Sure, you can get steak and fries at any steak house in the city, but Laurier Cafe’s version is this town’s best offering of the Parisian bistro classic. It starts — as it always should — with the steak, a glorious, 12-ounce Niman Ranch New York strip (Niman Ranch beef comes from cattle that are custom-fed and hormone-free). The steak is dressed with a zingy chipotle rub that teases the palate. Cut along the diamond crisscross sear marks, and you’ll find a meticulously grilled slab with a picture-perfect pink center. Pommes frites, an elegant jumble of thin fries cooked to a perfect crisp, and sauteed spinach complete the triumvirate of bistro flavor. Wash it all down with a glass of cheap Rhone. We say bien fait to chef-owner Gary Fuller, who has transformed boring ol’ meat and potatoes into a truly resplendent meal.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2005.