While French Fries aren’t a meal all on their own, they quite often accompany other meals at fast food places and restaurants alike. A bad serving of French Fries can sometimes ruin an entire meal, and leave a bad taste in your mouth. Because of this, I went to a variety of local fast food restaurants, and tried a small serving of fries at each to determine my top five choices. 

In the end, there were a lot of fries that just didn’t quite make the cut, so here’s an honorable mention. The Honorable Mention spot goes to Five Guys, with steak fries at $4.99. It’s important to note that these fries are cooked in peanut oil, for people with peanut allergies. Other than that, you get a lot more fries than these other places, but they’re also greasy. Overall though, they were decently salted, but nothing too special.

#5 Wendy’s

Starting off the list at number five is Wendy’s with a small serving of fries at $2.64. Despite being at the bottom of the list, Wendy’s fries are by no means horrible. The fries were not as hot as other places, despite their commercials boasting their hot and crispy new fries. In addition to that, they were the least salted of all the fries I tried. They also weren’t very consistent with their taste, or the amount of salt on each fry. 

#4 Arby’s

Next we have Arby’s taking the number four spot, with a small serving of crinkle fries at $2.69. These fries were very consistent, though they weren’t amazingly salted. Despite that, all of the fries seemed to have an equal amount of heat, and you get a decent amount of fries. Overall, while the fries aren’t bad by any means, nothing really sets them apart from its competitors.   

#3 Chick-Fil-A

At number three, we have Chick-Fil-A. At $2.09, you can get a small serving of waffle fries. Most of the time, the fries are nicely salted, and warm. There’s also typically a good amount of fries per serving, which is always a nice bonus. However, there have been many instances of undersalted fries, which is always a bummer. Overall though, they’re a solid middle of the list, that compliments any meal you might get there nicely. 

#2 Burger 21

Burger 21 locks up the number two spot, with a small serving of fries at $3.99. While it’s more expensive than some of the other fries on this list, these fries are perfectly salted, easy to dip into a multitude of condiments, and are always warm when you get them. Not to mention, you get a lot of fries for your money. They taste just as good through delivery as they do in the restaurant, though there is a chance they’ll be slightly less crisp on occasion. 

#1 McDonald’s 

And finally, the number one fry spot goes to McDonald’s. For just $2.30, you can get hot, nicely salted fries that seem to just melt in your mouth. They’re easy to dip into whatever condiment you might want, and you get a lot of them for your money. Even better, they stay nice and crisp, avoiding the sogginess pitfall some other fries can’t quite manage to avoid. Ultimately, these fries take the top not only because of their taste, but because they also fall on the lower end of the price range on this list.