There’s something almost magical about french fries. Crisp, golden, piping hot and perfectly salted, they have a universal appeal that’s hard to resist. Whether they’re piled high next to a juicy burger, smothered in cheese and gravy, or enjoyed straight from the bag after a late-night drive-thru run, fries just make life a little better.
“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love french fries,” says Dave “Rev” Ciancio, who runs one of the world’s largest french fry–themed Instagram accounts, @funwithfries. He also notes that fries are the No. 1–selling item at his NYC burger restaurant, outselling his top burger four to one.
Why the obsession? “It’s probably because they have two things that people crave,” says Blake Lingle, founder of the Boise Fry Company (a chain of restaurants in Idaho), who quite literally wrote the book on fries: Fries! An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Favorite Food. “They’ve got a lot of salt, and they’ve got a lot of fat.” He also suspects there’s something deeper: Potatoes are one of the oldest cultivated crops, hearty enough to sustain entire civilizations. “Maybe there’s something in our DNA that says, I crave this.”
I’ll admit: I’m also a fan. I like them so much that I host an annual party called Fry Night, where (spoiler) we fry and eat lots of different items—including a couple of bags of frozen french fries—with a wide selection of dipping sauces. (We also drink a lot of bubbly to go along with the food, but that’s another story.)
So what makes the perfect fry?
That depends (like most things in life) on who you ask. Lingle believes they should be “definitely crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the hotter, the better.” Fun fact: Despite the name, french fries likely originated in Belgium, not France, and they were first deep-fried in the late 1600s.
But let’s be honest: There are so many types of fries out there, it can get confusing. Shapes can cross categories, and menu definitions may differ. For example, Lingle notes that straight log-shaped fries (the most common) range from delicate shoestrings to hefty steak fries, “and just about every person has a different sort of diameter that they’re using for those terms.”
We’re here to take away the confusion. With insights from Ciancio and Lingle, we’re creating a definitive guide to 12 of the most popular french fry styles—from everyday classics to regional specialties like Oregon’s beloved Jojos and New Jersey’s indulgent disco fries. Read on for all the delicious details.
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What are all the different types of french fries?
READER’S DIGEST
Here’s the lineup of all the different incarnations of french fries, starting with your basic french fry, then getting fancier, cheesier and wilder along the way.
Traditional/regular french fries
The classic, thin fry (about 1/4-inch thick) is golden and slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This is the McDonald’s-style fry. (The chain deserves credit for popularizing this width and style—and fries in general, Lingle writes in his book.) These fries are what most people picture when they hear “fries,” and even the emoji is modeled on them.
Traditional fries are usually served with ketchup (in the United States), mayonnaise (becoming more popular here) or fry sauce (a combo of the two, but may include other ingredients like mustard or spices). Ciancio, however, prefers to dip his fries in ranch dressing.
Shoestring fries
As the name suggests, these are super thin, almost delicate, square-cut fries that fry up extra crispy. They’re perfect for adding crunch to a chicken sandwich or burger, or for snacking on their own, with mayo, ketchup or aioli. These are the fries I want as part of a girl dinner with a Caesar salad and Diet Coke.
Crinkle-cut fries
Recognizable by their ridged edges, crinkle-cut fries are crispy and fun to eat. The wavy grooves (created by corrugated blades) help hold onto sauces, making them excellent for dips or cheese sauce. They were popularized in mid-20th-century America and are a staple in many school cafeterias, which is why Lingle thinks of them as “cafeteria fries.”
Waffle fries
Waffle fries are relatively flat and cut with a crisscross pattern, giving them extra surface area, and, says Lingle, “they’re fun for dipping.” They’re visually striking and hold onto toppings like seasonings, cheese and gravy exceptionally well.
According to Ciancio’s blog, waffle fries are created “by quarter-turning the potato before each next slide over a grate.” They are often breaded, coated and/or seasoned and can be found at fast-food chains like Chick-fil-A.
Curly fries
Twisty and seasoned, curly fries (popular at Arby’s and Jack in the Box) are a carnival of flavor. The spirals allow for a crispy exterior and soft interior; the twisty spring-like shape was designed to increase surface area for seasoning.
Speaking of seasonings, Ciancio believes that “if you have the right seasoning, you don’t need a dip.” He prefers a standard fry seasoning of salt, pepper, garlic and paprika, or just salt and pepper. At Lingle’s Boise Fry Company, customers can choose from a range of seasonings, from Cajun to garlic rosemary salt; sauce options include everything from garlic aioli to blueberry ketchup.
Cottage fries
These round, coin-shaped slices of potato are fried until golden and can either be flat or cut “using a corrugated slicer,” Ciancio writes on his blog. “Imagine Ruffles potato chips but thicker.” They’re often homemade, since they’re easy to cut with a mandoline. Cottage fries pair well with sandwiches.
Steak fries
Steak fries are square-cut and bigger than a regular cut (at least 1/2-inch thick), per Lingle’s book. “With heartier meals, you tend to see a little bit of a thicker cut,” he adds. Which is why this is the cut seen most often in steakhouses. They’re best enjoyed with steak sauce or ketchup.
Wedges
These are larger, wedge-shaped pieces of potato that offer a rustic, comforting fry experience—think apple slices. Sometimes breaded and often seasoned with garlic, paprika or herbs, wedges are perfect for pub-style meals and pair well with sour cream or spicy mayo.
Jojos
This kicked-up wedge fry is an Oregon staple. “A true Jojo is a potato wedge that’s been breaded, pressure fried and spiced,” says Paul Nicewonger, who claims that his father, Nick, a Flavor-Crisp pressure fryer salesman, invented the dish in the late 1950s or early ’60s.
Jojos are thick, battered and deep-fried potatoes—sometimes seasoned with paprika or herbs. They’re most often found in Pacific Northwest diners and pubs and are a true comfort-food classic. They’re best with ranch or ketchup and go perfectly with fried chicken.
Cheese fries
“No one can nail down the origin of cheese fries, but it’s believed to be linked to the creation of Cheez Whiz [in 1952],” Ciancio writes on his blog. Cheese fries can be basic (shoestrings smothered with melted cheddar) or loaded with bacon, jalapeños and multiple cheeses. “It’s almost like nachos but with fries,” says Lingle.
Disco fries
A New Jersey institution, disco fries are usually topped with melted mozzarella and brown gravy, making them a perfect late-night indulgence. They are thought to have originated at the Tick Tock Diner (which is still open!) in Clifton, New Jersey. The name likely came about as the decadent dish gained popularity in the 1970s, when diner patrons scarfed them down after a night out at the disco; the cheese and gravy was thought to help stave off a hangover. Now, you can enjoy them any time of day as a snack or side dish.
Our neighbors to the north offer their own take on the dish. The beloved Canadian comfort food poutine also combines fries with hot brown gravy, but instead of mozzarella, it uses squeaky cheese curds.
French fry veggies
Broaden the definition, and fries become a whole category of crispy snacks, going even beyond the once-trendy sweet potato fries. “I’ve definitely seen a lot more vegetables being made into fries, like zucchini fries, avocado fries, Brussels sprouts and polenta,” says Lingle, whose restaurant serves a rotating seasonal “vegetable fry” option. Burger King even sells “chicken fries,” breaded strips of chicken shaped like french fries, which Ciancio calls “my new obsession.”
But French fries are more than just a side. They’re a cultural icon, a comfort food and, let’s be honest, one of life’s simple pleasures. Now go hit that drive-thru!
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About the experts
Dave “Rev” Ciancio is a hospitality marketing professional, restaurateur and content creator. He runs @funwithfries, the world’s largest french fry–themed Instagram account with more than 300,000 followers, and owns Handcraft Burgers & Brew in New York City, where fries outsell the top burger four-to-one. He was also among a small group of people to serve as a paid french fry ambassador for Lamb Weston, one of the leading frozen potato producers.
Blake Lingle is the founder of Boise Fry Company, a chain of restaurants in Idaho serving gourmet fries in a variety of potato types, cuts and seasonings, allowing customers to customize their fry experience. He’s also the author of Fries! An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Favorite Food.
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