French Fry Diary 589: T.G.I. Friday's Loaded Fries

Now I love T.G.I. Fridays, so I know their menu fairly well, even though I don't get to go as often as I might like. And knowing their menu, I know that they don't really serve this item, T.G.I. Friday's Loaded Fries, in the restaurants. While they have a variety of French fry-like products, I don't think they even have crinkle cut French fries like these. Potato skins, yes, French fries, no. We'll forego that bit for now and review this frozen grocery treat as is.

These are very similar to the microwave fries I've reviewed before, the Ore-Ida Easy Fries. Same directions - cook 'em in the box, but then add the cheese and bacon. Other than having to melt the cheddar sauce in running warm water, this is a pretty easy prep.

The box comes with the same type of microwave box, and two packets, one with cheddar cheese sauce, and the other with shredded cheddar and American cheese, and bacon bits. There's a four minute plus fries cooking time then an additional minute with the toppings. The problem is you get a soggy box pan with the fries glued to the bottom with cheese.

Once you've pried the fries from the cheesy glue box, they're not bad. They don't have the crispness of the Ore-Ida Easy Fries, no matter how else they are close to them. I wonder if the size of the box (slightly bigger) or the additional cook time for the toppings has anything to do with that. These are not bad in a pinch, but I think it might be easier to do Easy Fries and apply your own toppings when they are hot from the microwave.