Blog:
The French Fry Poll
By John Sailors | April 28, 2016
My poll on best fries is complete, though it garnered only
60 replies over three days.
Not surprisingly, McDonald's takes the top spot for best
french fries among the big three (with BK and KFC), though also not
surprisingly, the fourth choice, Other,
was not so far behind.
Among the replies for Other
was praise for the fries from Red Robin, Wing Stop, and In and Out Burger.
There was also one vote for "Momma," which would be a hard one to
argue with.
I can vouch for some of these. At In and Out Burger,
clean-cut kids in pressed uniforms cut fresh potatoes using french fry cutters,
all in a window facing the drive-thru. (See video below.) The chain's "secret menu" is said to
offer flavors and variations.
I also recently discovered Wingstop fries. Between the
seasoning and the oil they're cooked in, they definitely stand out for flavor.
At any rate, one message is clear. Fast-food chains
including BK, Jack in the Box, Carl's Jr., and Wendy's have introduced new fry
recipes with good reason, even if without good result. If they could come up a taste
that equals or beats McDonald's, they could take a lot of the gold out of those
arches.
I know I'm tired of picking up burgers and chicken
sandwiches at Burger King, and then driving to McDonald's for fries. (And
child-size sodas for a dollar, "child-size" meaning the size of a
small child.) It reminds me of when I was young and idealistic, and would
choose Texas Fried Chicken but still hit KFC for gravy.
This poll, by the way, was inspired by an article I was
writing on the origin of french fries. People argue over whether fries came from
Belgium or France , and some claim they were invented by the
Spanish—who introduced potatoes to Europe and
had a tradition of frying in oils.
There is no certain answer, but the history of potatoes as
they hit Europe makes for an interesting read.
On an editorial note, MW11 lowercases french fry on first entry, but caps French bean, ~ bread, ~ dressing,
~ pastry, and ~ toast. The same is true for American Heritage 5.
Whether this choice is because of the Belgian origin of
fries or just to anger the French, I don't know. Remember that in 2003 the US House
of Representatives voted to rename french fries in their cafeteria, dubbing them "Freedom fries." This was in response to French opposition to the invasion of Iraq, and probably it's the US House that's looking dumb on that one, in
retrospect.
For AP fans, Webster's New World
4 caps French in French fries, though
offers lowercase as a variant. These things seem minor, but try writing about wines
and cheeses, for which you need to look up spelling and caps in atlases.