1. Alchemy, 1980 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704

 Smile Factor: 10 ~Bang per Bite: 9 ~Creativity: 10 ~Deliciousness: 10  ~Plate Appeal: 6 ~Total: 45

Alchemy’s sweet potato fries really take the potato! I think that they are doing more than metal magic in that Alchemy kitchen, because these fries were absolutely amazingly delicious. Don’t let the lower plate appeal rating deter you. They came out looking a little more abstract than the normal fry shape, but the fresh taste made up for that! They had a mixture of crispier and softer wedges and unique dipping sauces, Tarragon Mayo and Jalapeno Blackberry Jam. The special sauces and creativity helped these potatoes climb to the top of the list. They were so good the roomies and I considered ordering another plate of them! It is definitely worth the trek to Atwood Street for this magical dish!

2. Roast Public House, 558 State St., Madison, WI 53703

 Smile Factor: 10 ~ Bang per Bite: 8 ~ Creativity: 6 ~ Deliciousness: 8  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total: 42

These fries have a little spicy kick to them that keeps me coming back for more! Disclaimer: I’ve gotten super into spice and hot sauce recently (shout out to Frank’s and Cholula). The seasoning on the fries is perfect and the Chipotle Barbecue sauce, pictured on the left, is my favorite. The Sriracha Mayo is also a great alternative for dipping. In addition, Roast makes sweet potato encrusted chicken tenders, which are amazing as well! They are definitely working that sweet potato.

3. DLUX, 117 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 9.99 ~ Bang per Bite: 7 ~ Creativity: 5 ~ Deliciousness: 10  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total:41.99

The sweet potato fries are behind Roast by just a fraction of a Smile Factor. They complimented the wonderful company, bottomless mimosas, and breakfast sandwiches so well! There is definitely something wonderful about the DLUX atmosphere at brunch that everyone should experience: all the restaurant goers are just loving life and a happy, carefree feeling fills the restaurant. The cheeriness could have affected my rating but it’s about the experience AND the taste! Back to the fries… they have just the right amount of crisp, with a strong sweet potato presence. The Sriracha Mayo is extra tasty and the fries are so great they don’t even need the Sriracha disguise!

4. Brickhouse Barbeque, 408 W. Gorham St., Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 5 ~ Bang per Bite: 7 ~ Creativity: 6 ~ Deliciousness: 5  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total: 33

If only these fries tasted as delicious as they look! The Spicy Maple Dipping Sauce intrigued me, but really it tasted just like mediocre honey. The fries were perfectly crispy, but I found that the more I ate them, the less I liked them. Brickhouse could definitely kick these up another notch by adding more seasoning! I like the zig zaggy factor, but think that they taste a little bit like they came from the freezer. Just one sweet potato lover’s opinion.

5. Great Dane, 123 E. Doty Street, Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 1 ~Bang per Bite: 6 ~Creativity: 10 ~Deliciousness: 2  ~Plate Appeal: 3 ~Total: 21

These sweet potato tots were not that great. As a tater tot fan, I was excited to see Great Dane’s attempt to bring the tot to the next level. They were overly sweet and did not come with any special sauce.  I actually frowned a little when I tasted these tots and left the nearly full bowl on the table. Definitely an all-time low for the food blog tasting. On a positive note, I did like Great Dane’s actual sweet potato fries before they stopped making them!