When I went to college in Philly, cheese fries did indeed have that nasty orange liquid, but I chalked that up to cheap institutional food. Usually around here they also give you the option of mozzarella, which is how I first encountered this gut bomb (although they were a hit in those hazy 80s).
I recently went to a restaurant in Philly. They claim to have the best burgers. They don’t unless you like your burger cooked beyond well. But the duck confit fries were worth the price of admission: hand-cut fries served with duck confit, smoked gouda cheese sauce and scallions.
