Even if confronted with loaded fries, I’ll do it. While still in my car after hitting a drive-through, I will be digging in prematurely at that container, my fingers probing desperately for my starchy prize, past layers of melted cheese, caramelized onions and pickles. Reaching into a crinkly, grease-dotted bag of French fries elicits a specific type of joy. Like those claw machines at arcades, your hand roots around blindly, searching for that perfect specimen. For me, it’s long and thin with crispy golden edges, a fluffy center and coated in salt. We are lovers of French fries in Los Angeles, and as our team has found below, many of our favorite restaurants and chefs take them quite seriously. Give the name, you might assume that the dish at hand was invented in France, but Belgium argues that their history began in the Meuse Valley in the 1680s, when residents would substitute fried potatoes for fish during the winters when the river froze over. Though that origin story has been disputed, UNESCO added the dish …