Fries poll

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it's time to determine which fry is best

Poll Results

OptionVotes
normal size regular old fries 24
curly 12
steak/wedge-cut 10
crinkle-cut 6
shoestring 4
waffle 3


The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 29 January 2015 17:57 (ten years ago)

not trying to hear about home fries trying to stealth their way into fries polls. you are the lazy man's hash browns, home fries. accept your lot and be happy, you often get many delightful garnishes

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 29 January 2015 17:58 (ten years ago)

normal size regular old frie: classic, but often soggy, oversalted, and bad for you
steak/wedge-cut: great, love to douse in ketchup
curly: addicted to these
waffle: refuse to eat at Chic fil A so my intake is almost nonexistent
shoestring: these r great when you dip em in cheese sauce
crinkle-cut: an abomination of satanic proportions

voting "curly"

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:00 (ten years ago)

head says curly heart says regular

"battered" fries are my new favorite

gr8080, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:03 (ten years ago)

where pommes frites? 2nd Ave shop my only sighting of Russell Simmons.

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:06 (ten years ago)

have been doing frozen crinkle lately for budgetary reasons, + Park Slope Chip Shop closed.

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:06 (ten years ago)

Crinkle cuts. Best ratio of crispy exterior to fluffy interior, with added condiment-troughs.

WilliamC, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:22 (ten years ago)

Regular, if only for this side-order of fries I had in Nice which radically expanded my perspective of what fries can be. You would not believe how good these were. I talk about them a lot.

jmm, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:29 (ten years ago)

thought this would include other types of fries, such as sweet potato fries, which are my personal fave

F♯ A♯ (∞), Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

that's like saying spaceballs is your favorite sci-fi movie

gr8080, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:33 (ten years ago)

truffle

wins, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:34 (ten years ago)

most underrated fake fries are polenta fries anyway

gr8080, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:34 (ten years ago)

waffle > curly > regular > shoestring > crinkle > steak

k3vin k., Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

really don't know what i'm gonna do here. have no good feelings toward the bottom four. it's kind of 'head says steak, heart says regular old'. when i think about what my basic ideological food preferences are, i'm gonna order steak or wedge fries. when i think about the platonic act of fry-eating, it's grabbing a handful of misaligned, white hot fries out of a mcdonald's bag and stuffing them into my face before wiping my hands on my jeans to using the turn signal to pull out of the drive-thru.

goole, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:37 (ten years ago)

^otm

gr8080, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:38 (ten years ago)

ideally while a little high as Coast 2 Coast AM plays on the car stereo

gr8080, Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:38 (ten years ago)

glad yer on yr way to the gym when doing this

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:41 (ten years ago)

steak fries are often disappointing ime. if they're nice and seasoned and crispy on the outside they can be sublime (it's been forever but i think...ruby tuesday does this really well) but too often they're just soggy

k3vin k., Thursday, 29 January 2015 18:42 (ten years ago)

Write-in vote for UK style chip shop chips.

You are swimming in spaghetti. Without a paddle. (snoball), Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:16 (ten years ago)

(and now I could murder a chip butty)

You are swimming in spaghetti. Without a paddle. (snoball), Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:16 (ten years ago)

it's taken a lifetime of fry-eating to accept that steak fries are my favorite. aka "jo jos"? those were the best when i was a kid.

most other kinds get cold too quickly.

lil urbane (Jordan), Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:21 (ten years ago)

Ray, FYI favorite french fry cut

But this is a good topic to revisit

, Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:26 (ten years ago)

Would have said "curly", but giving a slight edge to "regular old" because you can't dip curly fries in your milkshake.

how's life, Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:27 (ten years ago)

The number of times I've burned my mouth on steak cut fries. Never again

, Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:28 (ten years ago)

too true but the chip butty mentioned upthread, that right there is a food after my own heart

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 29 January 2015 19:42 (ten years ago)

Seasoned curly with like a pound of salt.

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Friday, 30 January 2015 09:34 (ten years ago)

they're all good. i went for regular, but i haven't had waffle or curly in an age and now crave them.

#Research (stevie), Friday, 30 January 2015 11:28 (ten years ago)

So McDonalds are shoestring? I am wondering whether the glorious UK style chips, which seem to be held together by surface tension as much as anything else, are better represented by 'regular old fries' or steak fries (which I've never heard of before, but appear on googling to be the right size, but possibly crunchy?)

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 30 January 2015 11:51 (ten years ago)

UK style chips are definitely regular. Steak chips about twice the width of regular chips.

#Research (stevie), Friday, 30 January 2015 11:53 (ten years ago)

although if shoestring are even thinner than your typical mcdonals fry well then i don't know

#Research (stevie), Friday, 30 January 2015 11:54 (ten years ago)

is it really not lunchtime yet??

#Research (stevie), Friday, 30 January 2015 11:54 (ten years ago)

I dunno there's - oh, Australians

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 30 January 2015 11:55 (ten years ago)

mcdonalds are regular. shoestring are much thinner.

how's life, Friday, 30 January 2015 11:56 (ten years ago)

I can't imagine how that's possible, without summoning visions of a machine designed by Ralph Steadman.

The Mccains.au page I was trying to link there (URL now unmangled) is definitely what I think of as the right size and shape for UK fries, though I still suspect them of crunchiness.

Andrew Farrell, Friday, 30 January 2015 11:59 (ten years ago)

UK style chips between regular and steak chips, but definitely cleaving nearer towards regular chips

I WOULD EAT ALL THESE FRIES

#Research (stevie), Friday, 30 January 2015 12:06 (ten years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 00:01 (ten years ago)

Steak cut. Doused in a gallon of malt vinegar and then covered with 7 pounds of salt.

Jeff, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 00:25 (ten years ago)

regular fries are a poor man's large fries

socki fan taytay (wins), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 00:32 (ten years ago)

I regard McD's as fairly close to a shoestring fry. Whats that fried grated mess above? Thats not even a chip!

I checked Snoops , and it is for real (Trayce), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 02:58 (ten years ago)

good follow-up poll would be:

  • sweet potato fries
  • tater tots
  • battered fries
  • hash browns
  • polenta fries
  • seasoned fries (lumped in one category to mitigate vote-splitting)
  • ???

gr8080, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 03:05 (ten years ago)

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj9k7315RR1qihbcpo1_500.jpg

The Understated Twee Hotel On A Mountain (silby), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 03:09 (ten years ago)

oh yeah, those crazy fry-tot hybrids in the frozen aisle are insane

gr8080, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 03:13 (ten years ago)

now i need a crisp that's proper and fly
so break me off a piece of that sweet potato fry

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 03:19 (ten years ago)

Shoestring inclusion is interfering with the comfort of my ride. Few people seem to think of them of them as The Best, but McD's-style thin & crispy fast food fries (which most Americans probably consider "regular") are closer to thick shoestring potatoes than standard cut french fries. Regular regular fries are more like 1/2 an inch across. Not that any of this matters.

Voted regular, of course.

A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 04:02 (ten years ago)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5023919505_3d7a3e2d3e_o.jpg

I voted for these (from LCs in KC). the thing I miss the most from KS

droit au butt (Euler), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 11:19 (ten years ago)

is it lunchtime yet?

#Research (stevie), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 11:23 (ten years ago)

it's all about well-salted steak fries wedged into a "sandwich grecque" aka a pita with döner meat

drool

I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 14:43 (ten years ago)

― gr8080, Tuesday, February 3, 2015 10:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Yucca fries

, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 14:47 (ten years ago)

I voted for these (from LCs in KC). the thing I miss the most from KS

haha those are barely even cut, why don't you just gnaw on a whole potato

j., Wednesday, 4 February 2015 14:58 (ten years ago)

crinkle-cut fries are for accompanying fish sticks

brimstead, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 22:18 (ten years ago)

when i think about the platonic act of fry-eating, it's grabbing a handful of misaligned, white hot fries out of a mcdonald's bag and stuffing them into my face before wiping my hands on my jeans to using the turn signal to pull out of the drive-thru.

― goole, Thursday, January 29, 2015 10:37 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^otm

― gr8080, Thursday, January 29, 2015 10:38 AM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

brimstead, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 22:19 (ten years ago)

I haven't managed to have a fry left on arrival at home after my last 5 trips to a drive through so I feels that

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 22:21 (ten years ago)

I miss The O in Pittsburgh, which had "regular" fries except they are extra long, fried in peanut oil, and plentiful.

Vic Perry, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 23:16 (ten years ago)

Steak fries >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> all the other kinds.

Johnny Fever, Wednesday, 4 February 2015 23:26 (ten years ago)

Best fries lately:
Katsu Burger, Seattle — like McDonalds fries, except they somehow stayed hot during the entire meal.
Five Guys, Tupelo — well done, not limp, and somebody there understands taking a few extra seconds to really drain them.

Undercooked fries are the worst.

it takes 14 to make a baby (WilliamC), Wednesday, 4 February 2015 23:32 (ten years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Thursday, 5 February 2015 00:01 (ten years ago)

at least there's a plurality of non-savages

mookieproof, Thursday, 5 February 2015 00:03 (ten years ago)

yucca fries with aji pwns. also plantains. and sweet potato fries.

write-in vote for pommes frites served in a cone with curry sauce. and a hit of salt right as they come out of the fryer.

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Thursday, 5 February 2015 00:23 (ten years ago)

misread pwns as prawns

brimstead, Thursday, 5 February 2015 00:46 (ten years ago)

mmm aji prawns

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Thursday, 5 February 2015 00:55 (ten years ago)

anyone had taro fries? asking for a friend

languagelessness (mattresslessness), Thursday, 5 February 2015 01:00 (ten years ago)

xp

i had fig mole fries at a mexican place recently; would recommend.

i haven't had taro fries but i will basically eat taro anything.

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Thursday, 5 February 2015 01:00 (ten years ago)

how the fuck did crinkle-cut beat waffle

justify yourselves, crinkle-cut heretics

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 5 February 2015 02:37 (ten years ago)

pbbbbttttt, justify schmustify

it takes 14 to make a baby (WilliamC), Thursday, 5 February 2015 03:08 (ten years ago)

Justify youuur cut

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Thursday, 5 February 2015 03:14 (ten years ago)

I never could solve that puzzle on Concentration

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Thursday, 5 February 2015 05:09 (ten years ago)

dammit i knew i should have used an accent mark there

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Thursday, 5 February 2015 08:03 (ten years ago)

Buncha people voting for fries they first tasted 20 mins ago in the noms thread I see

It's strange to me too. But we're talking about praxis, man. (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 5 February 2015 08:25 (ten years ago)

wtf @ curly fries scoring so high, are you thinking of the short n curlies instead maybe?

otm upthread on fries at the O in Pittsburgh; you get a mf huge pile of fries for like $3, and they are very very solid.

droit au butt (Euler), Thursday, 5 February 2015 10:14 (ten years ago)

okay i want to try yucca fries now, can you get yucca in the uk?

#Research (stevie), Thursday, 5 February 2015 10:38 (ten years ago)

crinkle cut is some flat garbage

marcos, Thursday, 5 February 2015 14:01 (ten years ago)

crinkle cut is dinner at someone else's parents' house.

how's life, Thursday, 5 February 2015 14:06 (ten years ago)

and they are soggy bullshit that came from the freezer and were baked in the oven

marcos, Thursday, 5 February 2015 14:08 (ten years ago)

I never got the point of curly fries. by their design they look like they'd always be thick and soggy.

I checked Snoops , and it is for real (Trayce), Friday, 6 February 2015 01:52 (ten years ago)

you get more fry surface area in your mouth at once, plus most curly fries are "seasoned" which is always a win.

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Friday, 6 February 2015 03:38 (ten years ago)

They're oily spirals of deliciousness only bettered with horseradish fuiud

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Friday, 6 February 2015 04:41 (ten years ago)

read that as "horseradish fluid"

no fucks given or implied (get bent), Friday, 6 February 2015 04:47 (ten years ago)

Give your curly fries a much needed tune up...

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Friday, 6 February 2015 04:50 (ten years ago)

seasoning of cruly fries can't be a decisive factor, otherwise your answer is "fuck fries, i like seasoning"

A Severus of Snapes (contenderizer), Friday, 6 February 2015 05:03 (ten years ago)

cruly ringleader fries

I checked Snoops , and it is for real (Trayce), Friday, 6 February 2015 05:20 (ten years ago)

horsey sauce is an enhancement, not a requirement. I stand with curly fries in this trying time

Hammer Smashed Bagels, Friday, 6 February 2015 07:02 (ten years ago)

Stevie: y but it's more likely to go by cassava here ime

harperlee jot shilly (wins), Friday, 6 February 2015 07:41 (ten years ago)

thank you wins - i shall search and report back with my findings

horseradish fluid (stevie), Friday, 6 February 2015 09:59 (ten years ago)

I think someone posting an image of proper british chips last time we did this discussion was what directly prompted me to move back to the UK

kinder, Friday, 6 February 2015 11:00 (ten years ago)

i tried making chickpea fries the other night, as per the grauniad's recipe, and they were... not good

potatoes 4eva fuiud

bizarro gazzara, Friday, 6 February 2015 11:09 (ten years ago)

chickpea "fries" are a speciality down here (we call them "panisse") but they don't have much to do with fries imo. closer to hash browns I guess, or to latkes. but not fries. they're great though!

droit au butt (Euler), Friday, 6 February 2015 11:57 (ten years ago)

a google image search suggests i walk past shop after shop heaving with cassava on the way to the tube each morning. tempted. but guardian feature suggests prep is an arm-ache.

horseradish fluid (stevie), Friday, 6 February 2015 11:59 (ten years ago)

crinkle-cut comes with tiny wells to support ketchup, dawg

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 February 2015 21:03 (ten years ago)

waffle fries have whole mini rain-gutters for the holding of ketchup or horsey sauce or what-have-you

this attempt by crinkle-cut to surpass waffle will not stand. neither is the best fry but on the great chain of fry being waffle need not languish in the shadow of crinkle

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 19 February 2015 21:35 (ten years ago)

CoRT, you are nearly my contemporary, how can you consume this garbage and maintain your svelteness?

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 February 2015 21:39 (ten years ago)

oh, farmers' hours, i guess

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 February 2015 21:43 (ten years ago)

Crinkle vs. Waffle reminds me of some Expos vs. Padres discussion in 1973.

This poll had symmetrical results. Winner ahead by precise ratios of 2-1, 12-5, 4-1, 6-1, 8-1. It's lovely.

Vic Perry, Thursday, 19 February 2015 21:54 (ten years ago)

my posited svelteness is genuinely a function of how I talk / move / present myself. I actually have a big belly. anybody who wants to feel good about themselves with respect to the ravages of time should have a look at me in profile, an angle I studiously avoid

The Complainte of Ray Tabano, Thursday, 19 February 2015 22:15 (ten years ago)

good to know

touch of a love-starved cobra (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 19 February 2015 22:54 (ten years ago)

anyone who wants to feel good about themselves should eat some fries

gr8080, Friday, 20 February 2015 03:47 (ten years ago)

ten years pass...

I don't have the heart or fortitude to post in the politics thread, but here's a Gladwell podcast (I know) that explains why beef fat fries both taste better and are ostensibly healthier (or no less unhealthy) for you than fries fried in oil:

https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/mcdonalds-broke-my-heart

It's a fascinating and funny episode (esp. when they get to how an early veggie oil attempt led to McDonald's uniforms spontaneously combusting). The too long/didn't listen is that beef tallow is how McDonald's used to do it, until they were pressured to find an alternative by a anti-saturated fat health crusader. But not only did beef fat fries taste better than the oil substitute, because they were animal product they were more filling/satisfying, too. McDonald's used to have only one size of fries, and the shift from a set small portion of animal fat fries to vegetable oil fries (which are no healthier for you) is what made the fries less filling and led to the supersize phenomenon.

Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 27 February 2025 19:58 (five months ago)

The Chicago Tribune actually did some kind of cooking article on this way back in the day. One of my relatives clipped it out and put it in one of their cookbooks, but it must've been pretty old - I think from the 1990s? From what I can remember, the writers tried making fries with various fats, mostly non-animal fats but one used lard, and indeed in blind taste tests EVERYONE thought the lard-cooked fries tasted better.

birdistheword, Thursday, 27 February 2025 21:19 (five months ago)


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