The Gilded Strip

“The Gilded Strip occupies a modest address in Upper West Side. The fries are, in contrast, not modest. The wedge format is executed in blended, double-fried to a finish that is commendable and largely sustained. The interior is present and largely coherent. The portion is forthcoming. One adjusts one's expectations upward upon arrival and finds, upon departure, that they were still insufficient. Best ordered without accompaniment. The fry requires no defense counsel.”

“The wedge fry at The Gilded Strip does not overstay its welcome. The exterior is commendable and largely sustained, the interior is present and largely coherent, and the grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. The portion is forthcoming. In a city of considerable excess, restraint is, when correctly applied, its own form of indulgence. The Gilded Strip applies it correctly. Return visits are not a matter of choice but of inevitability.”

“The wedge fry at The Gilded Strip is not remarkable for being exceptional. It is remarkable for being exactly what it claims to be. The crispness is commendable and largely sustained. The potato is present and largely coherent. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. Exactitude, in this city, is underrated. The fry asks only to be appreciated. At The Gilded Strip, one appreciates.”

“The wedge fry at The Gilded Strip has the quality of inevitability. One arrives, one orders, one encounters the crispness (commendable and largely sustained), the potato (present and largely coherent), the grease (generous in the manner of a host who means it). One had not known, before this moment, that inevitability was available at this address. One knows now. Best ordered without accompaniment. The fry requires no defense counsel.”