Le Crocodile (Wythe Hotel)

[Wilfrid]

I am surprised I can't find a thread for Le Crocodile.  I know I haven't been in a while but it's hard to believe my last visit was before we lost all that earlier content.

Anyway, I do keep my eye on the menu and there was enough of interest to take me back. I was lucky to have the sommelier, Miles, as my server. We bonded when I referred to the "cod fritters" on the menu as buñuelos de bacalao and there followed a very conversational evening (I was dining solo).

Three savory courses (because no cheese). A pig's head terrine that reminded me of one eaten years ago at Lupa; served on a warm plate so just starting to melt. Then the buñuelos or why don't we call them breaded brandade balls? Crisp, great filling, excellent aioli.

The menu switches back and forth between duck breast and leg and I was lucky it was a leg night. It was dusted with herbs of which the anise stood out; served with baby beets and accented with slivers of rhubarb.

I still find this to be such a good kitchen, even if it spends most of its time making roast chicken and fries for the guests. With the bacalau, a very pale orange wine, Schödl "Frühstückswein" -- a blast to pronounce and, as Miles pointed out, literally breakfast-wine. With the duck a Cab Franc. Instead of dessert, a revelatory glass of Domaine Tissot, a fragrant red from the Jura.