F is for French Fries

Ahh, those delicious, deep fried potato pieces. Food of the gods.

But I didn't always feel that way. For most of my life, I could take or leave French fries-that is until I was pregnant with Wally and had a taste change. They became wonderful. I remember the exact time I discovered their appeal. Ward and I were eating at a hamburger grill in New Orleans.  I'm not sure what I ordered, but Ward ordered his eternal favorite of a burger and fries. I tried a few fries from his plate and they were GOOD. And I then had a few more. After that, I was trying fries everywhere we went and they were no longer, blah.* They were delicious.

Here I am decades later and I'm still loving the fries I'm eating off of Ward's plate. When you think about it, what's not to like? A delicious dose of starch, fat, and salt that is good for dipping in all matter of things. Of course, nothing can beat the classic dip of ketchup which adds a little tang and sweetness to the flavor mix. In my opinion, the best fries are extra crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside and well drained without too much oil. For commercial fries, McDonald's wins not only in my rankings but in many other public polls. However, don't make the mistake I did of reading their ingredients. McDonald's used to fry them in beef tallow, but to make them truly vegetarian, they now use a combination of spices and chemicals to give them that taste. News that took away my innocence which believed that fries really were just made from potatoes, oil, and salt. While I find that discouraging, I still manage to eat a few McDonald's fries then and again. :)

But here's the burning question in all of this. Do you capitalize the word French in the phrase, french fries? According to Grammar Girl, french stays lower case because it relates to a kind of cut, not necessarily where they came from. However, she sites several sources and there is not total agreement among them. So, I will continue to do what I do now. Be unsure and capitalize randomly. What do you do?

*This was after my 5 month run of only popcicles, saltines, and boiled chicken breasts.