Ayola, on 114 New Montgomery Street, has the best fries within a three block radius of 2nd and Howard in downtown San Francisco. They are meaty and large to chew and seasoned well. You come away surprised when you realize they are originally frozen; most likely purchased from a bulk wholesaler.

But, their frozen starting state does not deter me from ordering the fries every time I go to Ayola for lunch. The frozen fries are dumped into a metal tray and slid into the Fry Master 4000 (?). Three to five minutes later, they spit out toasty hot. The overseer seasons the hot batch of fries considerably and then scoops a load full into the brown paper bag to go along with the rest of the order.

Sometimes I forgo the rest of the order and just get the fries to go along with food I purchased from another establishment. I am not a big fan of the texture of the meat in the gyros. They seem packed to me. If I had to choose though, I usually get the Chicken Shawarma.