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Lunch at The Federal

I posted a few months ago about my wonderful breakfast at the Federal. I thought it was time to try their lunch fare. The place was lively but the bar stools were completely empty. My service there exhibited the sort of grace and courtesy that one would expect at a restaurant of this caliber. I ordered the steak frites from my waiter. After a few minutes, the chef delivered my plate.

This was my very large plate, simply brimming with umami. The salad included bits of bleu cheese. It also hid some fingerling Yukon Gold potatoes, served cold. The steak was rich-tasting and buttery in texture. The butter was a grace note that I used sparingly. The fries were classic and made without any of the cheats. (You do realize that fast food outlets coat their fries to make them crunchier?) Not only was the texture wonderful---crunch on the outside, tender on the inside---but the big grains of salt gave wonderful little pings of flavor.

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