Fry Day #8 McDonald’s

November 30, 2007 · Posted in Fry Day · 2 Comments

It was inevitable, I had to do them and here they are:

Info:
McDonald’s
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 1:07pm

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 6
Appearance: 6
Saltiness: 3
Crispiness: 2
Hot: 12 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 114g) (Actual 110g)
Price:$1.30
Value: $0.0118181 per gram

While Burger King was a pleasant surprise, McDonald’s was no surprise at all, and not very pleasant either.

I could taste the potato, I will give it that much. They weren’t very greasy either, another credit. But, there was an underlying taste also. Either they don’t maintain separate fryers for their fries or they need to change the oil in that fryer.

Did I mention that they were like biting into a sponge? That is what the texture reminded me of, bleh.

I have no idea how they manage it every time but I was 10th in line at the drive thru and still managed to get old fries. 10th in line, that is almost a guarantee for hot fries at other places, but not at McD’s. Seems like every time I go there I lose a little more respect for their organization. They are on a media blitz trying to make their image shine yet they let stores like this continue to tarnish their less than sterling reputation.

Final word: For a place that is so popular and famous for their fries, I do not understand how they get away with serving fries like this!

Photo:

Click to enlarge

Tags: <crisp, fries, fry, mcd, organization, photos, potato, quantity, surprise>

Fry Day #7 Ore-Ida Easy Fries

November 16, 2007 · Posted in Fry Day · 4 Comments

Today we do the stay at home edition of Fry Day.

Info:
Ore-Ida
Time of day: 1:22pm

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 9
Appearance: 7
Saltiness: 10
Crispiness: 9
Hot: 10 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 134g) (Actual 95g)
Price:$1.00
Value: $0.010526 per gram

Easy Fries are a microwaveable fry. I have preconceived notions about microwave food and usually those notions are right. They were only about half so this time.

Value wise these seem to fall about in the middle. Although I must state that I got them on sale at my local Kro*** store. Yes I blotted out half their name. If you have one near you then you know who it is, I am not in the business of handing out free advertisement, unless I have something to say about you! I should also state that they evidently count the weight of the box in their stated weight as that was the only way I could even get close to the 134g that they stated.

The taste was very good right out of the box. There was no need to add any salt as they have taken care of that for you. Honestly I would prefer to do it myself when I am making them at home. I like to have some control. I realize though that these are targeted at kids so it was probably a good idea to just throw the salt in. I could taste the potato for the most part although there was also a hint of oily taste, yes they do add oil. I guess they probably wouldn’t cook very well without it.

I love crinkle cut fries, they usually stay hot longer than thin cut, usually. 10 minutes was all I got out of these before they were cool to the touch.

When they cool they tend to take on that familiar microwaved toughness. They were nice right up until that point. You got to eat them fast or be prepared for a few tough ones!

Obligatory photos:

I should have shot this before I cooked them, the box looks really pathetic now.
ore ida box

Click to enlarge
ore ida fries

Click to enlarge

Tags: <crisp, food, fries, fry, Fry Day, microwave, photo, photos, potato, quantity>

Fry Day #6 Burger King

November 9, 2007 · Posted in Fry Day · 1 Comment

Welcome back Fry Day

Info:
Burger King
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 11:15am

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 9
Appearance: 9
Saltiness: 9
Crispiness: 7
Hot: 22 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 116g) (Actual 130g)
Price:$1.29
Value: $0.009923 per gram

This one was a pleasant surprise!

These fries were very good. I haven’t rated anyone this high since I started. I could actually taste the potato in these, which is rare these days. They do have a dedicated fryer that is used just for fries!

They looked good too. Nice even color with very few dark spots. There were very few soggy fries as well. I found them at the bottom of my carton and I would write them off as soggy due to the time it took me to get to them and condensation.

As you can see the value was very good as well. There were actually more fries then stated, which I won’t complain about, and the price is comparable with other fast food places. Their stated weight is lower than most but then so is the price!

Quite honestly, I usually get the onion rings when I go to Burger King but this is Fry Day. I’ll start getting the fries there as long as they remain at this quality level.

How about a photo!

Click to enlarge

Tags: <color, crisp, food, fries, fry, Fry Day, potato, quantity>

Sorry, this is a no Fry Day friday

October 26, 2007 · Posted in Fry Day · 1 Comment

I just didn’t have the time to put into it this week. It has been crazy around here and with the girls on fall break that makes it all the crazier!

Fry Day will be back next week for sure. I already have a place picked out and I am ready!

Tags: <fry, Fry Day, girls>

Fry Day #5 Arby’s

October 18, 2007 · Posted in Fry Day · 4 Comments

This may be the biggest downer so far…

Info:
Arby’s
Franklin, IN
Time of day: 12:57pm

All ratings except hot are a 1-10 scale. Hot is how long they remain warm.

Taste: 3
Appearance: 8
Saltiness: 9
Crispiness: 1
Hot: 14 minutes
Quantity: (Stated 125g) (Actual 139g)
Price:$1.59
Value: $.0114388 per gram

This is one of those experiences that went downhill quickly and viciously!

It started out well enough. The appearance of the fries was quite pleasant. I was actually looking forward to digging into them. The color was nice, they smelled good. I just didn’t notice the shine!

These fries were very very greasy and not in a good way. It was visible on the packaging and all over my fingers after eating just one. I did not know a fry could hold twice it’s weight in grease but I do now!

The spicing on the fries was good, in other words you could taste it. But what kept overbearing everything else was the taste of grease. They tasted just like the grease smells, yuck! Sadly, I had to stop eating them well before they were gone as I just couldn’t take the greasiness anymore. I may have to go get my arteries roto rootered out after this!

Conclusion, well I used to like Arby’s fries but I think this experience will change that forever!

How about a couple of photos of the artery cloggers:

Note the grease stains on the box!
arbys1