Al's French Frys — Restaurant in South Burlington

Al’s French Frys Consistent Comfort Food with Nostalgic Charm

Al’s French Frys is one of those rare places where you always know exactly what you’re going to get in the best way possible. The food is consistently delicious, satisfying, and made just the way you remember it from the last visit. My past orders have included: a quart of their famous Frys (the large), a large order of onion rings, double cheeseburgers with lettuce and tomato (I add onions, extra pickles, ketchup, and mustard at the end), a double cheeseburger with extra pickles, mustard, and ketchup added at the end, the crispy chicken sandwich with bacon on the side (plus extra pickles and mayo on the side), a root beer with no ice, and a large chocolate shake. The Frys are always fried to perfection crisp on the outside with a soft, fluffy inside. The onion rings are beautifully fried, light and crisp with a sweet bite, and never that disappointing bite where the onion slides out of the batter. The burgers are thin, juicy, and full of flavor, with only the occasional bit of gristle. The crispy chicken sandwich is crispy without being oily, with tender meat. Occasionally you might get a bite with a ligament, but it’s rare. I’ve had the mozzarella sticks in the past but they’re not my personal favorite, but certainly decent. I have also had the mac and cheese and feel it is lacking flavor, it is probably my least favorite item on their menu that I have had. I’m looking forward to trying their chicken wings soon; I caught the smell (and the envy) after seeing someone enjoying them during a recent ice cream stop. One suggestion: I wish the online menu had more detail. It would be helpful to know exactly what comes on each burger or sandwich (cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, etc.), and what’s available to add at the end (ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions, relish, etc.). Also if it is a crispy or grilled chicken sandwich. It would make customizing orders and ordering for friends and family easier. This is comfort food, and when that’s what I’m craving, Al’s delivers every time. Their creemees are also a highlight: I love a small: half chocolate, half maple creemee with a chocolate dip, served in a dish. It’s the perfect sweet treat. The atmosphere is warm and nostalgic. The outdoor play area is a great touch, especially for families, and makes it easy to spend a few hours just enjoying the space. While the building could use a few updates especially the restrooms and some playground updates as well it doesn’t take away from the charm or experience. Al’s French Frys is a long time favorite of mine when I want good, consistent, comforting food in a relaxed, nostalgic, and...

There are some restaurants in my region that live on history and name familiarity alone. AL’s is definitely one of them. I have lived in this area for so many years and have been reluctant about ever stepping foot in ALs. Fried food isn’t my favorite. Friends were here from out of town. They were staying at a hotel close by to the airport to catch an early morning flight, we figured let’s hop across the street and grab a quick burger, shake, etc. Walked in, attitude from the very first contact. Ordered our food and then proceeded to grab a table. We were then sternly ordered by the line staff behind the counter to step up to the counter and wait for our food to be finished. We waited five minutes, then they proceeded to hand us what they called “double cheeseburgers”, which were basically 2 1/2 ounces of total weight combined patties on a sugary discounted storebrand hamburger bun. Seriously, I could have purchased a pound of freshly ground sirloin and made my own smash burgers at home for this price without the attitude. I proceeded to take a sip of my strawberry milkshake, which had the flavor of what I imagine a strawberry scented car air freshener would taste like. Truly horrible. Hesitant to return it because I can only imagine what the guys behind the line would be snickering at next, but did. I got a Dr Pepper instead, they were going to call it an even switch, meanwhile, I had paid over five dollars for a strawberry milkshake and they thought that was the right solution. a man came from behind the line and ordered the cashier to refund me and give me the Dr Pepper and apologized because there had been an ongoing problem with the chemicals used in their milkshakes. A five dollar medium milkshake should not have chemical problems. It should be vanilla strawberry maybe some added sugar and that’s about it. Again, this eatery has survived in Burlington for what seems like over 75 years and for the life of me, I don’t know how. What a horrible experience, rude service, and dirty atmosphere. Don’t fall for the hype. Oh, and by the way, my onion rings were...

I have been dropping by Al's French Fries since 1967, before they expanded to the new facility. I'm sorry to say that it seems to have gone downhill a bit in the last 2 years. This may be due to the COVID pandemic, and the changes that were necessitated by that, but it's just not the same experience. For those of you who are not familiar with Als, they have a different way of ordering. When you come in, you stand in line until you get to a cashier, and order and pay for your food. There is no menu available, and if there was, you would still feel rushed by the cashier and the people behind you. so you want to be prepared ahead of time with your order. Then you continue to wait in line as it moves past the prep area, where you can specify the condiments you want on your burgers/hot dogs/sandwiches. With the current crowd of diners, that can take up to 10 minutes. There's no way to skip this process. The menu is still good, the prices are OK (not great, like they used to be). They specialize in fries (obviously) and used to keep a supply of vinegar cruets around, making this one of the few places around you can have fries that way. Not any more. No cruets, and when I asked where they were, I got a surly response, and was handed a couple of little packs of vinegar. OK, this is probably a COVID requirement, but they didn't even post the fact that I needed to ask. And there is no excuse for the surliness. We ate our meal inside, and left feeling like one more special place had disappeared, even if the sign was still up. I gave Al's a 4 because I hope that next spring, when I return, it may have returned to some of it's...