Johnny Brenda's

There's not a lot to making french fries — potatoes, oil, salt — so there is no secret recipe at Johnny Brenda's, just particulars: Idaho potatoes, soy oil, and a liberal dusting of salt and pepper. It's the mandolin that makes the difference, slicing each enormous Idaho into crisp, sizzling slivers, as addictive as the potato stix Mom packed in your brown-bag lunch.