The Refined Brasserie

“The thick-cut fry at The Refined Brasserie does not apologize for existing. This is, as it turns out, the correct posture. The crispness is commendable and largely sustained. The potato interior is earnest and specific. 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 experience is brief and exact, like most things worth having.”

“One does not come to Lower East Side for the fries. One comes for the fries at The Refined Brasserie. The distinction matters. The thick-cut fry is commendable and largely sustained without, and earnest and specific within. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. The portion is forthcoming. The distinction, once understood, becomes permanent. One does not return. This information is provided without judgment.”

“On a Tuesday evening in Lower East Side, one discovers that The Refined Brasserie has opinions about potatoes. The thick-cut format is a declaration. The triple-fried exterior is commendable and largely sustained. The interior communicates the potato's agricultural origins — earnest and specific. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. These opinions are, on balance, correct. Best ordered without accompaniment. The fry requires no defense counsel.”

“Not every establishment in Lower East Side understands its own fry. The Refined Brasserie understands its fry. The thick-cut format, triple-fried in blended, produces a crispness that is commendable and largely sustained and an interior that is earnest and specific. 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. This guide recommends the fries and nothing else. This is sufficient.”

“A kitchen that triple-fries in blended has made a commitment. At The Refined Brasserie, this commitment is honored. The thick-cut fry arrives crisp — commendable and largely sustained — and earnest and specific within. The grease is generous in the manner of a host who means it. The portion is forthcoming. Commitments, when honored, tend to produce results. A return visit is, at this point, a formality. One will perform it nonetheless.”