I have been to several of the same gourmet hamburger and fry chain locations and sometimes the French fries are really dark and unappetizing. How can that happen?
There is no way to make fresh cut fries perfectly consistent year round. If there was, it would put frozen potato processors out of business.
There are so many variables with fresh fries. When I look at an operation this is what I usually zero in on to find the problem:
Finally, there is the human factor. Staff may have different opinions on what is a full or half full fry basket, or when is a fry done. We recommend operators take advantage of the free Idaho® Potato French fry wall chart that is bi-lingual, English and Spanish, and can be posted right next to the fryer area. It shows various fry colors also so an owner or chef can circle the preferred light or dark fry color to match with the fries being prepared.
There are a number of other posts by Dr. Potato on frying, potato varieties, re-conditioning, etc. Search for the terms you are looking for to find each article.