The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
The one thing that can really make or break any fast food meal is the quality of its French fries.
If you're a real fry lover, you might be wondering where you can get the best fast-food fries in Canada.
To answer that question, I went out on a journey to try French fries from some of Canada's top fast-food chains to see who does it best.
I got an order of those crispy, salty snacks from McDonald's, A&W, Wendy's, and Popeyes to see who makes the best hot potato stick.
The twist? I didn't have any with ketchup. I did this because ketchup just takes over the taste of everything it touches and I wanted to see what these fries were bringing to the table a la carte.
And, I found out that the best one really, really surprised me.
Wendy's
A box of Wendy's fries.
Price: $2.59
These fries kind of fell in-between McDonald's thin version and the thicker ones you see at other restaurants.
I found that they weren't all that salted and that they weren't really thought about other than as a means to scoop up ketchup.
While at the end of the day, they weren't bad by any means, they didn't live up to the level of some of the great things you can get at Wendy's.
Score: 2/5
McDonald's
A bag of McDonald's fries.
Price: $2.49
For many these are considered the gold standard of fast-food French fries, and, I thought I was going to come to the same conclusion.
While these fries were well-salted and the thin construction offered a good bite, they simply did not keep well.
In fact, they were like a ticking time bomb! In just about 10 to 15 minutes, my fries got very cold and soggy while others held up way better.
While ultimately good, that degradation did take some points off.
3/5
A&W
A&W fries.
Price: $3.49
I've come out in the past about how much I love A&W and these fries were no exception.
While they weren't as well-salted as the McDonald's fries, they didn't have that funky after-taste that many other ones have.
In fact, they were some of the only French fries that truly tasted as if they came from a real potato. They were crispy and fluffy and held up way better than everything else, even after being bagged up for long.
What holds these back is the price. It was nearly a whole dollar more! And while good, there are days where I'd very much rather just save the dollar and go somewhere else.
Score: 3.5/5
Popeyes
A bag of Popeyes fries.
Price: $2.79
These were the biggest surprise.
Of course, Popeyes is world-famous for its chicken, but I must say I was blown away by their fries.
This was my first time having them so I might be a bit late to the game, but I ordered the dish and was given a packet of Cajun fries.
They were delightfully crispy and perfectly salty. But what made them really stand out was the cajun spice seasoning that coated them and made them taste amazing.
I finished my bag and kicked myself for not getting more!
Score: 5/5
Now you know where you can get the best French fries in Canada.
Meanwhile, I also looked into what fast food chain serves the best coffee, poutine and breakfast sandwiches, and there were also some surprises there.
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