Garlic fries rollout a success
South Bay taste test so popular, restaurants ran out of supplies
McDonald’s has declared its “Gilroy Garlic Fries” a stinkin’ success and will begin offering them in all restaurants in the Bay Area, Santa Cruz-Monterey and the North Coast.
The rollout started Thursday. By July 27, the fries should be available in nearly 250 participating McDonald’s from Monterey County north to Mendocino County, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The company embarked on a marketing experiment in early May, testing the garlic fries in four San Jose and Santa Clara locations as part of an effort to introduce regional foods chainwide.
Employees make the fries to order, tossing the crisply fried russet potatoes with chopped garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, parsley and salt. The garlic is grown by Christopher Ranch, headquartered in Gilroy, and the six russet varietals are North American-grown.
The new fries were so popular that McDonald’s ran out of the special garlic blend after two weeks and had to suspend the test.
After receiving a fresh supply of California cloves, the four restaurants resumed making them later in May.
The aromatic riff on McDonald’s famous fries is only one of the company’s regional efforts.
Elsewhere, McDonald’s has been rolling out dishes featuring chorizo, kale and Greek yogurt in Southern California, where company executives think those ingredients will sell, and offering a special bratwurst promotion in Wisconsin.