Fry-yay or nay? McDonald's delivery is now a thing. We put it to the test

The king of fast food  —  McDonald's  —  recently joined the food delivery service Uber Eats with a targeted roll-out across Toronto, the GTA, Montreal, Edmonton and Ottawa (with more to come by end of summer).

Since my McDonald's visits are usually limited to road trips, the idea of a Big Mac at my door was not life-changing — with one disclaimer — when I'm pining for a fry fix, I consider McDonald's the gold standard.  A container of those crisp, salty shoestrings is my go-to.  Just like my jeans, I like my fries skinny. 

So perhaps, the next time I'm in my beanbag chair with only 9 seconds left to decide if I will continue to autoplay the next (thousand) episodes of Netflix, I just might want some fries with that.

But can fryer-to-door delivery meet my quality control expectations; piping hot, crisp and fragrant?

I gathered a few fry devotees at Chatelaine and we put the McDonald's delivery to the test by placing a fry order at peak lunch rush on Friday.

Wait Time

THUMBS UP: The fries were quoted to arrive between 15 and 25 minutes, and arrived 20 minutes later on the dot.

Fry timeline
Order: 12:17 p.m Pick up: 12 :32 p.m Delivered: 12.37 p.m

Crave Busting

THUMBS DOWN: While the warm, toasty bag that it arrived in was promising (and smelled delicious), the fries inside were disappointing. Soft and limp, and definitely not crisp. We suspect this was due to the fact that the hot fries were sealed in a paper bag during transport, which trapped the heat and caused them to steam — the kiss of death for crunch.

On top of that, they were lukewarm.  Ketchup only partially saved the day.

Delivery Fee Factor

THUMBS DOWN: With the $5 delivery fee you're paying almost $7 for  one order of large fries — sorry, large wilted fries.

The Verdict

THUMBS DOWN.  My fave fries are delicate fast-food flowers that are not built for delivery. Their lifespan is just too short. Like an airy soufflé that collapses before it hits the dining room table, these fries weren't impressing anyone.

Don't settle (even if you have to get off the couch).

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