The Fast Food Ordering Trick You Need For Crispy Fries Every Time

Every fan of fast food will inevitably be confronted with the question: What is their ideal french fry? Now, beyond just thinking about the quality of the fries from each fast food chain, it is important to consider the fries' texture. It is a sad truth that many fast food fries are soft and limp. This can be an especially difficult reality for lovers of crispy fries to face. However, depending on where you're dining, you may be able to use a simple fast food ordering trick to ensure you receive crispy fries every time.

Ordering your fries well done should ensure that the restaurant hands over a bag filled with delicious, crispy french fries. That being said, some fast food restaurants are known for offering well-done fries while others aren't. Notably, most In-N-Out locations are likely to give you crispier fries if you ask for them. (This is one way to improve In-N-Out's terrible french fries.) Similarly, McDonald's has been known to grant this request to customers if they're willing to wait a bit longer to receive their meal. Beyond In-N-Out and McDonald's, however, things begin to get a bit less certain.

The problem with well-done fries is that receiving them often depends on the individual willingness of any given restaurant and its staff to fulfill the request. For example, while some locations of Chick-fil-A and Five Guys might cook your fries for longer if you ask them to, both chains have also been known to deny requests to do so. At Five Guys, customers have frequently been told that the way the chain makes its fries — which is via a double-frying system — cannot be adjusted to make fries more crispy. What's more, one Chick-fil-A worker explained that the additional time it takes to make well-done fries means it isn't worth the hassle. On Reddit, the worker wrote, "My store completely ruled it out [...] having to rule out an entire fryer for almost a minute just because a single person wants their fries/chicken extra crispy was just too much when we're already holding on fries/chicken during [the] lunch rush."

So, while it never hurts to ask, you won't always recieve well-done fries when you request them. As an alternative, you can always ask for fresh french fries, although they won't necessarily be more crispy. This is generally considered to be a request that restaurants will grant and, while not as good as crispy fries, fresh, soft fries are still better than old, soft fries.