# Which do you eat first: the burger or the fries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 29, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042 "2021-04-29T16:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![LauderdaleFort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@LauderdaleFort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LauderdaleFort)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/102 "2021-05-11T01:38:18Z")
Always burger first, I went to eat a burger, the fries are extra. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/103 "2021-05-11T01:44:01Z")
The most common occasion on which I eat a burger is family movie night. We tend to get cranky with each other if we are making rustling noises with the paper around our burgers, so you can’t hear the movie. So I eat the burger 1st to get the rustling noises out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/104 "2021-05-11T02:35:28Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > We tend to get cranky with each other if we are making rustling noises with the paper around our burgers, so you can’t hear the movie You’re supposed to take the paper wrappers off before you eat the burgers. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/105 "2021-05-11T02:37:10Z")
But then you get condiments all over your hands. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/106 "2021-05-11T02:38:06Z")
Lick _quietly_. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/107 "2021-05-11T02:38:38Z")
Good advice. I will bear that in mind. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/108 "2021-05-11T02:54:14Z")
_narrator_ Later, accommodations were acquired._/narrator_. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/109 "2021-05-11T03:27:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I tend to eat mostly fries first, since they will deteriorate faster and farther. > > If there’s lettuce on the burger I’ll take the top off with it and put it aside so it doesn’t steam in the meantime. Soggy lettuce is the worst! ^^^^^^^^^^ what they said. Cooled off fries are yuk and don’t reheat well. The burger (minus the lettuce) can be if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/110 "2021-05-11T03:38:01Z")
Burger first, always. Surprised to find myself in the minority. The burger is the “real” meal, the fries are filler. If I were to find myself too full to finish, better that I’ve eaten the burger at that point. Although…this has never actually happened. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/111 "2021-05-11T17:13:44Z")
Cold fries are kinda terrible. And they get cold fast. It’s a race to eat them before they go south. The burger tastes pretty much the same when it’s piping hot versus just warm and as a big mass it’ll hold it’s heat. I feel like people who eat the burger first have a poor understanding of thermodynamics or simply don’t like fries. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/112 "2021-05-11T18:10:01Z")
It’s not that I don’t like fries, but I like them less than the burger. Also, I’m having trouble relating to the point about fries being nasty as soon as they’re room temperature. The kind of fries you get at McD’s or BK are not substantially better hot IMO. Are people thinking of thicker and/or greasier fries? ---
**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:** [May 11, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/113 "2021-05-11T18:28:44Z")
I’m always surprised (well, not really, I realize different people have different tastes) how vehement people are about their fries being hot, to the point that they find them inedible once they’ve cooled down. That has never mattered to me and in fact, I prefer them lukewarm and kind of limp 😯 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/114 "2021-05-12T12:44:08Z")
The burger is the meal, the fries are the side. The burger is the thing on the menu that I’m mulling over before ordering. I like fries, but I’m also not disgusted by fries that have cooled off. So, it’s mostly the burger, and if anything is going to be left unfinished, it’s the fries. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/115 "2021-05-12T13:27:25Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I tend to eat mostly fries first, since they will deteriorate faster and farther. Really skinny fries do, but the thick ones you get at good restaurants can retain more than enough heat to still remain warm after I scarf down my burger. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/116 "2021-05-13T19:05:38Z")
My issue with fries is not that they cool down, but that they can get soggy. And I really don’t care for soggy fries. Which is why I eat a couple when they are hot and fresh and crispy. But the point is the burger, so then I eat the burger. I usually don’t eat all the fries. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/117 "2021-05-14T17:16:33Z")
This. I’m only eating a few bites of fries with the whole meal, so doing the burger right is 95% of the experience. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/118 "2021-05-16T04:32:25Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > But then you get condiments all over your hands. [Rocky Balboa] Condiments? I never use them. [/Rocky Balboa] This thread has brought back a memory from my high-school days in the 1970s. My first job was in a restaurant, and this one kid, one bored night, decided to see what would happen if he fried a five-dollar bill in the french-fry frier. It disintegrated with a popping sound, leaving him aghast. Trust me, if you could have seen his face, it would be funny to you too. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/119 "2021-05-16T06:20:20Z")
Imagine the things we’d have on video if we’d all gotten cell phones when we were teens! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042/120 "2021-05-16T13:56:52Z")
Imagine how hard it would be for us to have ever gotten good jobs considering all > [@DCnDC](#): > > … the things we’d have on video if we’d all gotten cell phones when we were teens! 😉 :eek: 😱 I rather like the idea that ~~most~~ 99.8% of my youthful excesses are not recorded for posterity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-eat-first-the-burger-or-the-fries/941042.md?page=5)