UNC Bucket List is a feature highlighting the 100 things students should attempt before they graduate. Check out the full bucket list and all previous Bucket List posts here. Opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the authors, and not of The Daily Tar Heel.
On Saturday, Jan. 25, I tried Linda’s famous cheese fries for the first time. Let me preface this story with the fact that I am one of the pickiest eaters this world has ever seen. I don’t even like cheese.
Not only do the fries have cheese, but they also have bacon and chives — two other ingredients I could really do without.
I went into this experience positive I would hate the fries but felt I needed to try them anyway. I also ordered some tater tots, just in case I detested the fries so much I actually refused to eat them.
When the waiter placed the red basket in front of me, I took a breath and stared the greasy potatoes square in the face. Backing down was not an option.
When I mentioned before that I hated cheese, let me just say that I really hate it. Like I take it off of my pizza and when I make macaroni, I only cook the noodles. And these fries were completely covered in an extremely thick layer of several different kinds of cheese. I almost ran away — but I couldn’t.
I gingerly took one of the less cheese-cloaked potatoes, trying to ignore the obvious string of cheese hanging from the end. I closed my eyes and stuck the entire fry in my mouth.
Breaking news — it was good! Not great, not wonderful and certainly not perfect — but I didn’t hate it. I actually ate several more, which I considered a massive achievement.
On another note, the sweet potato tater tots are superb — kind of the kettle corn of tater tots.
I would like to congratulate Linda’s on somehow creating an appetizer I will eat, despite the fact that it includes one of my least favorite foods. Miraculous is too small a word for this feat.
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