EXCLUSIVE: Chak's Review of McDonald's Gilroy Garlic Fries

(NOTE: Commercial use of this article without permission is strictly prohibited - details in the Remarks section located at the end of this article.)

The southern part of Santa Clara County is home to the majority of a special herb made in the United States. That, of course, is garlic. Yes, many people know about Gordon Biersch that invented the original garlic fries. This is probably why Gilroy has it's famous Garlic Festival each July. Then, I have heard from various anchors that McDonald's is having it's version of the garlic fries, of which there were reports that the garlic does come from Gilroy. People from all over the United States have wanted to try one of the Garlic fries at McDonald's, so I decided to check it out and see for myself. In an exclusive investigative blog, I have my review of the McDonald's version of the garlic fries despite that the garlic fries were sold out in just a few days. Reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle to the Mercury News have watched this development.

But the question is on whether the garlic fries made at McDonald's made the grade in my taste test. I went to a McDonald's at the San Carlos Street location (one of four in Silicon Valley and one of three in San Jose) to find out for myself. While I also ordered a couple of cheap burgers to go along with the fries, although the burgers are not used for this blog.

When I looked at the garlic fries, the fries and garlic are definitely cooked. The fries itself resemble a typical McDonald's french fries. The fries do look appetizing, but what about the taste itself? When I took my first bite into the McDonald's version of the Garlic Fries, the fries was certainly tasty, but not the garlic mix and parsley they put into the fries. I felt that while the fries itself was the same as a typical McDonald's regular fries, the garlic mix that McDonald's used was rather a bit cheap, with a bit of an off-garlic taste. I also barely felt the parsley as well - they were at least fresh to my taste buds. The garlic mix is not made the same way as most people would make.

Gordon Biersch, a brewery that is based in San Jose, was behind the invention of the Garlic Fries that is renowned to be world famous. Dan Gordon first invented the Garlic Fries back in 1994 when the fries were first introduced at the former Candlestick Park in San Francisco - that signature dish quickly became a hit among people. The real garlic fries consists of potatoes, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and vegetable oil. Olive oil can't be used during frying as their smoke point is lower than most vegetable oils. The garlic is cooked partially so that people could taste and smell the garlic aroma.

The next thing to watch is the ingredients - I put my own estimates as to what ingredients were used in the overall mix, as McDonald's is not able to reveal the exact percentage. According to the Mercury News, the ingredients used in the mix included garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and salt. In contrast to the original Gordon Biersch version - which many do use for making garlic fries, the McDonald's version seems to be using more affordable versions of their ingredients, and replacing black pepper with Parmesan cheese.

To my personal taste buds, there was little or no olive oil. I personally felt that the olive oil accounted for only 10% of the overall vegetable oils used (the rest is vegetable oil) and about 15% for the mix overall. Parmesan cheese to me accounted for 30% of the total ingredients used, as that ingredient overpowered the olive oil that I tasted. As I barely felt the parsley in my taste, I put the parsley at about 15%. The chopped garlic to me was fully cooked and accounted for only 30%, while salt counts the remaining 10%. In comparison, Gordon Biersch's original garlic fries mix for my estimates only has partially cooked garlic (50%), parsley (20%), olive oil (15%), salt (10%), and black pepper (5%). Note that Parmesan cheese was never used in the original garlic fries, despite the small drizzle of olive oil. Furthermore, Gordon Biersch's garlic fries never contain any additional ingredients - the ingredients are very straightforward and the company - known for it's beer brewing in San Jose - is very honest about their commitment to not have unnecessary ingredients.

My consensus is that while the McDonald's version of the Gilroy Garlic Fries may be not as appetizing as the original Gordon Biersch's version due to the added Parmesan cheese. I felt that the Parmesan cheese was unnecessary to add in my attempt to feel the real garlic taste, which was barely noticeable. Those with any diary concerns should be advised - the McDonald's version may not be suitable for those people. However, despite the downsides to my take, McDonald's version of the Gilroy Garlic Fries barely made the grade. However, it's a cheap option for those who can't afford the original garlic fries.

CHAK'S SCORE - MCDONALD'S GARLIC FRENCH FRIES


Fries: 7.5/10
Garlic Mix: 6.5/10
OVERALL: 7.0/10 (C-)

Chak's Grading - Score is out of 10:
A = 9.0 to 10
B = 8.0 to 8.9
C = 7.0 to 7.9
D = 6.0 to 6.9
F = 0 to 5.9

Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak
#OnlyOnKyle

IMPORTANT REMARK(S):

1. The picture in the article is taken by the original author of the blog showcasing the McDonald's version of the Garlic Fries at the San Carlos Street location, and is the property of the blogger.

2. This article can ONLY be shared with permission of the original author if the article is used for any commercial purposes - including newspapers, radio, television, etc. For any inquiries, please e-mail the blogger at the e-mail address shown in this article. THE REPRODUCTION, RETRANSMISSION, OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL USE OF THIS ARTICLE WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR OF THE BLOG IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.