I had fresh-from-fryer McDonald's french fries yesterday and they were pretty good. Not as good as the ones at Red Fish Blue Fish or Willows Galley. But, at the risk of shedding all my food-snob badges, McDonald's fries are right up there with the decent fries I've tried and are certainly the best of the fast food versions. Their best attributes: they are crispy without being unpleasantly hard, soft-ish in the centre, not sodden by oil, no unpleasant after-tastes - the kind you get with the worst fast-food fries, like the ones from my local Wendy's.
McDonald's fries are clearly a frozen product, but that apparently adds to their charm.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, who is very, very obsessed with McDonald's fries, has figured all this out, and posted a very, very detailed report. He started off by trying to get raw McDonald's fries to examine. He was denied when he went through semi-official channels -- namely asking at the counter. But he was undeterred and through less official means, he got his sample of fries, and he was off on his frying adventures (described in many hundred words), ending with detailed instructions on how you can make McDonald's fries in your kitchen. If you have a little determination, the right kind of potatoes, a little vinegar and a few litres of peanut oil, you can follow along.
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I had the fish and chips - the cod version - at the Flying Otter Grill, the little floating restaurant that's attached to the Harbour Air floatplane terminal, at the foot of Broughton Street. The fries did not look fresh-cut, and likely came from the freezer, yet they were OK. I might have to back away from my prejudice against frozen fries. Maybe freezing technology is getting better.
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A young man finds success in the french fry business, using organic potatoes, a two-step frying process, and two kinds of salt. A Toronto story from 2009 in the National Post.
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Best value for french fries in town - gauged by quality and volume: Haultain Fish and Chips, 1127 Haultain Street in Victoria. They use fresh potatoes, and the result is straightforward and very tasty The small version costs $4.25 and is huge; the large costs $5.25 and can easily satisfy the french fry urges of four people.
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