The Shoestring Fry is the Real MVP

Why the shoestring is the best type of french fry.

I spend much more time thinking about eating french fries than a well-adjusted person ever should, and every time I do, I’m eating the simplest and most dependable version of the fry: the shoestring.

Perhaps the phrase “simple and dependable” has come to carry a negative connotation, like what The Bachelorette says about the dude she’s definitely kicking off the show before fantasy suites, but hear me out: the shoestring is a classic. The point of the french fry is that it’s supposed to be the companion to the meal, not the meal itself, and this is what our good friend The Shoestring truly excels at. It’s skinny and manageable so you feel like you’re actually eating a fry and not just a straight-up hunk of pure potato (side-eyein’ you, Steak Fry Defender), and there are no heaping amounts of gravy and other overwhelming add-ons to dilute what’s there. The litheness of the fry itself also helps to not fill you up quite as quickly, and can trick you into believing it’s not as action-packed with calories and things that are very bad for you as some of the other, bigger fry options (this is a lie I have been telling myself for 27 years).

A true french fry doesn't need to be too much. It just needs to be an uncomplicated, perfectly salted and always delicious snack. It just needs to be the shoestring.