One Main Café (OMC) remains one of the most popular destinations for dining on the university’s campus, with its menu boasting a variety of made-to-order foods including, but not limited to, burgers, pizzas and quesadillas.
One particular item, however, has drawn special attention: the French fries.
Often included as part of a combo meal, fries are a common sight at the OMC, with the venue offering condiments such as barbecue sauce and ketchup for students to dip their fries into.
However, the fries at OMC seemingly change type everyday, often going from one cut of fries to another on a whim. Sometimes these changes occur on the same day, with one type of fries served at noon and another variety being served in the evening hours.
“We have Sysco as the primary vendor,” said director of dining services Liz Hernandez, referring to the university’s primary supplier of foods. “The fries we always order are 3/8 straight cut.”
As the university’s primary food vendor, Sysco distributes food products and other supplies via its subsidiaries in the Columbus area, mainly through SYGMA near Harrison Road and Guest Supply in Urbancrest.
Sysco describes their 3/8-inch potato fry as “a classic straight cut that appeals to a wide consumer base.” Hernandez explains that these fries often get substituted for other types due to logistical constraints. Dining services are generally not notified of these switches, however, dining services do get contacted by a food representative if the substituted product is at least double the price of the original. This applies to all of their products, not just the potatoes.
One fry cook at the OMC has voiced her displeasure with this phenomenon, stating that it would be much simpler if dining services only had the 3/8-inch straight cut fries in its inventory.
Students at the university have identified at least three main French fry varieties available at the OMC: the aforementioned classic straight cut, steak fries and crinkle-cut.
“I like the regular fries more than the crinkle-cut,” said Ben Tschertan, a first year accounting and finance major.
“The crinkle-cut,” said Daniel Diaz, a first year computer science major, discussing his favorite type of fry. “I also do like the steak fries that they have here.”
The Chimes recently ran a poll on Instagram asking students at the university which of the three French fry varieties they liked the most. A total of fifty-three students responded, with crinkle-cut fries emerging as the clear winner with a staggering twenty-seven votes. The steak fries follow closely with fifteen votes, followed by straight cut fries with a mere eleven votes in total.
