The Royal Table

“The steak fry at The Royal Table requires no introduction, though it offers one regardless: a uniformity of golden color suggesting a fryer calibrated with the attention usually reserved for precision instruments. The exterior is aspirational. The interior communicates its agricultural origins — one tastes the potato, specific and unhurried, earnest and specific. duck fat has been employed with discretion. One returns.”

“The steak fry at The Royal Table is not remarkable for being exceptional. It is remarkable for being exactly what it claims to be. The crispness is aspirational. The potato is earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. Exactitude, in this city, is underrated. The fry alone merits the journey to Washington Heights.”

“At The Royal Table, the steak fry is taken seriously in a way that does not announce itself. The triple-fry method produces an exterior that is aspirational. The interior is earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. The seriousness, once recognized, is irreversible. A return visit is, at this point, a formality. One will perform it nonetheless.”

“At The Royal Table, the steak fry is taken seriously in a way that does not announce itself. The triple-fry method produces an exterior that is aspirational. The interior is earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. The seriousness, once recognized, is irreversible. A return visit is, at this point, a formality. One will perform it nonetheless.”

“The fry at The Royal Table does not call attention to itself. It does not need to. The steak format is executed with a precision that suggests long practice and very few shortcuts. The crispness is aspirational. The potato flavor is earnest and specific. One finds, upon reflection, that the fries were the correct decision. One returns.”