February 12, 2019

America’s Greatest French Fry Secret Revealed

Hmmm:

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s the fast-food french fry ranking picture:

Sorry, intern, but your food critic is right. Well, he’s right about one thing, anyway:

In this ranking, Del Taco is the University of Maryland, Baltimore County taking out Virginia in the first round of March Madness. I came in with the lowest of expectations for Del Taco fries — this is a Southern California-based taco chain after all, and I didn’t even know they had fries until I went in.

Hello, upset! This was a very decent batch of crinkle fries, with a crispy, salty outside and nice, fluffy center. Even better was that the employee who took my order gave me packets of both ketchup and smoky hot sauce with my order.

This is one of the best kept french fry secrets around, so good on Lucas Kwan Peterson for going beyond his preconceived notions and recognizing it. On the other hand, I’d say that Carl’s Jr. fries kind of suck and In-N-Out fries are fine. As for McDonald’s, I know they have a great reputation, but the last few times I’ve had them I’ve been unimpressed. Was this just bad luck? Maybe. But I’d put them on probation at the very least.

What’s also interesting here is that—in Peterson’s opinion, anyway—taste and texture are very tightly correlated. The upper-left and lower-right quadrants are practically empty. Hmmm again.

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In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

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