Only 8% Of People Think This Fast Food Chain Has The Best Fries

As the drive-thru attendant hands you your bag, and the delicious scent of fast food wafts through the car, it's almost irresistible to eat the meal right then and there. But you satiate your cravings for a moment by reaching into the bag and grabbing what might be the most important element of it all: a loose French fry.

Crunchy, curly, crispy, greasy, soggy. Waffle-cut, steak-size, or shoestring. There are a lot of factors to consider when evaluating a fast food restaurant's fries, but everyone agrees that the quality of this classic potato side dish can make or break the whole dining experience. In fact, fries are a staple of the American diet. According to National Geographic, the average American eats 29 pounds of them per year, which is equivalent to 77 orders of large fries at McDonald's.

With so much popularity, we knew Mashed readers would have a lot of opinions about which brand they liked best and those restaurants that didn't meet expectations. So, we commissioned a poll to get to the bottom of it.

After assessing the Mashed poll results, it's pretty clear which fast food chain is considered to have the best fries. More than 35,000 people from all over the world responded to the survey, choosing among Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's and "other," to see which one reigns supreme in the fry game. The most popular is no surprise with McDonald's sweeping the results as over half of respondents (59% to be exact) voted them the best, mirroring what's a common top pick among the general public. 

The second and third place winners were pretty neck-in-neck with Arby's nabbing 12% of the vote and Wendy's taking home 10%. An additional 11% didn't think any of these chains deserved the title of best fry, and commented on their "other" favorites. Many people spoke up for the fried options at sibling restaurants Checker's and Rally's, with one commenter stating that they are "the king of the fry heap." Five Guys was also mentioned as a strong contender. Of course some commenters mentioned smaller restaurants in their area of the world, and we can't argue with showing local pride.

But the restaurant in last place, with only 8% of respondents considering their fries to be the best, is a behemoth fast food chain. It turns out that most people don't think Burger King fries are that great. But in fact, BK's offering has never really taken off and has garnered comments ranging from "boring" to "soggy" as noted in this Mashed article. One person on Tiger Droppings even said they "taste like rubber." So maybe next time get your Whopper to-go and hit up McDonald's on your way home.