In the U.S. there’s a saying “Do you want fries with that?” which comes from ordering burgers in fast food restaurants. At least, I’m guessing that’s where that saying comes from – I will confess to not having bothered to look that up today.

Anyway, here in Germany, it’s often the case that I see people eating just the French fries alone.  You can get fries at places that serve burgers, hot dogs and curry-wurst, which is sliced pieces of hot dog drenched in ketchup and curry power.

The curry-wurst is NOT my favorite food to eat in Germany, although we have tried it a couple of times.

But you can just order the French fries by themselves to have as a snack, as we did one day last week. It occurred to me then that I’d never taken a good photo of the way the french fries are served here, but it’s worth a photo, since it has such a cute little fork that it comes with:

An order of French fries with ketchup in Tübingen

Two mores things to note.

First, “French fries” is the name we use in North America, but here in German they don’t call them that. Rather, then just call them “fried potatoes” — but they use the French words for that, rather than the German ones. So, if you’re in Germany and want French fries, order Pommes frites, or just Pommes.

Next, be ready to say “no” to a question you’ll be asked.

Well, say no if you’re like me and prefer only ketchup (or nothing) on your fries. You see, here, the standard question they ask when you order Pommes is “Do you want mayo and ketchup with that?”

I.e., do you want mayo and ketchup slathered together in great quantities on top of the fries before they hand it to you?

Trust me – I don’t think you do.