An ideal fry is crispy on the outside (not potato chip crispy but crispy) and fluffy/soft on the inside.
To each their own though.
I admit I probably have an unpopular fry preference. I like the outside very crispy, and the inside essentially melted, like soggy and liquidy. Fry innards one would describe as “fluffy,” which is apparently the ideal for most people, taste dry and bland to me. I’m looking more for something like deep fried “oil Gushers.”
The funny thing is I was out of Chicago from summer 1998-2003, and my memory was that they did it while I still was in college, so I would have put the rollout actually at 1997, though first half of 1998 works for that memory, too.
Like I said, it would not surprise me if there was more than one “new fry” rollout in those years, or that my memory is muddled up. I certainly wouldn’t absolutely swear by it.
I recently learned Arby’s dropped potato cakes. Best thing on the menu is gone.
Wendy’s fries were a bit too soft for me. I’ll have to try their new version.
I’m starting to think the Mandela effect is in play. haha
Portillo’s has pretty good fries (not sure if they exist outside of Chicago).
The new Wendy’s fries are disgracefully bad. Nothing was wrong with them before.
Crinkle fry vs normal is a whole 'nother bag of worms.
Crinkle is good for dipping. Get more (whatever) on the fry.
This Chicago Tribune article from January 1998 seems to say that the fry wars were very much in play here in Chicago at that time, so my memory seems to be consistent with this.
(Also, odd thing, when I try to paste the above as a lone link, it keeps saying I’ve been logged out and need to refresh the Dope. Every time I return to the thread it kicks me out. I had to go to Drafts to delete it. Tried reposting twice, and eventually came upon the solution of just using the hyperlink function. I guess when the preview is loaded/generated, it somehow hiccups on the Discourse software.)
Good find. I’m beginning to think that I just hadn’t been to a BK in forever (very possible) and that the location still had ads up from years before. Or maybe 20 year old memories aren’t very reliable. I guess that’s possible. Ha
I still see Shakey’s ads here in SoCal, and the potato things are prominently featured. I’ve actually been tempted to try Shakey’s for them alone (I assume the pizza is not good), though this is unlikely to ever actually happen IRL.
I couldn’t say how their pizza is these days but it used to be so good that I’ve spent more than a little time duplicating their sauce. Don’t think I can replicate the crust, though.
Mojos are seasoned potatoey goodness.
I may have to reconsider!
Given my attempt to avoid carbs, it might take two trips.
Or a band name.
Arby’s Curly Fries are still a thing, even though they’ve added crinkle cut fries, too.
You can even enjoy them with Arby’s Curly Fry Vodka.
What kind of mad scientist abomination is this?
Some things should never be done.
I don’t care for Wendy’s new fries. I liked their old fries better, much as I (marginally) preferred Burger Kings old fries over their current fries.
I’m of the opinion that McDonalds sets the standard for fast food fries.
…but Wendy’s fries have never been crispy, even if you eat them as soon as you get them. They’ve always gone for the sturdy but soft fry. Despite being the normal fast food fry size, they somewhat were like steak fries in texture and taste.
I actually liked BK’s crispier fries. It wasn’t really the crispiness, though. They just tasted better to me, and stayed tasting good even as they got cold, unlike even McDonald’s fries.
I was disappointed to learn that, too. I could barely choke down a Beef & Cheddar last time I was forced to eat at Arby’s because the bun is so sweet. I used to love those things in high school. The cakes were great, though.