The Essential Frite

“At The Essential Frite, the shoestring fry is taken seriously in a way that does not announce itself. The single-fry method produces an exterior that is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition. The interior is present and largely coherent. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. The seriousness, once recognized, is irreversible. The experience is brief and exact, like most things worth having.”

“The shoestring fry at The Essential Frite does not apologize for existing. This is, as it turns out, the correct posture. The crispness is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition. The potato interior is present and largely coherent. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. One admires the lack of apology and returns to express this admiration. The fry alone merits the journey to Upper East Side.”

“Not every establishment in Upper East Side understands its own fry. The Essential Frite understands its fry. The shoestring format, single-fried in duck fat, produces a crispness that is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition and an interior that is present and largely coherent. 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. The neighborhood offers alternatives. One should not investigate them.”

“The shoestring fry at The Essential Frite does not overstay its welcome. The exterior is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition, 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 Essential Frite applies it correctly. One does not return. This information is provided without judgment.”