Starbird Fries Review: Silicon Valley Fries

Starbird is a fast-growing, “super-premium” fast-food chain, that has about 20 locations, mainly in California. It was founded in the heart of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale, CA) in 2016 with the belief that fried chicken hadn't reached its full potential. Supposedly they spent years refining a crispier, lighter breading and creating sauces and flavors that felt more "chef-driven" than fast food. Understandably, Starbird is popular for their chicken sandwiches. But why aren't their fries not talked about much? We were extremely excited to visit Starbird to see if their fries too were super-premium, and hopefully mind-blowing, as their overall restaurant philosophy.

Here is the Starbird logo. Clean-lined chicken head.

We found a Starbird in Foster City, CA. We were greeted by a clean and modern tech-feeling logo and brand, showing the design roots to Silicon Valley and big tech companies. At first sight, we almost just drove by it because it just does not look like a fried chicken fast-food chain. The tagline of "positively delicious chicken" put on a parking entrance pillar really makes it look like a tech company building. Will their fries also be positively delicious? Here is our review of Starbird Chicken fries.

"Positively delicious chicken" it is!

Texture (3/10)

Starbird fries is the living evidence that premium quality does not always mean greatness. The fries had no crisp and barely any crunch, leading to a mashed potato- like feeling. In addition, the filling was too pasty and even then there was not much of it to begin with. Something we appreciated was the natural cut fres with the full potato skin on the sticks that were near the peel, but this could not save the disastrous overall texture. This really was a bummer because we could clearly see that the potatoes were of high quality and the way they were cut was thoughtful with decent thickness. Perhaps they need to fry it at a higher temperature?

We love that full peel attached to the stick. But look at that flat innard.

Flavor (3/10)

The fries were natural cut, which is nice to see, but there was no extra seasoning other than salt. Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing but unfortunately the salt was scant and wasn’t sprinkled evenly. We had a handful super salty sticks and then the rest were just bland. It just tasted like a fried potato. When such flat flavor is added to the weak texture, the fries are just lifeless, limp, strips of potato. The saving grace was their Starbird Sauce, which we happened to have ordered for the chicken, was actually really good and was perfect for the frist. This sauce seems to be a gentle mixture of tangy, sweet, tomato and cream. Dipping our fries in this transformed the entire experience. However, given this was not the default way the fries were designed, we cannot reflect this into the flavor score.

The Starbird sauce was the star of the show. A great balance of cream, sugar, and a bit of ketchup.

Shape (7/10)

Because the fries are naturally cut, their length is determined by what part of the potato they were cut from. This is perfectly fine as long as they use decently large potatoes and it seems like they have. Also, we love the fact that the sticks from the perimeter had the contoured back with the skin. The fries were also cut a bit thicker than the average fry but definitely not wedges. However, some sticks did flop despite the width due to the lack of adequate stuffing. We do not think you cannot get better shapes from natural cut fries than this. Starbird really did a quality job here.

Natural cut fries don't get much better than this.

Presentation (7/10)

The fries are served in a circular cup, which has a large cut out opening at the front. It is yellow and simple, with the logo on the front. There is only one size, which is priced at $4.25. It’s a small enough portion that it's easy to finish, but large enough that you would feel filled. Despite the super-premium fast-food price point, we actually think the amount of fries are on par with other chains. Everything on the tray was packed neatly and Instagram-ready. The yellow theme was not overwhelming, went well with fries, the chicken sandwich, as well as the interior of the restaurant. We think that presentation is quite good.

The fries are served in an actual cup but with the side cut out. This is quite clever.

Experience (9/10)

As soon as you enter Starbird, you are welcomed by this clean, high-tech, Scandinavian feel. And when you look at the menu, you notice that there are going to be foods and flavors that they don’t serve at any other restaurants. It’s super diverse, with things like street corn or even Thai brussels sprouts. It was absolutely refreshing to see items that you just don't expect from a fast-food restaurant and it feels like you won't easily get bored trying things out. They have put a lot of effort into the interior design of the restaurant and you feel almost healthier by being there. This sense of healthyness is echoed with the fresh ingredients. The food does take some time to prepare but it is absolutely worth the wait. Finally, the soda they have are all locally sourced, perfecting the super-premium experience. If it wasn't for running errans, we would have loved to have just hung out here, reading a book or working on our laptop.

This feels more like a tech company kitchen than a fast-food restaurant.

Texture	3
Flavor	3
Shape	7
Presentation	7
Experience	9
Overall	5.8 / 10

Conclusion

Starbird has a lot of potential to have great fries, with high quality ingredients, natural cut shape and great presentation. The flavor and texture do need quite a bit of work but we believe this can be addressed by changing the oil, the temperature, the frying time, etc. We really want Starbird to define what it means to serve super-premium fast-food fries. And with their ethos and company philosophy, we think they come closest to this ideal, even leaving Shake Shack in the dust. Silicon Valley and high tech vibes may not be great for everything. But we can certainly attest this works well with fried chicken and Starbird. We root for their rapid expansion towards the eastern states.