Starbird Chimichurri Fries Review: Say What with Fries Now?

Last time, we reviewed Starbird Chicken, the rising premium fast-food chain from Silicon Valley. And when we were reviewing their fries, we also saw "Okonomiyaki Fries" on the menu which we thought was interesting. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake from a flour and cabbage batter topper with a sweet-savory sauce and mayo. So we were genuinely curious what Okonomiyaki Fries might be. Hence we visited Starbird Chicken again.

We head back to Starbird in Foster City, CA.

However, upon arrival, we realized that the Okonomiyaki Fries were nowhere to be found. And in its place was "Chimichurri Fries"! It seems like these special gourmet fries was part of some type of seasonal menu. For those who are unfamiliar with chimichurri, it’s a fresh herb sauce made from parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, and red wine vinegar. It has a fresh, tangy, and herbal taste. We have never seen fries with a chimichurri version, so again, we were curious about these fries. So here is our review of Starbird's Chimichurri Fries.

These are the Chimichurri Fries. A lot is going on visually.

Texture (3/10)

Like the original fries, they had no crisp or crunch, like biting a soggy rag. The fries lacked some stuffing in the middle of the fries. The fries still had the skin of a natural cut fry, which we appreciate, but still, the texture was not great. Obviously, putting chimichurri all over the fries would most likely make the texture even worse, making them soggy. However, the chimichurri was not watery and rather felt like they coated the potato sticks with gooey slime. We're happy to report that the sticks could be picked up by hand and will hold until your mouth, even with chimichurri on it.

Chimichurri layered on top had tons of parsley, parmasean and garlic sprinkles. The fries stick held up well.

Flavor (5/10)

The chimichurri was evenly spread on the fries, but there was not much of it to cover the layers underneath, so you didn’t taste it that much on many of the sticks. So much of it was basically like their normal fries, bland without salt. But, for the upper layer that had a decent amount of chimichurri, the fries were tangy and herbal, and the parmasean sprinkles went well with it. It is definitely a flavor that not everyone would be a fan of. But we think it’s pretty good, especially as a seasonal entry for spring/summer. Also, the chimichurri sauce added a bit of salt which was desperately needed on both the regular and the seasonal fries.

The Chimichurri Fries also comes with a chimichurri sauce.

Shape (7/10)

Given that chimichurri was poured on top of regular fries, we can safely assume that the fries maintain their long, slightly thick, and straight shape. And again, we really appreciate the natural cut with skin attached at the tips and the side; a streak of brown on a golden fry that makes it look natural. In the center, sometimes there would be no stuffing, making the sticks bend slightly, but other than that, the fries held up well, and had good shape, even with the herbs and parmasean sprinked on top.

Presentation (7/10)

The fries are served in the same tray-container that they serve their chicken in. It opens up into a tray-like shape, it’s shallow and white, with the logo on it. This container is surprisingly big and thanks to the spread-out nature, chimichurri can be evenly spread, and the fries look super appetizing. It certainly gives off a premium gourmet fries vibe. Something premium and special. The only problem with this presentation is that your fingers will get covered in chimichurri. Yes, you can use a fork but also something doesn't feel right when we eat fries with forks. Placed on top of the yellow striped tray paper, and next to other dishes, the presentation probably is as good as it gets.

The fries came next to the Thai Chicken Salad. Both are substantial in their presence.

Experience (5/10)

The fries cost significantly more than the regular version; almost double the price. This may make sense at first given the chimichurri spread on top. But then we started wondering, why not just order the regular fries and buy the chimichurri sauce on the side? This would cost way less and have similar taste profile. And we also don't think the wide container contains that much more quantity than their cup. So we think that Starbird's Chimichurri Fries are not a good deal. And yes, we absolutely leveraged the Starbird sauce which saved the bland sticks of the lower layer in the tray.

Texture	3
Flavor	5
Shape	7
Presentation	7
Experience	5
Overall	5.4 / 10

Conclusion

Starbird's Chimichurri Fries is a noble attempt at creating something new, just like how Silicon Valley creates quirky products sometimes (ie. Humane AI Pin). But we couldn't help feel like we were testers on a beta release. The fries scored less than the original fries as the sauce does not add much pizzazz to the fries. And again, you can just buy the sauce separately if you wanted some chimichurri flavor with your fries, so we don’t think it’s worth the price. We were again a bit disappointed with Starbird. We think with more care and flavor tuning, these fries could’ve been really good. But like the original fries, it just does not live up to the potential.