Over 40% Of People Agree That This Restaurant Has The Best French Fries
Have you ever wondered whether there's been an absolute, definitive ruling on who has the best french fries in all of fast food? Some swear by Mickey D's, while others vote for Five Guys, and Wendy's is always going to be the top pick of anyone who likes to dip their fries in a Frosty. The only fries just about everybody can agree on are In-N-Out's: These are not good. Or, in (some of) the words of the Eagles' Don Henley and Glenn Frey, "[Animal style] is a thin disguise, I thought by now you'd realize, there ain't no way to hide those [nasty fries]."
So how are we ever going to come up with the conclusive verdict on the best fast food fries? Simple: We employed the scientific method. Mashed conducted a survey of 555 people around the country and asked them which fast-food chain had the best fries, and the winner is...
No surprise, McDonald's fries reign supreme
Yes, according to our survey results, 41.44 percent of our respondents chose those crunchy golden fries from the Golden Arches — though we bet nearly all of them, had we asked (which we didn't) would have said this only applies to those fries when they're still relatively hot. Of course, this pretty much applies to all fries. Coming in at number two (but significantly trailing McDonald's at 14 percent) was Five Guys. Number three was Wendy's, with Burger King coming in at number four.
The real shocker, however — almost enough to cast some serious doubts on our survey methodology and have everyone demanding a recount — is that 6.67 percent of respondents actually chose In-N-Out. Maybe they just mis-heard the question and thought we asked for best burger instead, since In-N-Out is a strong contender in this department. As for the biggest losers (fries worse that In-N-Out's? the horror!), Checkers' fries only got 4.68 percent of the vote, while Shake Shack's got 3.96, and Steak 'n Shake's got 2.52 percent (no wonder they're struggling to stay afloat).
There are always a few write-ins, though
In this, as in just about every other, poll, we had a category for "other," and we also, as is typical, asked people to specify just which "other" restaurant they felt had fries superior to the choices presented. Arby's curly fries picked up a few votes, as did the Midwestern chain Culver's and its arch-rival Freddy's. The latter two lose a few fry points, however, for offering custard-based concretes way too thick for dipping.
Of course there are always a few respondents who just don't want to get with the program, instead offering up answers like "I don't eat them," "don't know, don't care," "I do not eat fast food," and "Fried food bad!" There was also one over-achiever who purported to prefer their fries "homemade." Our favorite response, however, was from the following bi-partisan (or rather, multi-partisan) fast-food fan who said, "I love fries so they're all the best." Amen to that, and please pass the ketchup!