Steer Clear Of One Chain If You Want High-Quality Fries

Every once in a while, I'll be hanging out with my sister and, suddenly, she'll stare off into the distance, her eyes widening in horror as an unpleasant memory consumes her. She'll then look at me and say, "Remember those McDonald's fries we ate at Logan's goodbye party?" An involuntary shudder will immediately run down my spine as I gag at the memory of the plastic-tasting atrocity the fast food chain tried to pass off as food. I wish I was exaggerating. This is actually a conversation we've had many times. Even in that moment, we knew eating the fries was a bad choice, but it was the only food available. After one fry, we decided we were better off going hungry.

I'm aware that this is a controversial position. Even other Takeout writers have named McDonald's as having some of the highest-quality fries in the fast food industry. Many people I know whose opinions I typically trust gush about how Ronald knows how to make a darn good french fry. The chain boasts that it uses real potatoes (as opposed to what?), and I'll concede that at least it goes for Russets, which are the best type of potato for making french fries. But every single time I've tried this McDonald's side, they're either so hard that I feel like I'm eating a children's toy or so soggy that they fold down on themselves — a suitable metaphor for the mushy promises the Golden Arches make but never actually fulfill.

So many people love McDonald's sad excuse for french fries that I've sometimes questioned my own experiences. Am I completely in the wrong? Have I just visited the chain at the wrong time? Are my tastebuds not working properly? Any of these things could be true, though I would argue that if your fries are only edible sometimes and can either be hard as plastic or disgustingly mushy, then they're simply not good. If they're really so wonderful, why do we need tricks and tips on getting "fresh" fries? Even when I've had them recently fried, they lack flavor and are too salty, despite the company claiming on its website that it uses only a "small amount" of salt.

Food is absolutely subjective, which means that McDonald's fries could simultaneously be terrible and delicious. It all depends on what each person's taste buds perceive. Still, there is one thing that makes me feel like I may be right about it all: I constantly hear fans of McDonald's fries rave about how fresh they are. However, the chain's website specifies that the fries are fried, then frozen. Sure, they're made with fresh potatoes, but isn't that the bare minimum for a restaurant? Praising McDonald's for using real, fresh potatoes to make a frozen product would be like applauding the brand for making burger patties from real cows.