Funny. I tend to think of super thin fries as an American thing. Fries from McDonald's, in particular, taste like cardboard to me.
Then again, I'm Belgian.
If you can access this 30 min radio programme from the BBC about chips (from June 2010), you might find it interesting. It features a segment on Belgian fries
"In Belgium the oven chip hasn't caught on. Instead friterie shops proliferate, and Belgians take their chips very seriously. How the potato arrived in Europe remains contentious, but the Belgians are confident that it was them, and not the French, who invented the "French" fry. Ray Kershaw visited the Friet Museum in Bruges established to celebrate their national fry with director Eddie Van Belle."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sqkgb (segment starts at 18:33 seconds)
Just a wink to the ridiculous conflict that goes on between French-speaking-Belgians and the Dutch-speaking-Belgians, now for years.
If you called them that in Belgium I bet you would cause a riot. ;-)
Slightly thicker (square) fries are just called fries (patat): http://i.imgur.com/tui5FDe.jpg. These are served most often.
The big rectangular fries are referred to as Flemish fries (vlaamse frieten): http://i.imgur.com/QDwv9IA.jpg.
Anyway, in Belgium people still use beef fat for the perfect fries.
Anyway, still appreciate the article, it just started with the wrong premises.
If nothing else, I appreciate that the author laid out his criteria for selection, and didn't just jump straight into it.
That's a pretty decent acknowledgement that other perspectives exist.
So, last time this article came up on HN I generously filed it under "maybe fries in fast food chains in the US are different than fries in US fast food chains everywhere else".
Everytime I go back to a McDonalds in Canada I find the food just tastes better. It's still fast food, but I'm enjoying it so much more.
They say that McDonald's adapt their recipes to the taste of the country they're in, which these anecdotal observations would support :)
It's a shame we don't have 5 Guys though...
There's actually a second type of American fries that I think is somewhat better than the ones at McDonald's. They're called Cajun fries [1]. They're made in an oven and are a bit spicy. You can get them at cheap fast food places like Checkers or fancier hamburger places like Five Guys.
[1] http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/cajun-oven-fr...!
"my thick-cut pub-style fries are super-potatoey and fantastic, and when I'm in the mood for them, my seasoned steak fries can't be beat, but for thin, super-crisp fries..."
The "taste like cardboard" is probably because McDonalds no longer fries in beef tallow.
I've had lots of wonderful french fries in the US -- and none was in a McDonalds (or Burger King, or Jack in The Box, or Arbies, or ...).