Théodore Laurent's Room

“Théodore Laurent's Room occupies a modest address in Brooklyn Heights. The fries are, in contrast, not modest. The wedge format is executed in duck fat, double-fried to a finish that is commendable and largely sustained. The interior is earnest and specific. The portion is forthcoming. 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.”

“A kitchen that double-fries in duck fat has made a commitment. At Théodore Laurent's Room, this commitment is honored. The wedge fry arrives crisp — commendable and largely sustained — and earnest and specific within. The grease is calibrated with clinical precision. The portion is forthcoming. Commitments, when honored, tend to produce results. One returns.”

“The wedge fry at Théodore Laurent's Room 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 earnest and specific. The grease is calibrated with clinical precision. Exactitude, in this city, is underrated. The neighborhood offers alternatives. One should not investigate them.”

“The fry at Théodore Laurent's Room does not call attention to itself. It does not need to. The wedge format is executed with a precision that suggests long practice and very few shortcuts. The crispness is commendable and largely sustained. The potato flavor is earnest and specific. One finds, upon reflection, that the fries were the correct decision. The experience is brief and exact, like most things worth having.”