My roommate and I don’t usually see eye-to-eye when it comes to our food choices, but the one thing we both love to eat together are sweet potato fries. Nothing makes a Sunday better than this perfectly fried, beautifully orange side dish. We undertook the task of sampling five varieties of sweet potato fries on UPenn’s campus. The ideal sweet potato fry should be a combination of crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside with the perfect amount of salt. Some restaurants even take it up a notch with dipping sauces and seasoning. Here are the rankings:

1. Hip City Veg (Winner)

These thick fries are the perfect combination of almost melted, soft inside and thin crisp on the outside; and not to mention they have the most genuine sweet potato flavor. The generous serving size also trumps the competition. To make these already perfect fries ever better, they come with either a cilantro black bean dip or Sriracha aioli, both of which compliment the fries nicely.

Photo courtesy of hipcityveg.com
Photo courtesy of hipcityveg.com

2. Bobby’s Burger Palace  (Runner-Up)

These could potentially be tied with our winner, but the only reason they are runner-up is because we prefer a thicker fry to the thinner, more crunchy version served at Bobby’s. They have achieved the perfect level of saltiness here and the honey mustard horseradish sauce is perfection. The serving is also smaller than that of Hip City, thus prompting us to place two orders instead of one (hey, they are really good!)

Photo courtesy of bobbysburgerpalace.com
Photo courtesy of bobbysburgerpalace.com

3. Baby Blue’s BBQ These fries come as a side at an extra cost, but trust me, they are worth it. They are perfectly crispy and thin. But it is really the seasoning that coats the fries that makes them special. It gives them the salt you crave with an extra depth from the smoky blend they use. These sweet potato fries are the most similar to regular French fries in terms of texture and shape.

Photo Courtesy of Yelp.com
Photo courtesy of yelp.com

4. City Tap House The saltiest fries. Ever. To even taste the sweet potato we had to brush off the excessive salt. If you happen to be a salt fiend, City Tap House fries are perfect for you. Besides the salt, they were thick, had a good crunch and complimented the sandwiches they were served with very well. When ordering, ask for less salt on them or be wary and have water on hand.

Photo Courtesy of Roopa Shankar
Photo by Roopa Shankar

5. Houston Hall The grill at Houston Market’s sweet potato fries were definitely not the preferred choice in the taste test. There were a little more soggy than crispy, probably because of the excess oil. Though in a hurry, they are definitely an okay option when you’re craving some fries quickly. But for some reason, every time we order them they are freezing cold…