Today, I had another cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese for breakfast around 9. I had left over spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. For dinner we had a salad and a great chicken dish which I believe was chicken lombardi with white rice and green beans.
I've been trying to put together a top five list for french fries from fast food places. One interesting question is whether potato wedges from KFC should count in this category. Please let me know your thoughts on that and on my list in the comments section. The list is done without KFC included, but if they were to be included I think they would be either number 3 or 4. I think one thing about fries is that they can easily be made very poorly. There have been times that I've gotten fries from the places numbered 2 through 5 on the list and felt the fries were terrible that day. I also feel like numbers 2 through 5 are mostly interchangeable and the number 1 french fry is by far the best in the business.
5. Chick Fil A- The waffle fries are really good and are a nice change from traditional fries. They are the best when they are almost overcooked. If you get them and they aren't crispy and cooked all the way they can be pretty bad. I like them best dipped in Chick Fil A's delicious BBQ sauce or ranch sauce.
4. Burger King- BK has tried a variety of different approaches to fries. Their current fry is good, but not as good as the fries around the turn of the century. I feel like BK has the most inconsistent fries. You can go to one store and get some great fries and drive down the street and get terrrrrrible fries. From my personal work experience, this has a lot to do with how often they change their fryers. They should be changing them twice a day but I remember helping out at a neighboring BK and finding out that they did it once every two weeks!
3. Arbys- I am a sucker for the curly fry. Unlike the waffle fries, Arbys fries are the worst when they are overcooked and become too crunchy. The flavor of the curly fries complements Arby's menu items very well especially if you pair them with a Beef n' Cheddar.
2. McDonald's- The fries from McDonalds are one of the only things that I can appreciate from the world's largest fast food chain. I appreciate the greasiness and saltiness of the fries and think they go great with a chocolate milk shake. The major downside of these fries is if you don't eat them in the first 10 minutes they get soft and mushy and taste like crap.
1. Checkers- I could talk for days about Checkers fries. They are far and away the best fries in the business. I personally love them as loaded fries with bacon, cheese and ranch and I'll often throw some of their buffalo sauce on them as well. They have the best flavor and texture of any fry. I really feel like their are no downsides to Checkers fries unless you consider the universally known "checkers crap" the next day to be a downside.
The other fast food chains have fries that aren't good at all and I would never even bother ordering. Sonic and Wendy's are two that come to mind but they have both done a good job in offering other items to substitute in value meals other than fries.
Again, leave your comments with your thoughts on the KFC potato wedges and my overall fry list.
Tre
Well first of all...I am not a fan of fast food which is interesting considering I'm marrying Trevor. However, I agree that Checker's fries are the best along with McDonald's and Burger King. The only down side to Checker's fries is that they leave a gross film in your mouth although Trevor says that doesn't happen to him. Other than those fries, I think they're all terrible. As far as KFC goes, they don't serve traditional french fries so the potato wedges would be their version but if you go by the definition of fries then they are more along the lines of chips even though that term isn't used much here in the US. So that's my opinion...
ReplyDeleteI always liked Wendy's fries. I have a thing for thicker cut spuds.
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Roy Rogers, which also offers a thicker cut fry, although that cite may fall on deaf ears as fewer and fewer people these days can recall the distinct pleasure of eating at Roy Rogers. Of note, i recently saw a stand-alone Roys in Manhatten across from MSG. A pleasant surprise on a cold winter day.
Flamers - of the shoestring persuasion. Consistent quality. served in a (tough to describe) sitting, carnival style paper container, as opposed to the streamlined fastfood carrier that you stick your hand in. They complement the burgers quite well i've always felt.
Taco Bell - only had them once. Still not sure if it was a dream. Dont' remember anything about their flavor/texture/quality, but their pedigree alone makes them contenders.
BK, broke my heart with their fries, and i never really recovered. Their switch to the crunchy fries was both shocking and to me, unexplainable. At a time when i was really hitting my eating stride, (eating king size double bacon whopper combos and getting chicken tenders bc i was still hungry) it simply didn't make sense to me. Their previous fry had been very Mickey D's-esque, and i thought it made them a juggernaut to have the best burger and fry combo out there. The switch ruined it for me, and i've spent a decade getting onion rings.
One list you should do is "breaded chicken finger foods." Not counting fried chicken, since that's a whole different circuit.
Great thoughts, Ton. I actually saw several Roy Rogers signs on the way down. I do like Flamers fries as well, although I'm not sure where to classify them in the fast food discussion because I don't know of any stand alone Flamers. Its tough to say what is considered a fast food place and what is not. The taco bell fries were from Virginia right?
ReplyDeleteBK has made several big mistakes over the years but they still manage to put out a quality product.
What are your thoughts on the KFC debate?
Also, you are in luck because my next list will be "breaded chicken finger foods".
I pretty much agree with this list. However, I would flip flop Chick Fil A and BK. A sleeper fry that not many people think of is A&W rootbeer. They have a delicious, not over-salted, crispy french fry. Also, I am fully behind Ton's comment about Roy Rogers. I was lucky enough to visit a RR on the NJ Turnpike about 2 months ago. The nostalgia that RR provides, along with the delicious food, is enough to bring a grown man to tears.
ReplyDeleteWhen TreMomey first came to me and mentioned that he was thinking of making a top 5 fries list one of the first things that popped in to my head was KFC. I am a big fan of KFC wedges. Jody, I do not totally agree with you. I do understand and respect your thought process, but I believe that wedges are considered fries. Since KFC started revving up their sandwhich game, I have always viewed the wedges as fries.
Ton, TB fries are not good at all. It hurts me to say this, but it's just a fact. They most likely realize this, and that is why they do not offer them on their menus nationwide.
-PhillyFoodDude
Raj -
ReplyDeleteI personally would consider the KFC potato wedges fries, just not the traditional ones. They are more along the line of steak fries but I was just saying that going by the real definition, they wouldn't be considered fries. This is what I read...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
Agree to Disagree...
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I can cut you a little bit of slack because you don't have In-N-Out burger's on the east coast, but by far the best fries in the industry.
ReplyDeleteyeah Zach I left out In-N-out just because I don't have enough experience with them to make a good judgment. I am going to come up with a list of restaurants that I am using when making these lists. Five Guys is another place that people have said has the best fries but I've only had them once or twice.
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