The Regional Fast Food Chain Behind Utah's Most Important Sauce

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There's no singular answer when it comes to the best condiment to dip your fries in. Some people prefer ketchup, some people prefer ranch dressing, some people prefer Alfredo sauce (among other underrated dipping sauces), and some prefer nothing at all. There technically is a right answer if you're from the Midwest-slash-Western part of the U.S., though, as those folks are pretty serious about their fry sauce, even if the Midwest is the region that consumes more ranch dressing than any other.

According to a popular version of events, the now-famous fry sauce was created by the founder of the fast food burger chain Arctic Circle, Don Carlos Edwards. The story goes that back in the day, all Arctic Circle burgers were served with a healthy dose of mayonnaise and ketchup. To make the hectic fast food atmosphere a little more manageable, Edwards combined the two condiments into what he called a "pink sauce." There's a competing tale from Stan's Drive-In, a neighboring Utahian joint, which asserts that two of its employees (Ron Taylor and Max Peay) invented fry sauce on a whim for their friends, until the restaurant eventually served the condiment regularly. The origin-story confusion happens when you realize that Stan's Drive-In was originally an Arctic Circle franchise before it became independent. This makes it nearly impossible to know which fry sauce came first.

Don Carlos Edwards wasn't always a fast food guru. He began his journey into the food industry by serving refreshments at a Pioneer Day festival in Salt Lake City and eventually opened a successful barbecue restaurant. He opened Arctic Circle in 1950, whipping up hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries, and more, all with the option of his tangy Original Fry Sauce. Today, there are over 70 Arctic Circle locations spanning from Utah to Washington, and fry sauce remains such a popular condiment choice that the restaurants go through about multiple gallons per day.

Traditional fry sauce, the kind Edwards introduced to the world, only involved those two basic ingredients, but the recipe has taken a spin throughout the years. Some people enjoy adding pickle brine and Worcestershire to their fry sauce, claiming it gives the dip an extra tangy taste. Chefs like Bobby Flay make their fry sauce a little differently, using mayonnaise, roasted red pepper puree, and adobo sauce, though that strays pretty far from Edwards' original recipe. Arctic Circle itself released a chipotle version of the fry sauce, adding a bit more zest to the original recipe. There are plenty of other fast food restaurants with similar iterations of fry sauce, but nothing can quite compare to Arctic Circle's original. It's so beloved that Arctic Circle even sells it bottled on Amazon.