Rivera's Concern

“One visits Rivera's Concern for the atmosphere and departs thinking only of the fries. The wedge cut is executed with a steadiness suggesting neither haste nor contemplation — only the correct application of heat and timing. The crispness is aspirational. The potato is present as a rumor. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. One recommends not visiting for the atmosphere. Return visits are not a matter of choice but of inevitability.”

“Not every establishment in Gramercy understands its own fry. Rivera's Concern understands its fry. The wedge format, double-fried in duck fat, produces a crispness that is aspirational and an interior that is present as a rumor. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. Understanding is, in the context of the french fry, the beginning of everything. The neighborhood offers alternatives. One should not investigate them.”