| Best
fast-food fries? I call first place for Carl's Jr.
By Alexis Lear
November 15, 2006 | Would you
like fries with that? Of course you would! French fries,
minus the name, are a traditional on-the-side American
food that you can find in almost every restaurant in
every city, in every country in the world. Fries come
with burgers, sandwiches, steak, and even under carne
azada at Beto's.
With so many options of where
to get this popular potato plate, how do you know where
to go ahead and order the fries and where to take the
salad option instead? I decided to test the fries for
myself at four major fast food restaurants found across
the country to see which fry is the king.
I visited the drive-throughs of McDonald's,
Burger King, Arby's, and Carl's Jr. I have eaten fries
from all of these restaurants before but before the
test I had no clear favorite. Price, size, taste and
overall quality were the three areas in which the fries
were judged. I didn't even attempt to bring the nutritional
value factor in to this test because who really is worried
about calories when eating a fast food french fry?
McDonald's and Burger King had fries
on their 99-cent menu while the smallest size fry at
Arby's and Carl's Jr. cost $1.29. McDonald's had the
largest fry for the 99-cent price tag, followed by Arby's
and Carl's Jr., with Burger King vending the smallest
portion of fries.
When it comes to the taste and quality
of a french fry, there is a lot to take into account.
Everyone likes their fries their own special way. Some
like them long, skinny, and as processed as possible
while others like them chubby with the potato skin still
on them. The fries from McDonald's, Burger King, and
Carl's Jr. were all relatively the same size and shape,
long and skinny like a traditional fast food French
fry. The fries from Arby's were a bit bigger, about
the thickness of a finger.
First, I ate a couple fries from
each box taking a swig of Diet Coke in between to clear
the taste of the previous fry from my mouth. Plus, it
is my own personal belief that soda enhances the flavor
of fast food; they're just meant to go together!
After sampling fries from each box
knowing where the fries came from, I declared Burger
King to have the best fries. Burger King's fries were
warm, fresh, and well-salted, with a crisp outer shell
and soft inside. McDonald's and Carl's Jr. were good
as well, but they did not seem as fresh as the Burger
King fries. The Arby's fries were hot and fresh but
had absolutely no taste. The fries were very bland with
no trace of salt anywhere, but I don't think even salt
could have saved this fry disaster. Even with salt,
the fries would just taste like salted cardboard in
a french fry costume.
Hoping to see if the taste or quality
of any of the fries changed dramatically in an hour's
time, I waited an hour until I did my blind fry taste
test. My roommate placed a couple fries from each restaurant
on a paper towel and didn't tell me which fry was from
which restaurant. To my surprise, it was a bit difficult
to tell which fry was which. After the taste test I
declared that the third fry I sampled was from Burger
King and that once again it was my favorite fry. I was
shocked to find out that my fry of choice from the blind
taste test was from Carl's Jr. Although all of the fries
were much colder than they had been an hour ago, the
Carl's Jr. fries tasted the most fresh and maintained
the best flavor.
I know all of you are clenching your
chairs in excitement to find out the best fast food
fry, but there are a few factors I should add before
declaring my favorite spud. Fry sauce sits next to family
and Diet Coke on my list of important things in life.
Only Burger King and Carl's Jr. offer fry sauce with
their fries, which is a major bonus when considering
the all around quality of a fry. I should also mention
the fact that, as much as I would have liked to, I did
not include Arby's curly fries in this test. They are
indeed fast food fries, but it would be like comparing
apples to oranges if used in this study; plus, they
blow all other fries out of the water when it comes
to taste -- it's just simply not a contest.
All things considered, price, size,
taste and overall quality of the fries, Carl's Jr. is
my pick for the potato powerhouse. Burger King came
in a close second but the size of the package was the
deciding factor. There is a 30-cent price difference
between the fries, but sometimes that extra quarter
and nickel is worth sacrificing those fake teeth in
the quarter machine at Smith's for a little extra flavor.
Every one of the fries sampled was
edible but Arby's traditional fries are a no-go in my
book. I'm not too picky of a girl. As long as food is
innutritious and I have a Diet Coke to accompany I'm
basically happy. So in the near future, forget the fruit
cup option, indulge yourself a little, and eat some
fries, youll be surprised how good they taste. The fries
have spoken!
NW
RB
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