6 Fast-Food Chains That Only Serve Freshly Cut Fries

You don’t have to be a fast-food fanatic to know that even the most mouthwatering, life-changing burger would be “just fine” without a great fry to back it up. And while most run-of-the-mill fast food joints don’t go out of their way to impress — tossing frozen, prepackaged fries from freezer to fryer — there are some chains that don’t treat fries as just a sidekick, a Robin to your Batman. Instead, they obsess over quality and serve fresh, hand-cut potatoes.

Here are six fast-food chains that serve fresh, hand-cut fries. 

California’s beloved burger joint prides itself on freshness — no freezers, no microwaves, and the most advanced gadget in the kitchen is the potato slicer for its fries. In-N-Out hand-cuts its spuds in-house and fries them in 100% sunflower oil right before your eyes. While that’s undeniably a health-conscious choice, public opinion doesn’t always agree. Many bash the chain’s fries as “garbage”and the worst item on an otherwise stellar menu. 

Food Critics like Los Angeles Times columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson ranked the fries as “the worst in America,” describing them as “bland, crumbly little matchsticks” that no amount of cheese, salt, or ketchup can save. Ouch. 

But even the most fast-food-averse Californian would come out of the woodwork to tell you: It’s not the fries, it’s you. You’ve just never had fresh ones before. According to In-N-Out regulars, a saving grace is ordering them well-done and Animal Style—loaded with melted cheese, grilled onions, and their iconic secret sauce. 

Others suggest ordering the fries "well done" to achieve a more desirable crispness.

Mooyah goes above and beyond to impress you with their fries. The Texas-born burger chain, hailed for its 100% beef patty, is as much committed to its fries.  

They use 100% Idaho potatoes, cut them in-house daily, and then put them through a “24-hour six-step process” that’s part science experiment, part fry meditation.  

Specifically, the fries are washed, cut, rinsed, agitated, and double-fried before you get them crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and impossible to stop eating.

Elevation Burger is probably not the first chain that comes to mind when you’re craving some good ol’ greasy, cholesterol-raising fries. That’s likely because this relatively small chain takes a healthier approach to the fry game. They serve gluten-free fries cooked in heart-healthy olive oil.

Unlike In-N-Out, Five Guys is another chain with a polarizing fry — dividing people into those who swear by their boardwalk-style spuds and those who dismiss them as an oversized, soggy mess. 

Opinions aside, Five Guys goes beyond opening a bag of frozen fries and tossing them into the deep fryer. They take their fry process seriously. The chain primarily uses premium Idaho potatoes, except during the two months when these potatoes are out of season and turn a little too soft. During that time, they switch to "gap potatoes" from Washington to maintain quality. 

Each potato is hand-cut and power-washed to remove excess starch (a faster alternative to soaking), ensuring a non-gummy texture. The fries are then double-fried in nonhydrogenated peanut oil, which imparts a subtle buttery flavor. The first fry cooks them through, followed by a 15-minute rest. The second fry delivers that perfect crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside texture. 

Hopdoddy’s mission since it first fired up the grill back in 2010 has been to elevate and raise the “burger bar.” And they stay true to this as much as a burger chain can. The chain serves organic and fresh ingredients for their hand-crafted burgers, which are especially popular in the South. But Hopdoddy’s pièce de résistance is definitely the fries, made from Chipperbec Potatoes — grown by sixth-generation potato farmers specifically for chips and French fries. New batches of fries are hand-cut every single day. 

The chain scored extra points with health enthusiasts last year when it announced it was ditching seed oil in favor of cooking oil from the eco-friendly Zero Acre Farms. It also offers a variety of flavor options, ranging from bougie truffle oil and Parmesan fries to some old-school “stick-to-your-ribs” flavors like nacho cheese. 

As a relatively small and new chain, BurgerFi is getting a lot of praise for serving honest-to-Joe good burgers accompanied by equally good fries. The chain prides itself on using "fresh cut from real spuds" — Russet potatoes cooked in peanut oil. They offer a variety of flavors, with "Urban Style" fries, which come with Parmesan, herbs, and truffle aioli, being one of the most favored. 

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