Man Vs. Fries

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I'm one unlucky foodie.  OK, we all suffered the closure of bars and restaurants together.  As soon as the epicurean world reopened though, my wheelchair went kaput.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, I'm still stuck.  Yet, let it be known that I'm also a determined foodie.  With a long to explore, and no particular cuisine in mind, I logged onto Grubhub for the purpose of ordering from somewhere I've never ordered from before. 

I surfed until I came across a place called Man vs Fries, which physically exists at 12975 SW Canyon Rd. in Beaverton, Oregon.  I think it first caught my eye because it's an obvious tip of the hat to Adam Richman's old show, Man vs. Food.  

| Subject: The NorCal Burrito | | Date: 09/07/2021 | Photographers: Bonnie Kiester & James Kiester | | Permissions: Photo taken for this blog |

Once I got beyond the name, I took a good look at the menu.  As the name implies, Man vs. Fries is the purveyor of over-the-top French-fry-centric dishes.  Their offerings include; 

• CBR Fries (chicken, bacon, ranch, cheese, and guacamole loaded onto seasoned shoestring fries for $17.95),
• SoCal Burrito (hella meat, flamin' hot cheetos, straight-cut fries, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, secret sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla with a side of queso for $16.95),
  and
• NorCal Asada Fries (French fries, drizzled with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and secret sauce for $16.95).

Not wanting flaming hot anything in my food (maybe 30 years ago, but not today), I settled on the NorCal Burrito, which consists of chopped carne asada (beef) or pollo asado (chicken), straight-cut fries, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and a spicy secret sauce wrapped in a huge flour tortilla, supposedly, with a side of queso for $15.95.

First things first, this isn't some snack burrito from a dollar value menu.  This is the price of a meal, but for that price one receives a burrito the size of a Nerf football containing enough food for two people, or one person with a hefty appetite.  Of course, I have a sneaky suspicion this dish has been designed to be consumed after someone has smoked a bowl, in which case the eater/toker could probably finish it by themselves. 

 went with the beef option,  This bad mamma jamma was loaded with seasoned fries, carna asada, and melted cheese.  Carna asada is steak which has been marinated in lime juice and seasonings, grilled, and then cut into thin strips.  The strips of seasoned steak had been cooked until they were crisp with a bit of char.  The slight bitterness of the char worked well with the savory fries, tangy sour cream & guacamole, chewy cheese, and spicy secret sauce to deliver a series of balanced delicious bites of food.  I was really in Heaven when I got the occasional bite of nothing but chewy gooey cheese (you know how much I like my cheese 🧀😀🧀).

I will say, I was a bit irked that I didn't get my side of queso, which would have added a layer of salty heat to each bite.  All things considered though, the NorCal Burrito deserves 8 out of 10 stars.

Interesting Side Note:

It wasn't until I began writing this review that I realized Man Vs. Fries is a national chain, rather than a solo mom & pop.  What's really interesting though, is that the location I ordered from appears nowhere on the list of restaurants on the chain's website.