How To Eat French Fries In Restaurants?

[kaygato]

I can't seem to give up the french fries, but I'm not sure what to do to make sure they're safe. How do you order french fries in sit down and fast food restaurants?

[mamaw]

Ask if it is a dedicated fryer..& if the fries are made from fresh taters or if they are frozen fries ask them to check the bag for added ingredients..... Also if the fries are seasoned?

[lpellegr]

Ask lots of questions. Like Mamaw says, is the fryer dedicated? And if your teenage server looks confused, ask: is anything else cooked in the same oil as the fries, or is it nothing but potatoes going into that fryer? If they say, yes, onion rings or chicken fingers go into that fryer, then no, you can't eat the fries. So if you find that the fryer is safe, then ask: is there any seasoning on the fries? Would it be possible for me to see the list of ingredients? If they can't answer or balk at going to the effort, then be safe and just skip the fries. But be sure to ask even at chains that are known to generally have dedicated fryers, like Chik-Fil-A or Red Robin, because an individual franchise could decide to do their own thing. And even when fryers are dedicated, I've read stories here about the oil from all of the fryers being filtered together at the end of the night and then divided, so the oil could still be contaminated. Eat fries at your own risk.

[kaygato]

Thanks you two, I'm still getting used to having to ask for ingredients and special menus in restaurants. I'd like to get to the point where I barely ever eat out, but i'm still getting in the habit of cooking for myself. I'm in college.

[xjrosie]

Just a tip, for checking the ingredients: if you know where you're going prior to leaving for the meal, check on that restaurant's website for the ingredients. Most of them do really good at listing ingredients, and some even have a checklist to show which allergens each product on their menu might have.

Then, when you go to the restaurant the only thing you will have to concern yourself with is whether the fryer is dedicated to potato products only or not.

[Skylark]

In sit-down restaurants, it's pretty unusual to have a dedicated fryer for french fries. It does happen in fast food - Burger King, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, and In-N-Out Burger come to mind as chains that typically have a fryer used only for potatoes. Take a look at the fried foods on the menu and if there are onion rings, fish and chips, chicken tenders, or other breaded foods on the menu, chances are very good that the fryers are not dedicated. Ask carefully about fryer CC before you order.