by Peter Pham/Foodbeast
DUI Fries sound like something your drunk buddy
invented, or some kind of urban legend about fries that cure your hangover, but
they're really the ultimate combination of fries that you probably never heard
of.
If you search for #DUIFries on Instagram, only 629
photos come up. It's insane that a dish as crazy as this one hasn't even
cracked 1,000 IG posts, as of this writing. But those in the know, know what's
up with these majestic, artery-clogging fries.
About five years ago, a friend of mine introduced me
to DUI Fries. He told me that if I went to a restaurant called Jim's Burgers in
City of Industry, California, I could find some chili cheese fries that were
topped with not only pastrami, but carne asada, as well.
This no doubt intrigued me, and we set out on this
mission to find the DUI Fries. As with most "secret menu items," I
nervously asked the cashier for these "DUI Fries," fully expecting to
be given a, "What's that?" But she put in the order, and I awaited
the greasy goodness to fill my insides.
It was pretty much everything I hoped for, as I felt
like death afterward, but came to terms with the over 1,500-calorie meal
possibly being my last before my heart exploded.
I went in search for the origin of the majestic DUI
Fries, and was led to Dino's Chicken and Burgers. After speaking with Jim
Pantazis, the small burger chain's owner, he said the DUI Fries were born back
in 2005 at their Pico Rivera location, and actually had nothing to do with
alcohol, despite the obvious name.
"It's not driving under the influence, it's
Dino's Ultimate Invention," Pantazis explained. "We thought, 'What
can we make — something to give the customers their money's worth?'"
So Pantazis figured he'd take the chili cheese fries,
and just stack it with meats that they already had available in the restaurant.
They gave the fries an identity, so that they
weren't just carne asada and pastrami chili cheese fries. They attached a
catchy name to it that was short, sweet, and memorable.
DUI Fries are one of Southern California's best kept
food secrets, and the craziest thing about it, the ingredients are readily
available at most mom & pop burger shacks around Cali. Because of this, the
fries have expanded to different locations, some even giving them a different
name, but same look.
Archibald's Drive-Thru has their own version in
their five So Cal locations:
Victory Diner in Orange County sells them now, too:
Arry's Super Burgers in Montebello will give you
these heart-stopping fries:
Like I mentioned earlier, the place where I first
experienced them, Jim's Super Burgers serves up a mean plate of them:
Hell, there's even places that call them "Loco
Fries" like Rubi's Grill and Frosty Freeze in Whittier.
Whether you call them DUI Fries, Loco Fries, or
simply ask for carne asada and pastrami chili cheese fries, these are a gem in
Southern California. Those in the know, might covet them as much as In-N-Out's
glorious Animal Style Fries, maybe even more, since they've been on the low for
so long.
Y'all need to experience these fries, and the chosen
few who already enjoy them might hate me for this story, but I can't be greedy.
Check out one of the Dino's locations for the
original version (Also, their chicken fries are fire, but that's one secret to
uncover another time), or if one of the other restaurants mentioned are closer
to you, pop in and see if you can handle them.
Just make sure you go with a friend. Ya know, just
in case you need someone to quickly perform CPR on you.
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