Oh MyFries Edmonton: gluten-free goodness!

If you’re traveling to Edmonton, Alberta, and trying to find french fries that are gluten free, there’s a hidden gem of a place that creates inanely good fries that are both gluten-free and are not fattening! Like we died and went to French fry heaven! (It’s a mystery to me as to why this place is not franchised everywhere on the planet.)

French fries that are truly gluten-free are not always easy to find

There are two things that really suck the most about being a Celiac, as far as I’m concerned:

1. Inconvenience.  I mean, we can’t go “grab a bite to eat” just anywhere like the rest of the world.  So we are often starving and eating Kind bars while our friends eat real food.

2 Deep Fryer Deprivation.   This is the worst one for me, as my love of deep-fried, crappy foods that taste great and are super bad for you has been present for my whole life.  To the point that I should probably be the size of a small country.  (Through the miracle of portion control, I managed not to succumb).

Sadly, most restaurant deep fryers are cross-contaminated from other glutinous foods being fried in them. Think of gluten micro-crumbs like trying to strain sand out of water at the beach: once it’s into the oil, there’s really no getting it all out.  Everyone who knows me knows that this is a big sore point and that Five Guys and MacDonalds in most of Europe and Canada are the only fries I can have because nothing but non-gluten-coated potatoes go in their fryers.

MyFries to the gluten-free rescue!

So imagine my shock when a colleague on a business trip to Edmonton told me we should grab a bite at this great fast-food French fry place for dinner.  Was he just messing with me?  We’re friends, so that kind of gustatory torture wouldn’t be completely out of line.  But he was sincere and even suggested texting a fellow Celiac from his office and asking her for reassurance.  When she got back to me with an enthusiastic recommendation, I knew it was completely for reals.  Time to get my fry game on!

Upon arriving at a strip mall, we entered into the French fry heaven called MyFries in all its industrial-minimalist decor glory.  But wait! These golden, crispy, tender-on-the-inside delights were….NOT deep-fried? They’re….baked?   Thoughts of blah-tasting oven-baked fries flooded my sensory memory.  Not so, assured my grinning dinner date, they taste amazing.  Ok.  Let’s check it out.

The place was extremely clean, which was impressive since it was the end of the day.  Behind the counter, mountains of perfectly crisp-looking, flawlessly golden-brown fries were being baked by a machine I’d never seen before to service the waiting orders (the fries are baked fresh per order).

The sleeve that the fries come out of from inside the machine looks like a bingo ball cage. (I watched the first season of “Better Call Saul” so I know, and for those of you who partake, so do you!)  The fries smelled amazing but not like French fry oil, which might sound kind of weird as that’s the smell we usually associate with fries. No, these had a really tantalizing, savory, slightly smokey smell that wasn’t out of place.

(Fry cage not shown. They were too quick for me to get a shot, but it goes into the right hand side of the machine).

Decisions, Decisions…

Stepping up to the counter to place my order gave me pause with all these choices!  Do I go for plain fries or a meal? I (of course) asked what was gluten-free.  Turns out the WHOLE MENU IS.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Yes.  We cannot get glutened here.  And they’re aligned with the Canadian Celiac Association — It’s like Celiac paradise!

Since it was dinner time, I went with the Veggie Fries.  The classic poutine was tempting, especially when they said that it had vegetarian gravy!  Yay!  But since I was on a business trip, I decided that more veggies were probably a better choice.  This is what I received:

My reaction to MyFries gluten-free French fries

Sweet baby Jesus.  (Do I sound like an old southern woman when I say that? I hope so because old southern women are genteel, and I’m a sarcastic potty-mouth). Are those fries not AHMAZING??????? This was a “regular”. They were by no means a small order, but I was hungry. And a glutton.  So, on a generous bed of these fabulous baked fries, I got probably 2+ servings of fresh veggies and some good-quality shredded cheese.

Admittedly, I was just a li’l stuffed, but I definitely didn’t feel greasy or weighed down.  And yes, I did take the opportunity to eat a couple of my fries au natural. Mmmm…crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside,  and delicious. They don’t taste like oven fries at all, nor are they anything like those old-school Tfal Acti-fry fries.  Instead, think of a perfectly crispy normal French fry without the oiliness and that super-yum smokey flavor nuance.  Since they’re low in sodium, you may want to add more salt (I did).

MyFries has opportunities!

I can’t wait to return!   Apparently, they are looking for franchisees.  All I can say is, please, please, someone in the Ottawa area become a franchise for this company.  I need MyFries in my life, and not just during business trips to Edmonton!  

Next time you’re in Alberta, get your french fries gluten-free and fabulous at MyFries, 18481 Stony Plain Rd, Edmonton, AB T5S 2X6, Canada