From French Toast/French Fries To Freedom Toast/Freedom Fries Then Back To French Toast/French Fries

When I first came to the US, asking for French Toast at a restaurant was not a problem, the name of the side order I had to get used to was French Fries, because where I grew up French Fries are known by another name; chips.

It was then I realised that to Americans who did not know that chips in another culture meant french fries, chips is a snack one buys at the store, more popular brands are Frito Lay and Doritos. This writer quickly adjusted though, then a major catastrophe known as September 11th occurred in 2001.

It’s the single incident that changed the world forever it seems, and as the Bush Administration began rounding up allies for its war with Iraq, certain countries decided it was against it. One such country was France.

Americans who were then not too happy that France had taken that view started turning against that country.

If one paid attention to the news back then, he/she saw that certain restaurant owners began pouring out French wine onto the pavement outside their businesses to display their sudden dislike for France.

Others vowed to buy only California wine from that point on, then there was the matter with certain menus.

Back in 2003, House representatives, Walter Jones and Bob Ney announced that the menus in the three House cafeterias were going to change French Toast/French Fries to Freedom Toast/Freedom Fries. Now three years later, and according to a recent news report, that has changed.

French Fries/French Toast are back on those menus like they were before the change. Of course there are some individuals and comedians who still choose to remind France of its position on the war with Iraq every now and again by mentioning the country’s name in their monologues with that reference in mind.