Japan Gets Chocolate-Dipped French Fries

Lotteria—the Japanese chain that has given us such wonders as the ramen burger, the five-patty burger, the okonomiyaki burger, and the "everything" burger topped with another burger, ribs, a shrimp patty, and a fried egg—has decided to expand its brand of crazy culinary genius beyond the borders of mere burgers. Now it is challenging the way we look at French fries.

Unusual French fry dipping sauces abound. Popular dippers include ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, malt vinegar, gravy, and surely some other sauces that would surprise us. We had never heard of someone dipping French fries in chocolate, but Lotteria thinks the sweet dipping sauce will turn out to be a big hit.

Chocolate-covered potato chips have been turning up in Japanese markets, and while they're still something of a niche product, the salty/sweet flavor profile has proved popular enough that Lotteria is predicting it might well be ready to enter the mainstream.

According to Foodbeast, the French fries will sell with Lotteria's Ghana-brand milk chocolate to create the perfect salty and sweet flavor profile, with crisp fries and a little pot of gooey milk chocolate. The chocolate fries are set to be a limited promotion that will start January 9, and they're expected to stick around until late February for about $3.50 an order.