(Originally posted on my food review site, “Let’s Eat Out Once a Week.”) 

Garlic Parmesan Fries 

Triple O’s fall promotional item (the Bacon Double Cheddar Bigger Burger) was shelved at the start of this week, and in its place they introduced yet another new product for a limited time: the Garlic Parmesan Fries.

According to the Triple O’s website, these fries came with a side of creamy Caesar dressing for dipping.

But I never got that at all when I ordered these fries!

Anyway, I went to the Burnaby Kingsway location on Tuesday to get these new fries, and it was my first time at this particular location.

This Triple O’s here on Kingsway is actually a more traditional sit-down fast food restaurant, unlike the other ones I’d been to, where they were either part of a Chevron gas station (and so had limited seating) or located at the local university campuses. So, this Kingsway location is more like a McDonald’s instead of those other ones.

I honestly didn’t know how big the portion would be, or even how much the fries would cost, because the website didn’t mention the price and the picture on there (or accompanying details) didn’t provide a true indication of how much fries actually came with the order. Even the menu board in the actual restaurant didn’t list the price, and the sign advertising the Garlic Parmesan Fries didn’t give you a sense of the portion because the picture on there was the same as the one on the website. Nonetheless, I figured it was just a snack item, not a full meal, and I was actually hoping it was a small item as I wasn’t hungry and simply wanted to try those fries since they were new.

Anyway, I ordered the fries and a small soft drink. To my surprise, the total including taxes came to only C$5.25. Since the pop was C$1.99 plus tax, it became obvious the fries were only C$2.99 plus tax. So, not a full meal but a snack. Another surprise was the cashier told me to grab a seat and he would bring me the fries when they were done. I didn’t realize it was full-serve fast food but okay, sounded good to me! (Actually, maybe I should not have been surprised since that’s how the Grandview Highway Chevron location did it too; they bring your food to your table.)

The soft drink was self-serve, and I decided on Orange Fanta.

A few minutes later, the cashier brought the fries to me and yup, it was a tiny serving all right. There was no creaming Caesar dressing that came in a dish at all, but I didn’t bother to ask the cashier about it. I mean, there was sauce actually drizzled on the fries, and if that was supposed to be the dressing, then the food prep staff didn’t do it properly because it was supposed to come separately in a small dish. At least, that was according to the website. And actually, the site did mention the fries would be drizzled with dressing plus you get a side for dipping too. So, that meant they screwed up here at this location. Oh well.

The fries were garlicky. They were decent. The dressing on the fries made them not so dry, but perhaps had they given a side of dressing for extra dipping like they were supposed to, it might have made a difference. That might have made the fries more tasty. At the end of the day, though, they were just fries and didn’t blow me away. Would I recommend these fries to anybody? Not really. Would I line up for them. Doubtful.

Triple O’s specialty poutines were definitely better than these fries, that’s for sure, so I guess I’ll have to wait until they bring back those poutines next time!

As for the location itself, I think it’s a nice place to hang out with your friends, so I suppose I would return for another item or meal in the future. The garlic Parmesan fries? Not a winner.