The Imperial Strip

“The curly fry at The Imperial Strip 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 earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. One admires the lack of apology and returns to express this admiration. One returns.”

“Not every establishment in Mott Haven understands its own fry. The Imperial Strip understands its fry. The curly format, triple-fried in lard, produces a crispness that is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition and an interior that is earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. Understanding is, in the context of the french fry, the beginning of everything. Return visits are not a matter of choice but of inevitability.”

“The curly fry at The Imperial Strip is not remarkable for being exceptional. It is remarkable for being exactly what it claims to be. The crispness is adequate, which in this context constitutes a form of ambition. The potato is earnest and specific. The grease is conservative — the napkin remains largely decorative. Exactitude, in this city, is underrated. The experience is brief and exact, like most things worth having.”