French fries are a fast food made from potatoes that have been
cut into less-than-quarter-inch, stringy length-wise slices and
deep-fat fried (twice in some recipes). They are very popular in
the U. S.; they are often served with hamburgers and many
connoisseurs pour ketchup over them, and in Belgium and France,
where they are called frites and eaten with mayonnaise. In
Canada, they are served with gravy and cheese curds in a dish
called Poutine. In Britain they are called 'chips', are
generally thicker than the American and European fries (usually
about half an inch thick), and are often garnished with salt or
malt vinegar, although gravy and curry sauce are more recent,
popular accompaniments. However, American style thinner fries
are often called "fries" in Britain, and both types are widely
available. Near the start of the Iraq War in 2003, a wave of
anti-French sentiment briefly swept the United States over
France's opposition to the U.S.-led coalition. As a protest, for
a while the Congressional cafeter