arby’s has a bad rap, likely because of internet chatter funded by competitors, but they were the first mainstream franchise to introduce the curly fry to the world. this may seem farfetched, but when those delightful arby’s trademarked curly fries hit the street, you couldn’t just go to the local supermarket and buy a bag of curly fries–it was arby’s or nothing. and we loved those funky, spicy, intricately curled potatoes; we were as red with passion as the color of their always crispy exterior.
it became a tradition in my friend circle to indulge in this culinary experiment that would soon become one of the norms of american cuisine; we were pioneers as much as laura ingalls wilder was but our place in history has been paved over by applebees locations serving you inferior fries.
there was an arby’s in my local mall right next to the arcade, and my friend and i would indulge in savory roast beef sandwiches and curly fries, always with a generous amount of horsey sauce for that extra kick you’d only find at arby’s.
without arby’s training a generation of young men/women to appreciate spice, you wouldn’t have dozens of thai/mexican/halal joints in your area in 2026.
this is just something to think about–i’m not bragging or making a huge fuss.
a friend of mine worked at arby’s for two years. his car became more and more pungent because he couldn’t bring his work clothes inside (washed them monthly-ish at a laundromat) - his dogs would eat them, after a single shift running fryers and slicing meat, his clothes and shoes became revolting smelling temptations to the guy’s dobies, so he’d leave everything in his car and run inside in boxers lol.
I really can’t understand the hate Arby’s gets. I unironically believe it’s one of the best fast food places out there. Their roast beef is delicious, especially with their cheddar sauce, their BBQ sauce is one of the best (out of fast food ones, it doesn’t stand up as well when you expand the comparison to all sauces out there), and their horsey sauce is great, too. And their seasoned curly fries taste great on their own and their shape makes them pick up dilling sauce very well.
Or maybe their Canadian locations that I’ve been to were just outliers and way better quality than their average?
US chains outside the US tend to be better because food regulations in general are better. rest of the world considers US meat unfit for human consumption
rest of the world considers US meat unfit for human consumption
That’s… Not even remotely true. The US is one of the largest food and meat exporters in the world. There’s a few notable cases of differing regulations resulting in trade issues but for the most part those are about local industry trade protection. Like, the US doesn’t forbid washing poultry in the processing plant with a dilute bleach solution, and the EU says you can’t do that. Ignoring that the US primarily uses other things, that the same substance is mandated for use by the EU for certain classes of seafood and vegetable, and that nearly every food service establishment on the planet uses it to clean nearly everything, where it’s mandated for use by the EU, and documented as entirely harmless by their advisory health officials.
But it does result in the EU buying poultry for moderately higher prices from member nations.
Fast food is better outside the US because the chains are less established as options, so they need to try harder.
Oh yeah, if I had a packet of it here right now I’d just eat it directly. Like they could have made a successful business out of just selling those two sauces I bet.
arby’s has a bad rap, likely because of internet chatter funded by competitors, but they were the first mainstream franchise to introduce the curly fry to the world. this may seem farfetched, but when those delightful arby’s trademarked curly fries hit the street, you couldn’t just go to the local supermarket and buy a bag of curly fries–it was arby’s or nothing. and we loved those funky, spicy, intricately curled potatoes; we were as red with passion as the color of their always crispy exterior.
it became a tradition in my friend circle to indulge in this culinary experiment that would soon become one of the norms of american cuisine; we were pioneers as much as laura ingalls wilder was but our place in history has been paved over by applebees locations serving you inferior fries.
there was an arby’s in my local mall right next to the arcade, and my friend and i would indulge in savory roast beef sandwiches and curly fries, always with a generous amount of horsey sauce for that extra kick you’d only find at arby’s.
without arby’s training a generation of young men/women to appreciate spice, you wouldn’t have dozens of thai/mexican/halal joints in your area in 2026.
this is just something to think about–i’m not bragging or making a huge fuss.
a friend of mine worked at arby’s for two years. his car became more and more pungent because he couldn’t bring his work clothes inside (washed them monthly-ish at a laundromat) - his dogs would eat them, after a single shift running fryers and slicing meat, his clothes and shoes became revolting smelling temptations to the guy’s dobies, so he’d leave everything in his car and run inside in boxers lol.
I really can’t understand the hate Arby’s gets. I unironically believe it’s one of the best fast food places out there. Their roast beef is delicious, especially with their cheddar sauce, their BBQ sauce is one of the best (out of fast food ones, it doesn’t stand up as well when you expand the comparison to all sauces out there), and their horsey sauce is great, too. And their seasoned curly fries taste great on their own and their shape makes them pick up dilling sauce very well.
Or maybe their Canadian locations that I’ve been to were just outliers and way better quality than their average?
US chains outside the US tend to be better because food regulations in general are better. rest of the world considers US meat unfit for human consumption
That’s… Not even remotely true. The US is one of the largest food and meat exporters in the world. There’s a few notable cases of differing regulations resulting in trade issues but for the most part those are about local industry trade protection. Like, the US doesn’t forbid washing poultry in the processing plant with a dilute bleach solution, and the EU says you can’t do that. Ignoring that the US primarily uses other things, that the same substance is mandated for use by the EU for certain classes of seafood and vegetable, and that nearly every food service establishment on the planet uses it to clean nearly everything, where it’s mandated for use by the EU, and documented as entirely harmless by their advisory health officials.
But it does result in the EU buying poultry for moderately higher prices from member nations.
Fast food is better outside the US because the chains are less established as options, so they need to try harder.
I order the Roast Beef sandwiches with a SLICE of Natural Cheddar, rather than the Cheddar Goo.
I’m totally addicted to the Horsey Sauce. Addicted.
Oh yeah, if I had a packet of it here right now I’d just eat it directly. Like they could have made a successful business out of just selling those two sauces I bet.