What would a Chicago-style hot dog or a gyro or a burger be without a side of fries? Just meat on bread, that’s what. This week we asked ourselves what our favorite french fries in Chicago were. And we answered ourselves.

Lauren says:

Easy, Riverview Tavern on Roscoe and Damen. Their fries are a meal. They come out in a giant basket and are falling over the edges. Not only are they fresh and potato-ey (which is saying a lot, most french fries completely lose their potato taste) but they also use a super yummy blend of spices on them. I am a big believer in the fact that Ranch dressing makes everything better, so I always order mine with a side of Ranch. The combination of Ranch and the seasonings on the fries make them taste EXACTLY like sour cream and cheddar Ruffles. Which is a great thing in my book.

Nikkos says:

While I know the humble french fry (or “freedom fry” for you goosesteppers out there) elicits loyalty hitherto unknown to other such humble foodstuffs, I must come clean and admit my heresy – I don’t have a favorite fry – they are all pretty much the same to me.

Although I could nominate a few contenders for the worst fry in the city – in general, I find the fries at the authentic Chicago hot dog stands to be the worst fries. Yes, they fry them up when you order as opposed to leaving them under a heat lamp a la McDonald’s, but the trade off is that they are usually rushing to fill orders so the fries you get are often undercooked. But in my experience the worst is Underdogg, whose fries set the bar for greasy, limp and half-cooked. However, the disappointment with the fries is more than compensated for by the wonderful tacos.

Fuzzy says:

I can’t pick just one! Chicago is a town full of excellent fries. I think I can narrow myself down to a best fry in three different categories of fries:

Hopleaf serves great Belgian-style frites — thin and crispy and with a side of aioli. Erica usually gets the steamed mussels (the specialty of the house) and I dip my frites in the mussel juice — yum-city.

In regular ol’ fries it’s a lot harder to pick a favorite, but I just had really good fries (and a great Chicago-style dog) at Huey’s. And for something a little more exotic, whenever I can get over to Hot Doug’s on Fridays or Saturdays (damnit – why are their hours so short) for the Duck Fat Fries. They’re so… rich. (Damn… that’s two, in just one category.)

For big, fat chips (or steak fries, as we Americans would say) my hands-down favorite is the chips with curry sauce at Harrigan’s. The chips are crispy on the outside (far too many steak fries are mushy and undercooked) and the curry is mild but full of flavor. Harrigan’s is a cozy little bar, but their food comes from the steak house two doors down and is excellent. They’ve got the best ribeye sandwich I’ve ever tasted, and the last time we were there Erica invented dipping the ribeye in the curry sauce. Wow! Taste explosion.

Fuzzy’s friend Ben says:

The best fries I’ve had in Chicago are the waffles fries cooked in canola oil at Jubilee Juice (the Jube, to those in the know). Mmmmmmmmm. The rest of the food is great, but just a little pricey for a lunch place.

Tankboy says:

Okay, this is the lamest response ever, but hands-down my favorite French Fries are the ones served at McDonalds. Awful, huh? What can I say. They’re everything a fry should be?

However since I gave up going to McDonalds months ago I guess I’ll say that my current local favorite French Fries get served up at Leona’s. At least they were good last time I was there. They keep changing their recipes though so I don’t know how true it is now.

And can I give my vote for worst fries in the city? I can! Thanks. That award goes to The Twisted Spoke. Incidentally, for the price, they pretty much just have the worst food in the city.

What’s a favorite without it’s nemesis? You need the dark to make the light brighter. Okay, I’m going to stop now…

Officer Gleason says:

My Favorite Chicago Fries are Clark Dog‘s Chili Cheeze Fries. I’m not a big fan of french fries, but there is something about those chili cheeze fries that keep calling to me…

Clark Dog
3120 N Clark
773-281-6690

Harrigan’s
2816 N Halsted
773-248-5933

Hopleaf
5148 N Clark
773-334-9851

Hot Doug’s
3324 N California
773-279-9550

Huey’s Hotdogs
1507 W Balmoral
773-293-4800

Jubilee Juice
140 N Halsted
312-491-8500

Leona’s
10 Chicago, 6 suburban locations

McDonalds
125 Chicago, a bizillion suburban locations

Riverview Tavern
1958 W Roscoe
773-248-9523

The Twisted Spoke
501 N Ogden
312-666-1500
&
3365 N Clark
773-525-5300

Underdogg
1570 1/2 N Damen
773-384-4030