Bottom line, Dick’s Drive-In is an institution in Seattle. I want everyone to take a deep breath and understand that I’m not attacking my readers personally, nor am I attacking Dick’s personally…but I do have some issues with their french fries. Deal with it.
Dick’s has been around the Seattle area since 1954 with very little change. It’s always been an instant-service burger, fries, and shakes concept. They’ve expanded a bit around Seattle over the years, but they’re still affordable, fast, and offer virtually the same menu as they did in the beginning.
That conviction and nostalgia is what has kept Dick’s great. I believe that it’s also what makes their fries sub-par. They use fresh potatoes, they’re nicely seasoned, but due to out-dated technique they end up flaccid and greasy.
They cut and soak the potatoes to remove some of the starch, but from what I can tell they don’t double-drop the fries. Without that step it’s almost impossible to obtain a crispy exterior. It also causes the fries to soak up the cooking grease. End result, the fries are saturated in oil and have a shelf life of approximately 18 seconds. On the bright side, they’re the only fries I’ve had that can be reheated in the microwave without losing any of the original texture.
The fries taste fine. My issue is with the texture and the overall greasiness of the potatoes. Regardless of nostalgia, regardless of their role in Seattle culture, they are not quality fries and are not a good value for their $1.75 price tag. Yeah, $1.75 is pretty cheap, but the bags are tiny. You can’t convince me that that earns more than a 5 out of 10. McDonald’s serves better fries. A lot of frozen fries would turn out better than these. Dick’s is either stubborn about their historical method or their customers demand an inferior product.
This review may seem somewhat harsh, but I still recommend that people eat at Dick’s. Go ahead and order the fries if you want. I still do. I just wish that they were better. My personal order is a Dick’s Deluxe, order of fries, and a chocolate shake. Oh yeah, and drop 5 cents for a small cup of tartar sauce.
Catalog:
Visited on 12/1/2016, Broadway location. However, I’ve been to Dick’s at least 50 times and my experience has always been the same.
The Sodafry 
I am very happy to discover that someone else shares my opinion of Dick’s fries.
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It is that exact quality that makes them different than any other. I still pine for those greasy limp salty morsels! Here I am researching them in 2022 and have not lived in Seattle since 1980! Throw in a Dick’s Deluxe….please,
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