Frenchie’s Super Fries

Address: 1145 Wellington St. W, Ottawa
Green factor: Compostable container for fries-only, but Styrofoam for burgers and poutine. Garbage and recycling bins on site.

In front of the RBC on Wellington at McCormick in Hintonburg, there’s a blue and yellow fixture of the neighbourhood: Frenchie’s Super Fries. I’ve walked by the colourful chip wagon many times, but it was only recently during the pandemic that I tried them out for the first time.

The menu is 90% standard chip wagon fare – fries, poutine, tubed meats of various forms, and burgers. The other 10% is comprised of a chicken burger, and a smart upselling option of being able to add bacon to anything for $2.

Since I had just finished some other food research (you can call stuffing your face “research” when it’s for your blog!), I didn’t have room for much, so I kept it to a small fries ($4.50).

I saw my fresh, hand-cut fries get dropped into the fryer, and I soon had my bag-o-fries in hand. Note that the “small” size is only relative to the other sizes available, and is a hefty dose of carbohydrates.

Frenchie’s fries were of medium thickness, comparable to in size to most chip wagons in the city, and were a lovely golden brown. The bigger fries had a pleasant contrast of the crisp exterior to a fluffy, potato-ey interior, while the smaller bites were 100% crunch. Were these fries “Super” with a capital “S”? Yes, yes they were!

Frenchie’s fry game is officially on point

On my second visit, I had both more time and an emptier belly, so my order grew to a cheeseburger ($7) and a small poutine ($6.75). Frenchie asked if I wanted fried onions on my burger, and that was an easy “yes”. Being the pandemic, you don’t have free reign of a toppings bar, so my requested toppings were limited to mustard and mayo, since he was out of pickles.

After a few minutes, I had my food in hand, and settled in at a nearby bench for my meal.

My burger was a good size, although the patty was from-frozen and as such a bit dense in texture. It did have a good sear on it though, and ticked the boxes on other burger fundamentals as well, with a toasted bun and ooey-gooey melted cheese. It may not be the best chip wagon burger out there, but it’s not the worst either.

When your socks match your meal *chef’s kiss*

The poutine was generously topped with cheese curds, which had the requisite squeak, and a noticeable cheese flavour to them, which isn’t always the case. I’d place the gravy in the middle ground of gravy darkness in Ottawa, and I enjoyed its richness and even hand with the salt.

Trying not to get cheese and gravy on my pants

When it comes to fries, Frenchie’s Super Fries has definitely earned that “super”, and with his spot-on service, Frenchie’s more than earned that spotless Mustang Shelby that he has parked in front of the truck.