A&W Chili Cheese Fries Review: Tex-Mex Crunch?

A&W's regular fries were great, coming in at 2nd place in our leaderboard. Their magical butter crunch was unique to say the least. Now, what would happen if you pour chili on top of those golden sticks? The concept sounds great.

At The Fries Blog, our past experiences show that flavored fries, especially those that just sprinkle seasoning on top of their regular offering, do not rank well. Check out our reviews of Wendy's Baconator Fries or Lotteria Seasoned Fries. We appreciate those that take the extra effort to craft genuinely flavored fries (like Popeyes fries) and feel just throwing seasoning on top is a bit lazy.

A&W has amazing fries. So let's see if their Chili Cheese Fries take it to the next level.

Chili cheese dips go well with pretty much everything. Will A&W make it work with their fries?

Texture (5/10)

Because the chili and cheese were heavy on the fries, the fries sagged under the weight. The strong crunchy base quickly gave way to the chili's moisture and got very soggy. The original texture was entirely ruined and we had to use forks to eat the fries as they could not be picked up horizontally. At least there was some saving grace with the fries that were towards the bottom of the box. These had their crispiness intact because they were not touching the chili. And these, when "dipped" with the chili cheese struck a good balance. But overall, much of the texture got ruined by the sauce.

Perhaps the chili cheese wasn't thick enough. The fries became very soggy.

Flavor (7/10)

The chili cheese tasted great, and the sauce even had some meat chunks every now and then, enhancing both the flavor and chewing experience. But, because the fries were already quite salty, when combined with the chili cheese, it was an absolute overload of sodium. Again, we were extremely happy when the flavor between the fries and the chili was balanced but because the runny sauce was layered on the top, the top fries were completely dunked into the chili while the bottom ones were left dry. In other words, it was difficult to find enough fries that struck the balanced flavor profile.

Shape (5/10)

It was a little bit hard to get a clear look at the shape, because the fries were submerged in chili, but what we did see is that the fries started to bend and split because of the weight of the sauce. As with the regular A&W fries, they were not long nor too thick, which did not help make the sticks standout in the sea of orange and yellow mud.

It may look a bit gross but the relatively short A&W fries are covered in chili cheese.

Presentation (4/10)

The fries were served in a cardboard bowl that reminded us of a takeout container. We understand that in order to pour over the chili, it had to be flat. But the thing that was ironic was the very definition of how to prepare chili cheese fries was also what made it look messy. It felt like a dump of yellow and orange goo all over the fries. Typically with thick chili carrying a lot of meat, the topping may stay on top in a self-contained way. No with these fries. Also, there is no other way to consume the fries without using a fork and stabbing the fries, and when you're with a lot of people, things get messy quickly. We actually think that putting the chili cheese as a dip on the side would've worked better as it prevents the messy, soggy friest while some can enjoy the fries plain if they want a break from the chili.

We understand the motivation but it gets messy quickly.

Experience (6/10)

Priced at a dollar above the regular fries, we believe the value you get for the money is good. There's a good amount of quantity and they certainly do not skimp on the amount of chili and cheese. The largest blemish of the experience is obviously the fact that you have to use utensils to eat fries, which we believe is a blasphemy. Honestly, we believe A&W can really make this into a great experience. All the ingredients are there. They just have to think this through a bit more.

Texture	5
Flavor	7
Shape	5
Presentation	4
Experience	6
Overall	5.4 / 10

Conclusion

Staying true to the tradition, A&W Chili Cheese Fries was not as great as the original buttery crunch. But this degradation is different than the others where insincere effort to add seasoning marred the overall offering. The base fries are great and so is the chili that is quite tasty. We believe the biggest thing that A&W needs to improve on is how they serve the fries, because they get soggy really quickly. Nobody wants to dig through a potato mush mixed with chili and cheese. If A&W can find a way to serve the chili cheese on the side, that would solve a lot of the issues. One more aspect was it being a bit too salty as both the fries and the chili would fare well with salty individually. We commend A&W for take a swing at the Tex-Mex classic of chili cheese fries. It really could be great. They just need a bit more tuning.