chef’s table as part of the mix from the kitchen. Larkworthy and Moran partner at 5 Seasons at the Prado with owner Dennis Lange, but fly as a duo at the Alpharetta and new Westside location.

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