Fry Hopes: Fast Food's Ever-"Improving" Side Dish

As Robert Downey Jr. said in Tropic Thunder, "I gets excited about my foods, man", and all health and quality concerns aside, I absolutely love fast food. Anyone who has seen my physique or the way I inhale a medium-sized combo meal probably can guess this. As such, I always take note of the new items on the menus as my favorite grease vendors with the intention of trying them out at some point. There seems to be a trend, however, that's reaching its apex among fast food joints as of late, however, and that's changing or "improving" their french fries. It seems simple enough a change, but seeing as pretty much every fast food meal comes with these things, it really is a huge thing to consider and a pretty massive draw when a joint changes their fries.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert or a fast food historian or anything (although I'd say I probably know more than most in this area), but I have been alive long enough to see the rise and fall of many establishments crispy, salty side dish. So, complete dork that I am and seeing that my school semester is over, I have decided to go ahead and give a first hand timeline with my own personal experiences with and impressions of the various "improved" fries that take outs and drive thrus have sent out their respective windows and over their respective counters. Now we're not talking about a simple change of procedure here (a change of cooking oil, ceasing of trans fats, etc.), but actual fry metamorphosis. So, without further ado, let's take a closer look at these scorched potato delights.

IN THE BEGINNING...

When I was younger, French fries were just French fries. Sure, the quality of many establishments' may have been lacking, but as long as I could dump salt on top of them (a habit I've thankfully cut back on), they were an edible side to my the main dish of any meal. That was until 1997 when Burger King introduced a re-vamped fry. Claiming the new fry beat McDonald's in a taste test (McDonald's apparently being the standard for fries. Yeah, fuck you In N Out), BK was dolling out these things for free, which means on a weekly trip to the mall, an 8 (or 9) year old me tried out them out and instantly fell in love.

Maybe it was their claim and assertion that the fries were much better, maybe it was the fact they used Mr. Potatohead in their advertising campaign, or maybe they were genuinely better, but I was fascinated by the whole idea of "new" French fries. I was even beginning to notice fry quality a lot more, and became increasingly dissatisfied with what I found. Burger King managed crispy, yet fluffy textures in a great tasting fry, but most other establishments failed at even delivering one of these characteristics. McDonald's were good, In N Out's flawless, but what of other burger joints? Would this be the start of a new trend towards potato redemption? The short answer is yes, but not for a long while... and not for a long while. You'll understand in a minute.

NATURALLY FLIP-FLOPPING

It wasn't until 2004 that another fast food chain would make such a fundamental change to their fries. This time it was Jack in the Box with their thicker, potato-skin havin' Natural Cut Fries. In my humble opinion their was nothing really wrong with Jack's normal fries. Their ever-crispy and strangely brown-tinted fries were actually pretty tasty (and seeing as Jack has always had curly fries, only one of a couple of options), but I guess they weren't very popular? Anyway, the Natural Cut Fries were unique at the time. They were a lot more potato-y than most other fries and had a decent overall taste profile. The problem seemed to be that none of the places knew how the hell to cook them properly and, as a result, almost every carton of Natural Cut Fries was limp and soggy. Perhaps that contributed to the sudden disappearance of the fries some time this year without any announcement or anything. Now, Jack's fries are more a shoe-string variety, still having a bit of potato skin, and are, if anything, most similar to their original. It's just surprising that, after making such to-do about the change to Natural Cut Fries, to suddenly change them without word is just odd in this day and age.

Similarly, Carl's Jr. had the proper foresight to alter their God-awful French fries as recently as 2008. Now these fries combined the thickness and potato skin of Jack' Natural Cut Fries with a crispier texture similar to Burger King's fries, and they were good. Really good, actually. Maybe it was just a case of taking things by comparison, but I certainly thought these fries were going to stick. However, much like Jack in the Box, sometime this year Carl's changed their fries again. They're essentially the same, but lacking the size and thickness of their first inception. They're still good, but it's just another case of fixing something that isn't broken. Why both these places changed their fries only to change them back, and in such close proximity too is odd to say the least, but they revived a trend set by Burger King with mixed results.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN

So that brings us to today, and another fast food chain changing their fries significantly. Okay, perhaps not "significantly", but Wendy's has changed their's as of about a month back. Going with that "natural" trend that seems to be all the rage when re-designing your greasy snacks, they have potato skin still stuck on them and are seasoned with sea salt. Overall, they're pretty darn good actually, although like Jack in the Box, I'd assert that they didn't need to be changed. Still, you can't fault this "improvement" if it's good tasting.

And overall, that's the impression I'm left with when fast food places change their French fries. In the case of establishments like Wendy's and Jack in the Box, the change is mostly superfluous, but still produces an interesting, different, and typically tasty result. In the case of Burger King and Carl's Jr., the change was a necessity and now made it, at the very least, not a struggle to take in the carb-loaded crispies alongside your burger. Of course there's also places that don't need to change their fries and won't because... these places are pretty much the top of the fast food dog-pile or have their own corner of the market carved out.

I hope that, if nothing else, this little trip down the oily streets of fry evolution has given you new appreciation for the second part of your fast food meals. Heck, maybe it even rekindles memories or thoughts that've popped into your head when munching on an order or two of fries. If you have your own thoughts on french fries, fast food, or just want to tell me how crazy I am, go ahead and shoot me a comment.

I'll be back likely after the holidays with some more video game and movie reviews, and likely a surprise or two. Until then, have a happy holiday and be safe.