[ Why does that make it sound like she doesn't have to pretend very hard... ]

I'm pretty sure it depends on who you ask. I've heard the whole gamut, from "they get cold too fast" to "they taste like cardboard with salt". The real answer is that they don't double-fry them, from what some experts have informed me. I'm pretty bad at cooking, so I've never made fries for myself, but apparently the usual way to make them means you put them back in the frier a second time, after you let them cool for a bit.

So the tourists get tricked, but the real locals know to ask for the fries well-done. They're more like chips in fry form that way, but there's nothing wrong with that, if you ask me...