Bag Fries

I try to stay away from fast foods as much as possible. But I'll be damned if I don't get a hankering for some McNuggets every now and then. And what is a trip to your local fast food restaurant (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's..pick your poison) without fries to compliment your main dish? McDonald's has long been the torch bearer of fry taste, but BK and Wendy's have followed close behind as both have made some changes to their recipe to make the taste more comparable. Alas, I am not here to talk about taste. Reaching a definitive settlement to that debate is just as difficult as determining if Biggie was better than Tupac. Or vice versa. At the end of the day, it's all about what you prefer. But no matter who you choose as your favorite processed food factory, you can always appreciate a phenomenon known as bag fries.

Bag fries (aside from being little miracles) are the by-product of fast food employees' haste in bagging orders. When you have several people in line or in the drive-thru, there is absolutely no time to ensure safe placement of fries in the bag. Often, your entire order is bagged into an inappropriately-sized bag. However, since fries are typically served in a very awkwardly-shaped container, they don't really settle into any bag properly, regardless of size. Consequently, bag fries are especially prominent during the lunch or dinner rush (sad that there is even such a thing for any of these restaurants, but I digress).

Today during lunch I made a trip to Burger King. Against the wishes of my girlfriend, or anyone who cares about my health and well-being for that matter, I decided to indulge. Two bacon cheeseburgers and a "Value Fry." I ate what I thought was all my fries in the car on the trip back, but the burgers made it back up to my desk. But soft, what is this at the bottom of my grease-soaked bag? More fries! Despite being colder and not quite as crispy, these fries tasted better than the hot ones. Because they were unexpected. Money won is twice as sweet as money earned, right? I know I'll pay for it later, but in the dimly-lit environment that is my job, these little bastards definitely brought some sunshine my way. Here's to precariously-placed fries.

I've learned to appreciate the little things in life.