French Fry Diary 25: Milkshakes and Fries

My friends know this about me and most of them are used to it, but some are still a little grossed out, but for at least a couple decades before the idea of French Fry Diary ever popped into my head – I have been dipping French fries in milkshakes.

It began at McDonald’s where both the fries and the shakes are remarkable. But I suppose it goes back before that to dipping Oreos or chocolate chip cookies in milk, or dipping potato chips or pretzels into ice cream. It’s just a natural progression. The best combination would be the old Burger King fries with the BK black and white shake, but alas, the new BK fries just aren’t the same. Black and white shakes work best in my opinion, then chocolate, vanilla not so much, and strawberry not at all.

Speaking of the BK black and white shake, one of my favorite things, and folks will find this disgusting, is to dip my burger in the shake and eat it bite by bite, dip by dip. And yes, it’s a plain burger so there’s no debris. Yep, I know, disgusting, but I love it. I also like putting fries on the burger itself, and on that I know I’m not alone. And I bet there are folks out there with worse combinations. After all somebody is eating those poutine fries, right?

After surfing the web recently I found that I’m not alone, at least with fries. Extreme John says in his review of Whataburger:

“French Fries are one of my all time favorite foods, I have a deep deep love for crispy French fries. Whenever I go to Wendy’s or any place that has a chocolate shakes or a Frosty type of thing I will always dip my fries in it.”

See? I’m not crazy. Well, with the fries in the shake at least… And yes, Wendy’s fries dipped in a Frosty is epic win as well.

In a more recent blog entry, John even gives direction on how the Wendy’s operation is done:

“How to dip Wendy’s Fries into a Wendy’s Frosty

“Yes, folks, it as simple as it sounds, you head to your local Wendy’s and order whatever your Wendy’s favorite might be, you can even get a salad if you want to. However if you do get a salad today will be a naughty salad day for you, you will also need to order Wendy’s French Fries and at the very least a small Wendy’s Frosty.

“As you sit back and finish up your salad, hamburger or baked potato make sure you save room for the tasty treat your about to deliver to your deserving tongue. Grab a bunch of French fries and keep them close together, use the French fries the same way you would use a spoon and scoop up some of your Chocolate or Vanilla Frosty, deliver to mouth and repeat. I tried this little combination with the new Wendy’s Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty just the other day, that wasn’t working as well as the traditional chocolate Frosty for this purpose.”

While I don’t agree with the method (single fries work just as well), he’s got it dead on about the flavor – the chocolate Frosty is best for fries.

Extreme John continues from his Whataburger review, “I also love “Disco Fries” or “Jersey Fries,” which are French fries with American cheese on them, add side of brown gravy and you have “Disco Fries” or “Jersey Fries”. The fries at Whataburger were fresh, not coated in grease and perfectly crunchy, dipped into the chocolate shake I ordered they were perfect.”

Now while as a native New Jerseyan, and a French fry fanatic, I had never before heard the term “Jersey Fries” (might be a north Jersey/south Jersey thing), I trust and respect Extreme John’s opinions. So much so, that until I get a chance to visit the southern-based chain Whataburger, enjoy Extreme John’s review here.



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