Our favorite fries

French-fry pride is bubbling up in restaurants all over the Lowcountry. When it comes to french fries, these kitchens take nothing for granted.

Take La Fourchette, a French bistro on King Street. Its hand-cut pommes frites are double fried in duck fat and served with a Dijon mustard and mayonnaise dipping sauce.

Sound over the top? Oui, they are.

It's not just the duck fat, which gives the fries a hint of meaty flavor. It's in the sugar-to-starch ratio and the "aging" of the potatoes.

"We've spent a lot of time talking about this," says Kyle Yarbrough, one of the three cooks at the restaurant. "Knowing that much about potatoes is kinda weird."

La Fourchette's potato of choice, after much experimentation, is Idaho Russet Burbank. But the kitchen also takes an extra step, letting the potatoes sit at room temperature for five days to a week until they sprout eyes.

In that time, explains Yarbrough, the sugars start converting into starch. "We want that because if there's too much sugar, they'll become dark before they become crispy" during frying.

(For the record, french fries are named for a technique, not because they originated in France. "Frenching" means cutting something into lengthwise strips.)

At Carolina's restaurant on Exchange Street, a house specialty is the Truffled Parmesan Fries. They're tossed with truffle oil, pieces of crispy arugula and grated parmesan cheese.

The unusual combination was a collective idea, says executive chef Jeremiah Bacon. The truffle oil lends a bit of an earthy flavor, the arugula, a peppery bite, and the cheese, a nutty sharpness.

"We sell the fool out of them. They're addictive," he says.

But upscale restaurants aren't the only places where the fries have a following of their own. Aficionados point to The Five Guys chain, where 50-pound bags of Idaho-grown potatoes are stacked up in the dining area, a visual cue for freshly made.

"The chefs of Charleston eat at my restaurant," boasts local franchisee Sean Moore.

Offered in regular sea-salted or Cajun flavors, Five Guys' fries are hand-cut, washed twice and double-fried in peanut oil.

"What you get is what we call a translucent, which is hard and crispy on the outside, but when you snap it you see the starch is nice and flaky, not overly cooked," says Moore.

Double-frying is the industry standard for good fries: the first frying at a lower temperature cooks the potato through, the second frying is done at a higher temperature, right before serving, to crisp the outside.

While Russet Burbanks also seem to be the standard preference, at least one restaurant has found a niche with sweet potatoes.

"We're very proud of them," says Jenna Monogan, a chef at Sesame Burgers & Beer in North Charleston. "They're often more popular than the regular fries."

In this case, she says, the trick is not letting the sweet potatoes become too brown because the sugars will overcaramelize and taste burned.

"We want them to be bright orange, beautiful and delicious."

Restaurants are discovering that a reputation for good fries is making them a destination.

At Perfectly Frank's in Summerville, the fries are sprinkled with sea salt and sprayed with a light mist of malt vinegar. Owner Perry Cuda says they're the most popular item on the menu.

"It's really weird, but in the last two weeks, we've had people come specifically to eat the fries — people from James Island."

"There are certain people that are fanatical, who come in only to eat fries," echoes Sarah O'Kelley, an owner of The Glass Onion west of the Ashley. "It's amazing how many are on a french-fry odyssey."

"French fries. I love them. Some people are chocolate and sweets people. I love french fries. That and caviar."

— Actress Cameron Diaz

Between restaurant critic Deidre Schipani, Lunch Counter reviewer Rob Young, The Post and Courier staff and local foodies, here are our picks for the best fries in the Charleston area. (Specialty fries described.)

--Blind Tiger Pub, 38 Broad St.

--Five Guys (multiple locations).

--Glass Onion, 1219 Savannah Highway, West Ashley (fries with bearnaise sauce).

--Jack's Cosmic Cafe, 2805 U.S. Highway 17, Mount Pleasant.

--La Fourchette, 432 King St. (fries doubled fried in duck fat).

--Perfectly Frank's, 119 W. Doty Ave., Summerville (with sea salt and malt vinegar).

--Poe's Tavern, 2210 Middle St., Sullivan's Island.

--Raval, 453 King St. (patatas bravas, rectangular puffs of fried potatoes served with aioli).

--39 Rue de Jean, 39 John St.

--Sesame Burgers & Beer, 4726 Spruill Ave., North Charleston (French fried sweet potatoes).

--Vickery's, 15 Beaufain St., Charleston; 1313 Shrimp Boat Lane on Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant (fries with pepper gravy).

Teresa Taylor is the food editor. Reach her at food@postandcourier.com or 937-4886.