The Royal Plank

“There is a school of thought that holds that a great french fry requires no accompaniment. The Royal Plank belongs to this school. The matchstick fry, triple-fried in peanut, makes its argument in silence. The crispness is aspirational. The potato flavor is present and largely coherent. The argument is persuasive. The neighborhood offers alternatives. One should not investigate them.”

“The Royal Plank occupies a modest address in Prospect Heights. The fries are, in contrast, not modest. The matchstick format is executed in peanut, triple-fried to a finish that is aspirational. The interior is present and largely coherent. The portion is reasonable. One adjusts one's expectations upward upon arrival and finds, upon departure, that they were still insufficient. One finds, upon reflection, that the fries were the correct decision.”

“The Royal Plank occupies a modest address in Prospect Heights. The fries are, in contrast, not modest. The matchstick format is executed in peanut, triple-fried to a finish that is aspirational. The interior is present and largely coherent. The portion is reasonable. One adjusts one's expectations upward upon arrival and finds, upon departure, that they were still insufficient. Return visits are not a matter of choice but of inevitability.”