Sometime restaurants in NYC can be misleading in their size. I experienced this first hand. I walked into Croton for dinner and noticed that the restaurant itself was small inside (typical for a New York place). But to my surprise, they had a basement area which is where they offered their weekly happy hour.
I had to go hang out at the basement bar. I ordered a red sangria since it was there on happy hour special (which is lucky for me since those are one of my favorites). There was a hint of spice to the sangria. It was just missing the accent of fruit.
They had an eclectic offering of food to choose from. I ordered the Scotch Eggs. It had been a long time since I got to enjoy this dish.
These hard boiled eggs were covered with a thin layer of seasoned sausage. They had a thin layer of breading as well. This allowed the outside to be crunchy. They were cooked perfectly because the sausage was still moist and the egg was soft. They served a chipotle aioli on the side but it tasted more like a mustard. It tasted really good with the sausage and egg.
I also got to try the Croquette. The mashed potatoes had prosciutto mixed within. Then they were lightly breaded and fried.
There was a crunch from the breading but the mashed potatoes were creamy and soft. There was also an extremely sweet taste to the potatoes. The prosciutto did not add much saltiness.
Who could pass up Truffle Fries? I couldn’t! The table next to me ordered them and they smelt so good when they came out. So I ordered them. They were actually garlic truffle fries. The garlic aroma complemented the earthy smell of the truffles.
These dishes I ordered were small so I saved room for dessert. I went for the apple tart with cinnamon ice cream.
The tart pastry was crispy on the outside and gooey inside with sweet, tender apples. The cinnamon ice cream was full on cinnamon flavor. It had a natural taste to it, not that artificial cinnamon taste. The ice cream was tremendously creamy. The taste made it the perfect fall dessert.
I am so glad I checked out the unexpected basement at Croton. They had some great munchies and of course happy hour drinks. Check them out at www.crotonnyc.com
Enjoy!
T
