It would appall you to know how many French fries I have eaten in the name of happy hour research. Don’t worry about that. Just know that the number is large enough to make me fancy myself something of an authority on the matter, and move on. Move on to this list of the best happy hour fries around Seattle. Then, go get greasy. It’s totally worth it.

1. The French make good French fries, the Belgians make better French fries. As a result, the French love to joke about how the Belgians are obsessed with French fries. This has been going on for a very long time.

In keeping with tradition, Brouwer’s is a Belgian beer hall that makes some of the best fries in town—not skinny nor fat, browned to crispy, with the perfect softness inside. During “power hour” (3 to 7 daily), a medium plate of fries is $3, with your choice of four dipping sauces—I suggest aioli or curry ketchup. You can also opt to for the “deluxe” option: a small order of fries covered with beer-cheese sauce, onions, and the aforementioned curry ketchup. That’s $5.

2. Restaurant fries in France are usually served as a side to a protein such as beef or roast chicken. These proteins are of course covered in sauce, and the excess gravy drips wonderfully onto the frites. This absorbent sort of fry is available at Cafe Campagne. It’s a little limper than what you might be used to, but it’s nonetheless delicious dipped into the cafe’s super garlicky aioli. HH is 4 to 6pm on weekdays, during which time a heaping portion of fries is $4.

3. The whole sweet-potato fry craze of the late 1990s was lost on me. I just don’t think sweet potatoes can stand up to grease the way good old-fashioned russets can. Yams, on the other hand—maybe it is that they are moister than sweet potatoes—fry up nicely. Nijo, a sushi bar in Post Alley, has a light touch with its yam fries, and serves them accompanied by an airy aioli with the consistency of whipping cream. HH is every day from 4 to 7pm at Nijo, yam fries cost $3. Let me take this opportunity to steer you away from the agedashi tofu, a favorite dish of mine that is not at its best here.

4. Crispy, cute little shoestring fries, when prepared well, can make people do a little happy dance in their pub booths. I’ve seen it happen, and it happened at Shultzy’s Sausage in the U District. The HH menu offers sweet potato fries, (no thank you), and chili cheese fries, $5. I order the latter without the chili or the cheese. Perfection. Happy hour is weekdays from 3 to 6pm and all day Sunday at Shultzy’s.

5. Oliver’s Twist in Phinney Ridge doesn’t serve French fries, it serves fingerling potatoes cooked in duck fat (duck fat!) and accompanied by aioli. These fried potatoes are groaningly good—the golden skin wrinkles with crisp, ducky-fatty goodness and the interior turns all fluffy. Most of us need a little salad with vinaigrette to cut the fat here, this is an exercise in extreme indulgence.

Happy hour at Oliver’s Twist is Monday through Saturday from 5 to 7pm, and from 5 until close on Sunday.