This Taco Chain Officially Has America's Best Fries

Fast food fries…they’ll make or break your meal, people. I felt this in full force yesterday, when I was lucky enough to get a freshly cooked portion of fries from McDonald’s and was reminded anew of how good they can be when they’re straight out of the kitchen. Needless to say, I’ve also had the opposite experience from the chain, receiving limp, cold, flavorless fries on more than one occasion – just in the interest of balance and all that. But a good French fry? Bliss. Edible bliss.

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And sometimes, the best fries come from a place you might not expect. Thanks to USA TODAY’s readers, we know that place is just as good in 2026 as it was in previous years.

Come And Collect Your Trophy, Del Taco

A few weeks ago, USA TODAY released the results of its yearly 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards, which celebrate the best items from fast food chains across the country. The awards are voted on by both readers and industry experts, and they’re a good benchmark for which restaurants are doing things right.

According to the Awards, this year, one such restaurant is Del Taco, which has taken home the gold for its fries. The chain won the Best Fast Food Fries award for – wait for it – the third year running, and it was also named the Best Fast Food Restaurant, full stop. Given that Del Taco’s core menu offer consists of tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, no one would blame it for not investing in its fries as heavily as it might do its flagship offers – but honestly, it’s nailing it, and the people have spoken. Its crinkle-cut fries have received rave reviews from customers for years, who note that they have the perfect balance of crispiness to fluffiness and just the right amount of salt, and that they don’t have any of that stale oil flavor that can plague the potatoes offered by other chains.

The Runners-Up

Coming second in the list for 2026 was Farmer Boys, with its Always Crispy Fries, followed by A&W. McDonald’s, meanwhile, came fourth – and Shake Shack, Five Guys, Golden Chick, Chick-fil-A, Checkers & Rally’s, and In-N-Out rounded out the list. There are plenty of names in there that are perhaps better-known for their fries than Del Taco, and it’s strangely satisfying to see the chain sweep the rug under their feet.

As for who showed up elsewhere: It was a big year for Church’s Texas Chicken, which won the Best Fast Food Side award for its Honey-Butter Biscuits. Jollibee, meanwhile, won for Best Fast Food Fried Chicken.