We, like you, love French fries. Salted, seasoned, cheese fries, steak fries, home fries — if it’s potato and it’s fried, there is a high chance we’re going to love it. It’s the greatest side order in the game. Everything, yes everything, goes with French fries.
A few months back we blind taste-tested fast food French fries from five popular national chains and we came to the conclusion that, without a doubt, McDonald’s served up the best fries in the game. But, as I gave McDonald’s the top spot I couldn’t stop thinking about Five Guys, a restaurant chain we didn’t include in the ranking (it didn’t fit into the travel route of the other five, read the explanation here). Because truth be told, I think those might be my favorite fries.
Which begged the question: can our favorite fast food French fries (McD’s) beat out our favorite fast casual fries (Five Guys)? It’s time for a walk off — err… FRY-OFF. Tell ’em Billy Zane:
Wait, is Five Guys Really Fast Casual?
Fair question! “Fast Casual” is a term that is sort of meaningless in that the definition is incredibly vague. Oxford defines “fast casual” as “a type of high-quality self-service restaurant offering dishes that are prepared to order and more expensive than those available in a typical fast-food restaurant.” Which… okay, you overly elaborate nerds, Five Guys definitely fits that bill — each burger and order of fries are made to order. Five Guys won’t even drop the fries from your online order into the fryer until you walk in the door. The potatoes, which are sourced from different farms across the country and cut fresh daily certainly meet the quality requirement. Finally, a big criticism of Five Guys is that it’s expensive, a single order of fries will cost you nearly $5. So based on Oxford’s definition, Five Guys is as fast casual as fast casual gets.
But, unsurprisingly, that isn’t the only definition of “Fast casual,” and what of the casual aspect? What does it mean? When I ask AI what “fast casual” is It gives me this definition from Wikipedia, “A fast-casual restaurant is a type of restaurant that offers quick, made-to-order food in a casual setting… It is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining,” and lists “Upscale, unique or highly developed décor,” as another feature of a typical fast casual restaurant.
Hmmm… Five Guys’ food is quick and made to order, but there isn’t anything different about the inside of a Five Guys and the inside of any other fast food burger staple like McDonald’s. If anything, McDonald’s has a more upscale interior design than Five Guys. But I’d argue that Five Guys’ bare-bones style, from its cheap tables to serving your food in a brown paper bag whether you order it to go or not, is all part of the vibe. They want you to stay and soak in the setting, why else would they offer free peanuts and blast Boomer rock music over the loudspeakers (I guarantee you this is not for the employees)?
Also, they don’t have a drive-thru, which is another differentiating factor between fast casual and fast food, according to my editor who clearly isn’t thinking about this stuff as deeply as me. Anyway, we’re counting Five Guys as fast casual but you can do whatever you want — on to the tasting!
But First… Methodology
For this blind taste test, I posted up at Five Guys, ordered “little fries,” salted, and sent my girlfriend to the nearest McDonald’s to pick up a medium order of fries, hoping she’d arrive by the time my Five Guys order was ready. In order to have both dishes hot, I sampled them in a nearby parking lot. My job is extremely elegant.
Because the fries have a different look and texture, not only did I don my famous blindfold before being served a pinch of fries at random, but I ate both with a fork in the event that my hands were able to feel the difference. Is it a step too far? There is never a step too far! Did I look like a crazy person eating French fries on a napkin with a fork while wearing a blindfold in a parking lot? Absolutely.
A passerby remarked, “What are you doing?” And I said “eating French fries.” No response back. Not a peep. Okay, now, let’s get to tasting!
Finally, The Fast Food vs. Fast Casual French Fry Taste Test
Taste 1:
A nice crispy crunch on these fries makes way for a flavor that is equal parts buttery, sweet, and salty. The finish has this savory edge that calls you in for more. If I had to find something to complain about it would be that I can taste the grease — these fries are an oil sponge and I imagine that if they were a bit older they might be nearly inedible.
Taste 2:
Crispy, not like Taste 1, but it’s there, the inside is much more potato-forward and natural, it’s buttery but also earthy. While it’s not as crispy as Taste 1, the surface of the French fry has this lightly cavernous quality, allowing a place for the salt to house itself. It’s not as sweet or savory as Taste 1, but overall I think this offers a better and more complex profile of flavors.
With some pepper, I’m sure you could really take these things to the next level.
And The Winner Is…
Five Guys (with a caveat)
I’m sure at least half of the people — maybe more — reading this article won’t agree with me right away, but Five Guys wins this competition. Fairly easily. Don’t get me wrong, McDonald’s French Fries are nearly perfect, but the higher quality of Five Guys is something that you can truly taste.
McDonald’s wins on texture, they’re considerably crispier than Five Guys double-fried French fries, but that crispy exterior almost come across like a casing in comparison, as if what you’re tasting is actually batter and not potato at all.
Five Guys’ fries on the other hand take you on a journey from buttery to earthy, it’s delicate, but with a slightly bitter finish courtesy of the potato skin that hasn’t been peeled off. They taste more like potatoes than the oil they are fried in, and that makes them a winner in our book.
But! A “Little” order of Five Guys French fries will cost you over $5. Yes, you get more fries in a Five Guys “Little” than you do in a McDonald’s Large (they throw a second serving of fries into the bag with each order), but you’re paying nearly double what you can get at McDonald’s. Straight up, $5 for an order of fries is not cheap. Sure, they’re not frozen, yes, they’re double fried, and they’re sourced from an actual farm and don’t arrive in a frozen bag like McDonald’s fries, but you’re paying for all that, and it hurts.
For that reason, if money is not an option, sure, order Five Guys every time. But if you don’t want your entire paycheck eaten up by a fast food bill (a full meal at Five Guys will cost you $15+), McDonald’s fries are a great consolation prize for being a bit thrifty.
So if you have a craving for French fries, I’d say your best bet is at McDonald’s. If what you’re looking for is an excellent burger and a side of delicious French fries to match, it’s got to be Five Guys.