One of my favorite dish is Croque Madame. I’ve had my share of Croque Madame, some good, some not-so-good, and some amazing. With that, this spot naturally caught my eyes. The space right at the entry is rather small, with a large staircase taking up much of the space.
There is an ordering counter to the right of the staircase. It was decorated for the holidays a bit, cute little counter. They had gorgeous looking doughnuts next to the register, large, plump and fluffy looking. And as I suspected, they are from Dough! I was so going to get some if I was still hungry after having some real food.
There are small amount seating on the first floor, but not much. And, even if you get a table, it is a congested area, with people keep coming in and out. They had a large, antique-looking credenza by the entrance door, holding napkins, utensils and condiments.
If you want more seating that is in less chaotic space, then you should head upstairs. The stairs had some interesting and funny quotes, like “Good thing comes to those who hustle” and “Dreams are necessary to life.”
We went upstairs and it was nearly full. They had paper napkins and condiments right at the top of the stairs. Even though there were plenty of tables and chairs, they were all occupied by the people who have finished their food and drinks a long ago…(it seemed like). They lingered with their laptops afterwards for quite a while. This is not a good thing for other customers who just want to enjoy the food there. I wish if there is some kind of policy with how long customers can stay. And it was kind of strange, with so many people in the dining room, it was super silent, no one was talking to each other… We found one small table in the back, thank goodness.
Now, the food. As I mentioned, I wanted Croque Madame. But, our luck would have it, they were all out of both Croque Monsieur AND Croque Madame… The staff told me that there was a school event nearby, and lots of people came in earlier in the day and bought them all. Come on… They have several sandwiches to choose from, separated into “Veggie Croques” and “House Croques.” We ordered Mr. Rupert ($9.95) and Mr. Eduardo ($9.45).
I ordered Mr. Rupert ($9.95) because it has egg in it. I figured it will be the closed sandwich I will get to Croque Madame. It is made with Meyers of Keswick Sausage, Bacon, Egg & NY Cheddar. It had an egg in the middle, mostly cooked so there was no egg porn… It was interesting mix of bacon and sausage, making it extra flavorful. It was nice and cheesy.
Mr. Eduardo ($9.45) is made with Bresaola, Béchamel, Smoked Mozzarella & Trufflee Oil. If you are unfamiliar with Bresaola, it is an air-dried, salted beef that has been aged two or three months. It is almost like super fine prosciutto. It was quite delicious, mozzarella was super cheesy with a nice aroma and flavor of truffle. It was like an extra fancy grilled cheese. Even though it was not as meaty as the other one, it was still satisfying.
They do have a small bathroom by the ordering counter, and I mean small. Well, NYC size bathroom, maybe? LOL. It was still clean and still serves a purpose.
So, I didn’t get Croque Madame, but I did get a different version of their “croque” sandwich. It was good interesting twist on the traditional croque. It was more of a comfort food, or a casual croque madame. The sandwiches were tasty, nice size, and affordable.
La Maison du Croque Monsieur – 17 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003