The best French fries in America

République has garnered attention for its kimchi fried rice, its decadent pastries and its phenomenal charcuterie, but no dish has caused as much fawning over as their French fries. The thick cut strips fried in peanut oil arrive in an upright cone, like flowers jutting out from some kind of delicious, French fry-spawning garden. Dig in.

This solid Seattle bistro serves up dependable renditions of favorite French classics such as croque monsieurs, charcuterie boards and steak frites. The latter dish, as well as several other of the cafe’s specialties, is accompanied by excellent, crispy skin-on fries, twice-fried in the true French style.

These are French fries for foodies with upscale palates. During Friday lunch (11:30am to 2:30pm) and weekly dinner service at this upscale North Beach spot—a week-capping tradition for a certain segment of the downtown tech set—the scent of truffle wafts across the dining room. The PT Fries are Instagram-famous, piled high in a brown paper cone. They're seasoned with herbs and Himalayan sea salt and served alongside a soft-boiled egg topped with caviar—just the right consistency for dipping—as well as truffle-infused aioli. It's the ideal high-low dish, especially when paired with a dry glass of wine, and is only available three hours each week, so plan ahead.

This gastropub—with an additional location in Scottsdale, Arizona—triple-fries it luxurious spuds in umami-rich duck fat, then tops them with two golden-yolked 110-degree sous vide eggs. As if that weren’t enough richness, the fries are served with a silky side of cold, buttery béarnaise sauce for dipping.

This rustic tavern serving local, seasonal fare is beloved by Detroiters for its take on Canadian poutine: crispy fries smothered in mushroom gravy, scattered with melty cheese curds and topped with a rich sunny-side-up duck egg.

This Korean-American gastropub plates off-the-wall fusion dishes featuring flavors you’d never dream of putting together—until you try them and, suddenly, everything makes perfect sense. As a side dish to your kimchi fried rice with pickled jalapenos or your red curry chicken chimichanga, don’t forget to place an order of the simple-but-perfect French fries, hot, salty and served with a spicy kimchi aioli.

This wildly creative NOLA hot dog joint steers clear of ordinary franks, toppings its weiners, variously, with crawfish etoufee, hummus, blackberry sauce and more. As is to be expected, then, its fries are also insane in the best of ways: the “WTF” or “White Trash Fries” version goes nacho-style, topping thin, crisp, highly seasoned spuds with chili, cheese, guacamole, onions, jalapeno, tomatoes and sour cream.

This fried chicken joint elevates the humble bird, making it the juicy, crispy star of playful sandwiches like the Firebird (with ranch dressing and crispy onions) and the Coop Deville (with pickled chiles and lime mayo). On the side, an order of spuds fried in schmaltz—that’s rendered chicken fat, for you goys out there—is a must: crispy, salty and deeply savory, they’re highly addictive.