Is it really that uncommon where you live to have mayonnaise with fries?
Despite it being an obvious, natural and inherently superior pairing?
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I prefer ranch dressing, but mayonnaise is pretty good too. I think that most of the people I know and have shared meals with usually get ranch dressing for their fries.
It’s never offered in the States. You have to ask for it specifically. We use ketchup.
No. I use tartar dip with French fries whenever possible.
Usually I only have ketchup.
I only encountered it in Belgium and Holland. Not in the States.
I’ve never even seen it done
When I worked at a burger joint I would wrap three fries with bacon and dip in mayonnaise. Was delicious.
Not uncommon in New England.
Never heard of it except here on fluther.
I’ve only had mayo (with an order of fries) offered to me abroad or on the east coast. Never been offered straight up mayo on the west coast. Though have had aioli as an option. (US)
I would like to point out though that the mayonnaise I’ve had abroad is way superior to the mayonnaise that you commonly get at your run-of-the-mill restaurant here.
I’d imagine some of the hardcore fries and mayo fans from abroad would take a pass on fries with American mayo.
@raum I haven’t seen it offered on the East Coast at all. Some Brit styled pubs will offer malt vinegar as an option.
It isn’t common but it isn’t unknown.
Mayonnaise is not all that popular in the US. My sister had a birthday party when she was 8, and my mom served something that the girls liked until my sister said, “my mom makes that with mayonnaise” which was met with a chorus of “ewwww”.
I sometimes use mayo with fries but I like fries with ranch dressing better.
That doesn’t happen here. Not openly, anyway.
@janbb You are probably more familiar with the east coast than I am. But I do remember being surprised at being offered mayo with my fries a few times while on a road trip along the east coast. Between that and a handful of trips to New York and Boston, definitely a limited impression of the east coast. :P
I do the majority of my dining out in either NY or CT and have not been offered mayo with fries for as far back as I can remember. Either ketchup is served with it, or there’s ketchup on the table in a casual setting like a diner. Sometimes people ask for fries with gravy (called “disco fries”) which I would find kind of gross but it’s not unpopular. I’m not a mayo fan so I would find it disgusting to be offered fries with mayo.
Ummm…I would love the option of gravy on my fries. Love me some poutine.
Nope, never heard of it. Sounds nasty. I use horseradish instead of mayo, generally.
Eww. Give me bbq sauce or ranch. Or cheese sauce!
God no, we do not allow such savage barbarism here. Fries get hot sauce or are perfectly fine on their own where civilized society exists.
When one of my grand daughters was about 18 months old she’d use a french fry as a means to convey ketchup to her mouth. Never ate a fry.
@Jonsblond Heck ya, cheese fries are the famous dish at Beef-Roo and even some restaurants. Haha!
Here fries need tartar sauce, catsup, or ranch sauce.
No one orders mayo.
Very uncommon. The only people I know who do it are Germans and people who lived in Germany.
I’m betting you don’t find it routinely served in any restaurant in the US. Maybe, possibly, could be, in places that have a large cluster of Germans like Frankenmuth, Michigan. I still doubt it.
Ranch dressing and tartar sauce basically use mayo as the base.
Not common in Virginia, though it’s not entirely unknown either. I could see this served at a hipster “gastropub” burger joint along with $15 beers or something like that…
As for mayo being the superior condiment, I’m not sure if you’ve ever had what they serve in the US, but I’m sure US commercial mayo is a far cry from the real thing with quality fresh eggs and oil.
@filmfann @JLeslie I’ll dip my chips in tartar sauce when I order fish and chips. But never offered with just fries. Is that really a thing?
@gorillapaws I think those hipster gastropubs call it aioli though. Usually housemade and not from a jar.
@ragingloli Would you consider aioli mayonnaise? What is the word that you use in Germany? Does it specifically require egg yolks? Or is it just a type of creamy emulsion from oil?
Just googled this. Apparently the difference between American mayo and German mayo is that German mayo has more acid (lemon or vinegar) and often mustard.
Which kind of makes sense why I like it more. When I make egg salad or potato salad, I always have to balance out the mayo-ness with mustard and a squeeze of lemon. Same with sandwiches. Mayo needs mustard and usually something pickled. IMO
I eat mayonnaise with fries. My family looks at me like I have problems but I do what I do >:)
Here we aren’t particular about what to eat with fries. They just put all the sauces there and let us choose.
@raum It’s not a thing. Not in the US. My only point was both tartar sauce and ranch were mentioned above and for jellies outside of the US they might have no idea what those are. @ragingloli tends to know an amazing amount of information about the US, but I would say he/she knows more than the average person, especially if they have never been here.
When I travel abroad one of the things that is easier for me in most countries is most of the house dressing on a salad won’t be creamy, most sandwiches won’t have some sort of creamy sauce. This is a constant annoyance living in the US, although it’s much more prevalent in the Deep South and Midwest.
Moreover, people like me who can’t fathom putting mayo even on a sandwich (with the exception of tuna fish or chicken salad) definitely aren’t dipping our fries in it, or anything close to it.
I think of German food as generally being heavy, although funny enough German potato salad is lighter than American potatoes salad, because they use more of a vinegar base, or at least the Germans in the US do. That might be regional in Germany. I don’t eat potato salad usually, because of the mayo. I have a really tough time at picnics and outdoor parties in the US in general. I know not to show up very hungry.
@raum If you are really interested in gravy over fries, consider going to Quebec and trying poutine.
It’s an abomination. It’s rare, but I HAVE seen it done. I’ve also seen ketchup on eggs and mayo on burgers. Just… why. WHY? These are not complimentary tastes. Mayo has it’s place. That place is on sandwiches and in tuna salad and things like that. It has no business on my fries.
The mayo on burger thing I’ve been told is more popular the further north you go, and is especially popular in the 51st state.
It’s European it seems. I do not indulge in it on either continent.
I eat ketchup on my eggs and mayo on my burger.
@raum We were served aioli and ketchup with fries in a restaurant in Sausalito a few weeks ago.
@Entropy What is the 51st state? It’s more popular in the Southern states and Midwest. I don’t count Florida as Southern except for the first 50 miles south of the border. Those states you will find more white bread, more ketchup on hotdogs, and more sweet pickles. Although, you can get great bread in many of the states too, like Polish bakeries in Michigan and Italian bakeries in Missouri.
You might be Jewish, an article for you: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jewish-food_n_4848417/amp
@janbb Yeah, we get aioli with fries all the time. That’s why I’m wondering if it’s close enough to count. Technically different, but pretty similar.
@raum The cheese curds part puts me off of poutine. I have had fries with gravy in diners but I prefer the gravy on the side for dipping in rather than sogging up the fries. (See what I did there, word-wise?)
@raum Aioli is pretty much a California/Nouvelle Cuisine thing, and by that I mean Northern California, not Los Angeles. And I have not seen aioli offered all too often in New York or mentioned in the NY Times Cooking section.
@raum All that Nouvelle stuff with flavored oil drizzle in my soup and aioli on sandwiches and aioli in pretty pattern on the plate just add to me cholesterol count and waistline, and I’m so happy I don’t have a taste for most of it.
You’ve probably seen me complain about calories and fat in restaurants, and that oil and aioli is right up there. I do admit to mixing mayo and dill for breaded fish though. I like it better than tartar sauce. It’s great on grilled chicken breast and zucchini sandwich on flatbread too. I leave it off, but it’s very good.
@janbb What?! Cheese curds are delicious. Unless you’re not big on cheese?
@zenvelo Seems more common in Northern California. But definitely not uncommon in Southern California. Usually at overpriced hipster spots. :P
@JLeslie For me it’s not the calories. It’s just super rich in taste. Better with some kind of acid or herb to balance it out.
@raum I love cheese but cheese and gravy just don’t go together in my book.
@zenvelo I’ve seen aioli here in the East – usually on gourmet sandwiches.
@raum Agreed. Like I said I’m happy I don’t like it. I’m happy I don’t like cheescake, or most cold creamy foods and condiments. I’m not even a huge fan of ice cream, especially if it’s very heavy in cream.
The Brits make fun of how Americans put cheese on everything. I have Argentinian friends who used to say Americans cover up their food.
I used to go to a Mexican restaurant in Tennessee that had signs saying, “we won’t put cheese on your taco, not even if you’re from a border state and think you know Mexican food.” Something like that. My husband I used to crack up. The owner had more than one sign telling customers how he runs the place.
@janbb I see aioli a lot here in the NY/CT area. I don’t want it and I’ll say “hold the aioli” but it’s definitely a “thing” on menus.
I read aioli is olive oil emusified into fresh crushed garlic, salt and lemon. But elsewhere I also read most aioli has a mayo base. Which is it?
@KNOWITALL It is those things plus the ingredients of mayo, so it is an enhanced mayonnaise:
2 garlic cloves
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
@zenvelo Thanks. Not a big mayo fan so just making sure!
I am out of Mayonnaise now.
@KNOWITALL Mayo is made by combining oil and eggs and a little lemon or vinegar and salt.
So, any sauce or dressing made with those ingredients in a proportion similar to mayo is basically a mayo base. People can make it from scratch, or just use mayo and add a few more ingredients to change or add to the flavor.
The last few years I’ve realized a lot of restaurants are serving “vinaigrettes” that have egg in them, and it annoys me to no end. For me it’s health related, but a lot of people are allergic to eggs or might be vegan, and in a lighter dressing it seems completely unnecessary to me. That’s a little different than something like Ranch dressing, which is quite obviously a “mayo” base.
@JLeslie I“m wondering for the places that serve a vinaigrette that has egg in it, if the egg helps hold it together. When you combine oil and vinegar, it tends to separate unless it’s shaken vigorously or stirred. I’m just thinking about it and wonder if the egg is a vehicle that keeps it all combined.
@jca2 That would make sense. I think it’s possible.
A friend taught me to mix ketchup and mayo. That is my preference unless there is malt vinegar.
@kruger_d That’s basically Russian dressing.
My aunt was a vegetarian for over 40 years. When she was dying we asked her what she wanted to eat, she was on the hospice floor in the hospital. We would bring her anything she wanted. She asked for a roast beef sandwich and packets of mayo and ketchup many days in a row. All those years as vegetarian I guess she really was depriving herself. We mostly laughed about her request. Not at her, but just the surprise. We never would have guessed in a million years she would ask for that. When I write a book about my family it will definitely have that story in it.
@zenvelo Poutine is very popular in Wisconsin as well.
Finally, someone who knows a GREAT pairing when they taste one! We both need to partake in a fry or chip outing sometime. lol
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