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What makes the best fries

By Catherine Toth Fox • October 13, 2014 • Food

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There are some foods you can’t separate.

Peanut butter and jelly. Waffles and fried chicken. And burgers and fries.

I don’t care how full I am, I will order a bag of fries with every burger, period.

The saltiness, the crispiness, the oiliness — fries are the perfect complement to a greasy burger topped with melted cheese and smoky bacon, leafy lettuce and a fresh slice of tomato. You really can’t beat it.

So when Frolic Hawai‘i asked me to blog about my Top 5 favorite fries, I actually had a hard time narrowing it down.

Because it really all depends.

While the basic criteria are simple — texture, temperature, crispiness, taste — the subjectiveness is what muddles the list.

Like nostalgia. Or price. Or when I’m eating these fries. (I’m far less picky about my fried choices when I’ve just come from the beach.)

And then picking just five was heart-wrenchingly difficult.

Truly, there are others that didn’t make my Top 5 list.

Like the crinkle-cut fries topped with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil at Home Bar & Grill. Or the unsalted skinny fries at Kua ‘Aina. Or the Jamaican jerk fries at Ryan’s Grill.

And don’t get me started on fries outside the island. (The fries at In-N-Out Burger [top] — individually cut at the restaurant, cooking in 100 percent vegetable oil, never frozen — are among my all-time favorites.)

So what should we be looking for in the fries?

Here are my criteria: they’ve got to be golden brown, slightly crispy and hot. I like the crunch, though I can deal with a soggy fry if it doesn’t taste like a wad of cooking oil. I’m not a huge fan of steak fries or ones breaded before they’re tossed into a deep fryer. (Remember when Burger King changed their fries? Terrible.) I like them on the skinnier side, fresh is always best, and double-fried makes ’em better.

And hey, I’m never above a bag from McDonald’s, either!

Got a favorite frites? (I have lots of room on my Favorite Fries list!)

FoodFrench friesFrolic HawaiiTop 5 French fries
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About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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8 Comments

  • Reply Annoddah Dave October 13, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    CAT: This is a long post. But there is a story that Ray Kroc had to really work hard to convince the McDonald brothers to franchise their burger restaurant. After much pleading, the brothers relented and Ray Kroc became a multi-millionaire as a result. However, when they tried to duplicate the original McDonald’s menu in Chicago, everything was perfect except the french fries. Ray Kroc had some of his staff visit the restaurant several times to make sure they duplicated the fries exactly. They used the same make and model fryer, even to the point of getting their potatoes from the same farmer, etc. But to no avail the fries did not come out the same. Finally, on one trip to California, Kroc’s staffer was at the McDonald’s when they received their order of potatoes via truck. The truck backed up to the rear of the restaurant and dumped the potatoes into the basement of the building. Apparently, the McDonald brothers had a root cellar and that is where they stored their potatoes. Because much of a potato is water, by the time a load was processed by the restaurant, it lost some of its moisture…something like 10% or so. So it was this dehydration factor that made their fries crispier, and more tasty. From then on, the standard for McDonald’s was to measure the moisture factor of the potato before processing. For even further quality control, McDonald’s under Ray Kroc began buying and operating potato farms to ensure a quality product.

  • Reply M October 13, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    Hello Cat,

    I like sweet potatoes fries.

  • Reply Dennis October 13, 2014 at 10:29 pm

    Welcome home Cat! I use to love fries but diabetic doctor said NO MORE carbo. Sucks getting too old for fries. I eat the burger with out the bun. That sucks also. Don’t get old!

  • Reply Vickie October 14, 2014 at 3:29 am

    So far I did not find any sweet and savory fries out there. May some one will create one .

  • Reply Jacy October 14, 2014 at 8:11 am

    Cat – While I LOVE In-N-Out like a good local should, I honestly can’t stand their fries. They’re pretty bland and not really crispy at all. I love the fries at W&M and have had some pretty good ones lately here. Oh, The Counter Kahala. Hukilau. And even Fresh Café downtown. All on the skinnier side, kinda crispy, doused in good things like cheese and garlic. And now I’m hungry. Thanks 😉

  • Reply Mark Mizuno October 14, 2014 at 8:42 am

    Yeah… Hank’s has been my favorite on the island for a while — their hotdogs are OK too… ! 🙂

    Off of the island, Five Guys does a great job with fresh cut fries.
    MANY places in Canada where poutine has GOT to be on my top list as well — fries, gravy and cheese curds!

    In Yokohama, we used to go to one of the only true British fish and chips places where they served authentic fish and chips all wrapped up in a newspaper with malt vinegar and salt. Perhaps a trip to the UK is in order to find the best chips (and fish) place?!

  • Reply Darren October 14, 2014 at 1:25 pm

    When I read your title, I immediately thought, Home Bar’s fries! Or maybe Kua Aina… Haha! Great minds think alike I guess… But if we’re going mainland… I gotta say I like Five Guys Burgers and Fries fries, especially the Cajun fries! They go so perfectly with the burger… But I do love crinkle fries, side order at Grace’s or L&L’s, they just are so wrong but so good… And I love steak fries, especially at Fatburger… But it all comes down to the one we all compare everyone else to Micky D’s… Cheap, easy and oh so delicious!! 😉

  • Reply lynn October 15, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    in n out fries and ask for them well done. crispy, skinny, yummy fries.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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