Salty Sow
Photograph: Courtesy Yelp/Karen L.
Photograph: Courtesy Yelp/Karen L.

The best French fries in America

Head to these spots for the best French fries in America, from crispy and salty spuds to delicious pommes frites

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Few cravings are as potent as those for French fries: those hot, crispy, salty potatoes that taste just as good all on their own as they do piled next to the best burgers in America. Invariably one of the most-ordered dishes at the best chain restaurants in America and definitely at eateries serving the best hangover food ever, we can’t resist these deep-fat-fried spuds. Here are the best French fries in America, from pommes frites to poutine and everything in between.

Best French fries in America

  • British
  • Flatiron
  • price 2 of 4
That crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside consistency is the litmus test of a good fry, but the famed “chips” at April Bloomfield’s Anglo gastropub take the standard to another level. The long russet fingers—first boiled and then deep-fried twice in a soy-canola-oil blend—have a creamy potato center encased in an impossibly crunchy, sea-salt-flecked shell. The crags of golden skin latch on to every drop of the thick cumin mayo that’s served on the side.
  • French
  • La Brea
  • price 3 of 4
République has garnered attention for its kimchi fried rice, its decadent pastries and its phenomenal charcuterie, but no dish has caused as much fawning over as their French fries. The thick cut strips fried in peanut oil arrive in an upright cone, like flowers jutting out from some kind of delicious, French fry-spawning garden. Dig in.
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  • Coffee shops
  • Minor
This solid Seattle bistro serves up dependable renditions of favorite French classics such as croque monsieurs, charcuterie boards and steak frites. The latter dish, as well as several other of the cafe’s specialties, is accompanied by excellent, crispy skin-on fries, twice-fried in the true French style.
  • North Beach
  • price 3 of 4

These are French fries for foodies with upscale palates. During Friday lunch (11:30am to 2:30pm) and weekly dinner service at this upscale North Beach spot—a week-capping tradition for a certain segment of the downtown tech set—the scent of truffle wafts across the dining room. The PT Fries are Instagram-famous, piled high in a brown paper cone. They're seasoned with herbs and Himalayan sea salt and served alongside a soft-boiled egg topped with caviar—just the right consistency for dipping—as well as truffle-infused aioli. It's the ideal high-low dish, especially when paired with a dry glass of wine, and is only available three hours each week, so plan ahead.

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  • French
  • Soho
  • price 3 of 4
In Gotham’s French fry kingdom, the golden rods from Keith McNally’s iconic Soho bistro have been a consistent contender for the throne, and for good reason. The russets are downright pampered—peeled, cut via a hand-cranked slicer, soaked in water overnight (to remove excess starch), blanched in peanut oil and then fried crisp to order. Dusted with imported French sea salt and served in a white paper cone alongside house-made mayo, the delicate, fluffy-centered frites prove that even a humble fry can be rendered elegant in the right hands.
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  • Powderhorn

This Korean-American gastropub plates off-the-wall fusion dishes featuring flavors you’d never dream of putting together—until you try them and, suddenly, everything makes perfect sense. As a side dish to your kimchi fried rice with pickled jalapenos or your red curry chicken chimichanga, don’t forget to place an order of the simple-but-perfect French fries, hot, salty and served with a spicy kimchi aioli.

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  • Freret

This wildly creative NOLA hot dog joint steers clear of ordinary franks, toppings its weiners, variously, with crawfish etoufee, hummus, blackberry sauce and more. As is to be expected, then, its fries are also insane in the best of ways: the “WTF” or “White Trash Fries” version goes nacho-style, topping thin, crisp, highly seasoned spuds with chili, cheese, guacamole, onions, jalapeno, tomatoes and sour cream.

  • W Laurel Studios
This fried chicken joint elevates the humble bird, making it the juicy, crispy star of playful sandwiches like the Firebird (with ranch dressing and crispy onions) and the Coop Deville (with pickled chiles and lime mayo). On the side, an order of spuds fried in schmaltz—that’s rendered chicken fat, for you goys out there—is a must: crispy, salty and deeply savory, they’re highly addictive.
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