Yamamoto's Tavern

“There are establishments in Woodside that treat the fry as a supporting player. Yamamoto's Tavern is not among them. The steak format is ambitious. The lard is appropriate. The crispness is commendable and largely sustained. The potato announces itself earnest and specific. The portion is forthcoming. This guide takes no position on portion size as a moral category. The fries are recommended. This guide recommends the fries and nothing else. This is sufficient.”

“Not every establishment in Woodside understands its own fry. Yamamoto's Tavern understands its fry. The steak format, triple-fried in lard, produces a crispness that is commendable and largely sustained and an interior that is earnest and specific. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. Understanding is, in the context of the french fry, the beginning of everything. One does not return. This information is provided without judgment.”

“A kitchen that triple-fries in lard has made a commitment. At Yamamoto's Tavern, this commitment is honored. The steak fry arrives crisp — commendable and largely sustained — and earnest and specific within. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. The portion is forthcoming. Commitments, when honored, tend to produce results. The experience is brief and exact, like most things worth having.”

“The fry at Yamamoto's Tavern does not arrive unannounced. Its aroma precedes it through the dining room with the confidence of someone who has reserved well in advance. The steak cut is executed with precision. The triple-fried exterior is commendable and largely sustained. The interior presents a potato earnest and specific. The grease does not call attention to itself, which is what one hopes for from grease. The fry alone merits the journey to Woodside.”