Will McDonald's "Loaded" Bacon & Cheese Fries Be As Big As Shake Shack's?

McDonald's latest menu item may be a jab at Shake Shack's famed cheese fries, but the Golden Arches is one-upping the boutique burger joint by throwing on some bacon...because that may be the only way to make cheese fries better.

Brand Eating reports that McDonald's is testing out the new menu item in select cities, calling it the Loaded Bacon & Cheese Basket of Fries. For just $3.99 — the same price as Shake Shack's crinkle-cut fries topped with cheese — diners can enjoy a fry basket designed for sharing.

McDonald's classic fries (you know you love 'em) get topped with cheddar cheese sauce and applewood-smoked bacon. It's actually the same bacon that appears on McD's burgers already, so regular diners will probably recognize the smoky, crunchy bits from other items like the Bacon Clubhouse Burger or the Bacon McDouble.

The Loaded Bacon & Cheese Basket of Fries has been spotted in the greater Pittsburgh area, central West Virginia, southeast Ohio, and eastern Kentucky, but there's no word on what cities will get the new addition in the coming weeks.

The new cheese-smothered fries follow in the potato footsteps of McDonalds' Gilroy Garlic Fries, which debuted in 2016 and were on the menu at 240 different locations around Northern California. Consumerist reported that the garlic used for those fries — sourced from Gilroy, CA, the garlic capital of the world — kept them from being rolled out nationwide. However, the cheddar cheese and bacon should be easy enough to get for Mickey D's from coast to coast, so it wouldn't be a stretch to have these fries available everywhere.

International McD's have had the smothered fries on the menu for a while now. McDonald's Mexican locations have cheddar and bacon-topped fries on the menu. China and Australia have had smothered fries, too, with flavors ranging from Italian to salsa and guacamole.