The Sorrow of Cold French Fries: A Metaphor

What does one do with french fries once they've grown cold?  Do we pity the cold french fry, languishing on the plate of unfillment?  Having lost its edibility, is simply now just wasted, so unappealing as it was once an object of desire.  Are leftover french fries just no good?

There have been times I have eaten cold french fries, but those were times of quiet desperation.  Cold and oily, they have lost their appeal.  Sure, you can reheat them.  But it is not the same.  That splendid balance of hot and crisp outside and mooshy inside is lost in the warming up of leftovers.  It becomes a grease-saturated unappealing slog of a mess.  The tongue recoils and the teeth, if one does attempt to eat it,  grimly chew.  Cold french fries should simply be tossed sadly, into the brown waste can, for they are not even fit for the recycling bin.


There is nothing like a hot batch of fresh fries direct from the vat of boiling oil.  And the best fries, even being completely drenched in vegetable oil or cooking grease, emerge with crispy outsides and tender insides that seduce the taste buds into an almost sinful state of nirvana!


No, I am afraid french fries are a dish best served hot.  Cold, they are no better than second hand love letters from a suitor who is settling for second choice.  Those letters like the cold french fries, are deeply unsatisfying and an insult to the consumer.  Just toss them, my friend!  Get fresh, hot ones at the next drive-thru.  Of course we all know that no two drive-thru french fries are the same.  And home made and restaurant fries are differrent still.  But all are intended to be served hot!   


Alas, for french fries, tomorrow is not another day.  Age will not "become" them.  Just like opportunities and inspiration, they must be savored and experienced hot.  Cold, they are yesterday's news.  There is a reason they say "Get 'em while they're hot!"  or "Strike while the iron is hot!"  When the fries cool, not unlike the inspiration or insight, revenge is indeed, a dish best served cold.  Now, my friend, now is the time.