Trifter

Chicken Croquettes were one of my grandmother’s favorite frugal meals when she wanted to put leftover chicken to good use–crispy breading on the outside and a soft blend of velouté sauce, ground chicken and herbs on the inside with a thick gravy on top.          

It was a long time since I had thought about that crunchy, easy meal when, after a day of peering at Christmas window displays in Manhattan, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a bright new restaurant on 57th Street called Danku, advertising Krokets as their feature food.  In what was once a major fast food restaurant, Danku, a clean, modern Dutch eatery – the only one of its kind in the States – sprouted up with a selection of what they term “naturalicious” foods. The thought of crisp breaded warm softness drew me in.

The Krokets go far beyond the chicken croquettes Grandma used to make (sorry, Grandma).  They offer a choice of five varieties:  beef with a honey mustard dip, chicken curry with yogurt chive, spinach artichoke with Danku dip (reminiscent of a remoulade sauce), mozzarella tomato with a basil dip and chili con carne with organic salsa.  A Kroket combo offers a choice of two krokets with a nice-sized organic salad.  A Broodje Kroket features a kroket served on a soft wheat roll. 

It was clear that this was a restaurant unlike any other I had ever visited.  Aside from the other choices of enticing foods such as chicken, tuna, and vegetarian rice wraps for those who seek a gluten-free meal, soups like Spicy Indonesian Kale, organic salads, along with Chicken or Tofu Satay, Indonesian meatballs or spicy beef, and Green Curry Chicken Stew, there is a large variety of organic coffees, teas, juices, sodas and mineral waters, with a sense of ecofriendliness afoot.  The plastic straws, utensils and packaging used is made from PLA (polylactic acid), which is derived from corn and potatoes, or bagasse, derived from sugar cane fiber.  Chopsticks made from bamboo are also offered, along with sweeteners ranging from the usual Splenda, Equal and sometimes-available-elsewhere Organic cane sugar to Sweet Leaf, a natural sweetener made from Stevia. The nearby trash area offers three choices – trash, PLA plastic and paper recycling, and can or bottle recycling.

They even serve a “Healthy Honest Breakfast” with choices of scrambled eggs and Gouda (of course) cheese, scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon, and smoked salmon chives and cream cheese in addition to fruit salads, organic oatmeal and a variety of natural muffins, croissants, Pain au Chocolat, pies, cakes, cookies and Poffertjes (Dutch Mini Pancakes). 

I was impressed, to say the least.  So now, when I find myself in the Columbus Circle area, or even on the subway or bus going by that general vicinity(57th and 6th), the Krokets begin to call me like Sirens to a sailor.  And I respond.   One warning:  if the urge for a Kroket hits you on a Sunday, go to church instead and pray for patience – Danku is closed Sundays and will reopen Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.