# Anybody tried Wendy's new french fries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 11, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197 "2021-11-11T17:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/61 "2021-11-12T20:15:52Z")
Wendy’s old fries were done of the worst I’ve ever had, so of course the new ones are better. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/62 "2021-11-12T20:18:01Z")
Apparently jojos are an [Oregon thing](https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/reviews/2017/07/12/the-history-of-the-american-jojo-which-is-definitely-not-a-potato-wedge/). But they were invented during a restaurant show in Chicago, by the Idaho potato booth teaming up with the Flavor-Crisp Broaster. They claim that some guy came up with the name off the top of his head. > [@](#): > > Flavor-Crisp reps reportedly sold those jojos in Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northeast Ohio, upstate New York and the Pacific Northwest—Echtenkamp says the company even had a trademark on jojos. This patchwork of jojo states allowed any place where jojos were sold to believe they invented the word themselves—Nicewonger told us that perhaps only people in the Northwest used the term. I can confirm that jojos were definitely a thing at deli counters in Northeast Ohio in the 80s (sorry, that’s as far back as my actual brain goes), and are still a thing today ([cite](https://www.gioninos.com/Menu) [cite](https://discount-drugmart.com/products/cafe/)). But according to that article, they’re mostly an Oregon thing (@Lancia will be happy to know there’s an actual Oregon/NE Ohio connection!) I would suspect if Shakeys is selling “Mojos” they came well after the jojo, but that’s just speculation. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/63 "2021-11-12T21:49:44Z")
In the _far past_, we thought they had great pizza. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/64 "2021-11-12T21:56:28Z")
Don’t recall that the pizza was any great shucks, though they were about the only place hereabouts where one could get linguica. But I did like the signs on the walls, one of which is becoming more relevant by the day: > Before you complain about the coffee, remember: you’ll be old and weak yourself someday. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/65 "2021-11-13T21:59:21Z")
I’d planned a couple hours of errands around a trip to Wendy’s to try the new fries and to enjoy some of their fine chili. I haven’t had food from there in at least a couple years, certainly not since the pandx. The door thudded locked when I tugged on it and the sign said the dining room was closed due to staffing problems. Understandable, I guess, but I don’t care for drivethrus and, anyway, I wasn’t going to eat in my car and I still had a few stops to make so no taking home. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/66 "2021-11-16T18:05:18Z")
The real crime is Arby’s discontinuing their potato cakes. They say it was due to customer lack of demand or something but I call BS. Everybody I know likes them. Their replacement crinkle cut fries aren’t too bad actually, but dammit I WANT MY HASHBROWN TRIANGLES! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/67 "2021-11-18T17:24:41Z")
> [@Horseflesh](#): > > I WANT MY HASHBROWN TRIANGLES! Funny you should mention hash browns. I was driving with my wife this morning, she had a hankering for an Egg McMuffin and a hash brown. I’m trying to do a low-carb thing so I didn’t get anything but she gave me a bite of her hash brown. Which reminded me, I’ve never been particularly impressed with McDonald’s fries, but their hash browns are like crack! They’re like a hundred times more tasty than the fries. How can one fried potato product be so much more tasty than another fried potato product from the same fast food place? I WANT MY HASHBROWN ELLIPSOIDS! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/68 "2021-11-19T17:50:50Z")
Well, I just tried some and I’m happy to say they were not crispy. In fact, I almost wondered if, like everything else, my dumbass state is behind the rest of the country and our Wendy’s aren’t serving them yet. They maybe seemed a bit . . .stiffer, but they’re still pretty darned good. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/69 "2021-11-20T23:09:27Z")
Have yet to try the new Wendy’s fries, which I hope are an improvement over their limp predecessors. > [@Folly](#): > > Great. They can stay hot and crispy and gross longer. Ok - you were doing ok, there, digging the hot, admiring the crispy, then OH! you muffed it, with the “one of these things is not like the other” gross thing going on - an unwelcome aberration negating the very essence of life, itself, and so you had to go and besmirch, nay befoul, the hot and crispy’s {{{_ **integrity** _}}}. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ll take Five Guys fries over any other fast food chain although they are expensive considering they are just fries Huh - never expected them to [diversify.](https://youtu.be/NMjtvSABQ3Q?t=19) > [@peedin](#): > > Or a band name. Two (yes, different) Anal Leakage musical entities currently exist. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/70 "2021-11-21T14:24:48Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ll take Five Guys fries over any other fast food chain although they are expensive considering they are just fries. I agree they are among the best of fast-food fries (as I prefer my fries skin-on.) The plus side, when you order fries, even the small is like a bucket of fries. Or at least the locations I’ve visited, they’ll massively overfill the container, with plenty spilling out into the bag. If I pop into Five Guys, I never order fries with my burger unless I’m with the whole family. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/71 "2021-11-21T14:45:26Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > A little trick for fast food I learned over 50 years ago from a teenage neighbor who worked at the local Jack in the Box There is absolutely nothing lower than the pig slop they serve at Jack-in-the-Box. Those 2 for a buck tacos? I swear they were deep fried. You could feel the plaque accumulating in you arteries while you ate them. I mostly stay away from fast food now. But there was a Dairy Queen in the town I grew up in that had crazy good fries. In fact all of their grub was a notch better than other fast food places. Then it went out of business and they tore it down. They recently rebuilt and reopened it. Across the street from where it was. Maybe when i visit my brother I’ll stop and check it out. There is another DQ up in Plymouth [ETA Wisconsin] that charbroils their burgers and serves them on a hard roll with the works if you prefer. Best damn fast food burger on the planet. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/72 "2021-11-21T15:12:53Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I’m of the opinion that McDonalds sets the standard for fast food fries. McDonald’s has long had the worst fries of ANY fast-food chain. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/73 "2021-11-21T15:30:27Z")
> [@Horseflesh](#): > > I WANT MY HASHBROWN TRIANGLES! I will subscribe to that newsletter. Arby’s has greatly disappointed me with that move. Those things also endured the trip home well, unlike most carry-out fries. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/74 "2021-11-21T15:32:06Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > There is another DQ up in Plymouth [ETA Wisconsin] that charbroils their burgers and serves them on a hard roll with the works if you prefer. Best damn fast food burger on the planet. I’ll pay them a visit at times, as it’s not too far from my work. But Randall’s in Sheboygan still has the better burger. AND better fries. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/75 "2021-11-21T15:53:51Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I’ll pay them a visit at times, as it’s not too far from my work. But Randall’s in Sheboygan still has the better burger. AND better fries. I don’t agree. But in any case Randalls is not an international mega chain. I never count such places when comparing fast food as they can march to the beat of their own drum and not some corporate mandate. If more chains were able to do that I think less of the food would be McShit. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/76 "2021-11-21T16:41:20Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > If more chains were able to do that I think less of the food would be McShit. True, and I appreciate that touch at places like local A & W and Dairy Queens. Heck, even some of the McDonalds in WI serve up Johnsonville brats and cheese curds at times. Know of any other chains that have sites that march to their own beat? Too often word never gets out too far about 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2021, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197/77 "2021-11-22T13:42:33Z")
Granted, this is a matter of opinion, but the general consensus among reviewers of fast food fries seems to support the view. McD’s fries tend to come out at the top or near the top in most surveys: [America’s best french fries ranked, from McDonald’s to Chick-fil-A (today.com)](https://www.today.com/food/america-s-best-french-fries-ranked-mcdonald-s-chick-fil-t148792) [I Compared and Ranked the Fries From 8 Fast-Food Chains (insider.com)](https://www.insider.com/best-fast-food-french-fries-ranked-chains-2021-8#mcdonalds-nailed-the-oily-flavor-crispy-exterior-and-pillowy-interior-these-fries-have-earned-their-positive-reputation-11) [Best Fast-Food French Fries, Ranked - Thrillist](https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-fast-food-french-fries-ranked) [Best Fast-Food French Fries, Ranked - Thrillist](https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-fast-food-french-fries-ranked) [The official fast food French fry power rankings - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)](https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-french-fry-rankings-20190212-story.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-tried-wendys-new-french-fries/954197.md?page=3)