Fries are the go-to side for almost every fast food meal. There are 16,334 fast food restaurants in Florida alone and all of them serve fries. The average American eats 30 pounds of french fries every year and high school students probably eat more than that. Fries are so popular that there are many different kinds, varying in size, shape and what they are topped with.

In search of Oviedo’s best fast food restaurants for fries, I ordered fries from six different fast food restaurants. I got a medium fry from each place to see the difference in serving amount.

McDonald’s

1605 E Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765

McDonald’s is the O.G. fry, and while they’re good, some of the ones I ordered were quite dry. There were a few soft ones here and there, but the majority of them were a little crunchy. I feel like a little more salt would have made it better, but I like my food extra salty, so for an average person, the saltiness would have been perfect. The fries were pretty good for its price, and on the app you can get a free medium fry with any purchase over $1 on Fridays. Without the app, an order of medium fries costs $1.50-$2 depending on the location. I rated these a 7/10

Arby’s

951 Lockwood Blvd, Oviedo, FL 32765

I would rate these fries a  6/10. Arby’s is known for its roast beef sandwiches and curly fries, but they also have a wide variety of food, including both straight and curly fries. I had the curly fries, because it made  Arby’s stand out from other places. Again, I like saltier foods so I would prefer saltier fries and the Arby’s fries did not have much salt. Majority of them were soft, which is better than crunchy fries. For a medium, it costs $3.99, and honestly McDonald’s was better for cheaper.

Wingstop

12014 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32826

I would give Wingstop a 3/10. I do not know if it was just this time, but the fries were nasty. They were dry and their fry seasoning tasted just horrible. I think they would have been much better if I got to try it with Wingstop’s famous ranch, but I did not try any sauces in order to get an accurate taste of the fry by itself. The only reason why I did not give it a lower rating is because I did not throw up, plus I have had their fries before and they were okay. It is not worth the $3.79.

Chick fil-A

32 E Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765

I would give these fries a 5/10. I liked how they have a unique shape like Arby’s that made them stand out. Most people would eat these fries with Chick-fil-a sauce, but the fry is the main part so I am grading it based on the taste without the famous sauce. The saltiness was also good and they were soft. However, they make my throat dry. I don’t enjoy eating fries that are dry because I don’t want to keep drinking water over and over again, and I don’t think anyone would want to either. For $2.55, however, they are pretty good for their cheap price.

Wendy’s

90 W Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765

I would rate this a 6/10–they have a decent amount of flavor, but not much salt. The fries are not dry, and they have a slightly crunchy outer layer. I thought these were really good considering they cost only $1.79. They were the cheapest fries on the list, but unfortunately, they tasted like it.

I would have rated them higher if they had some uniqueness to them, but they are straight up basic fries and do not have the same street cred as McDonald’s. 

Popeyes

230 W Mitchell Hammock Rd, Oviedo, FL 32765

I would rate these fries at 10/10! I really liked that it was not a basic fry.  It had a little bit of Cajun flavor to it, which makes it completely stand out from the other fries because at the end of the day, they are all fries and  taste somewhat similar. It had the perfect amount of salt and was not super crunchy or soft, making it the perfect in-between. Although it does not have a unique shape or texture, I still loved it. Even though it is the most expensive option out of all of them, I would say it is worth $4.97.

All the fries I got matched with their price, except Wingstop. People can not expect to get great fries for a cheap price. Although these were not the greatest fries in the world, and other restaurants have way better ones, you can’t expect much for cheap fries. Who really is willing to pay $5+ for some good fries?