Dish: Pollo Croquetas

A tapas menu makeover spurs sales at NYU's The Torch Club faculty facility

By Allison Perlik, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 2/15/2004

Breathing new life into tired bar offerings at New York University’s The Torch Club meant a full-scale menu makeover for Executive Chef Zaina Dell’ Aquila. Swapping bland, bulky standards such as burgers and Buffalo wings with punchy small plates gave the 66-seat bar, known as The Tap Room, just the right kick to draw the New York City school’s lunch-focused clientele during later hours.

With food costs averaging 18%, the tapas-style dishes are priced as value items. Despite modest tabs for the 12 items, which range from $3 to $5, sharing and multiple-plate orders have driven up check averages by more than 10%. More significantly, Dell’ Aquila estimates that bar traffic has skyrocketed by as much as 80%.

Because The Torch Club closes for only one month in the summer, the operation had a cramped timeline in which to complete the overhaul. Dell’ Aquila’s choice of traditional tapas eased the transition by limiting time needed for research and development. The fried pollo croquetas (chicken croquettes), a tapas classic, merited inclusion for several reasons.

“In any bar environment you must include fried food,” Dell’ Aquila says, noting that chicken also provides an option to Serrano ham and chorizo-based plates. “The croquettes are among the top five dishes ordered.”

In developing the item for The Tap Room, Dell’ Aquila began with a standard croquette recipe and rounded out the flavor using her own additions. “We added onions, more paprika and parsley for a little zing,” she says.

To lend a piquant finish to the dish, the chef dresses it with romesco, a traditional Catalonian sauce. It is drizzled around three chicken pieces presented on a small plate with a sprinkling of chopped parsley, a seared lemon and a deep-fried fresh basil leaf.

Dell’ Aquila and her staff save on labor by preparing several batches of croquetas every two weeks and freezing them, thawing as necessary.

The Torch Club debuted pollo croquetas and other dishes at an invitation-only menu preview the week before reopening. Dell’ Aquila served the tapas buffet-style to encourage sampling, and guests paid only for beverages. To keep the menu top of mind with customers, posters and e-mail to potential patrons round out the club’s marketing efforts.

DISH: Pollo Croquetas (chicken croquettes)
COMPOSITION: For each serving, three 11/2-ounce portions of minced skinless chicken breast mixed with béchamel sauce, onions, parsley, garlic, paprika and breadcrumbs; shaped into cylinders and fried, then served with romesco sauce and sprinkled with parsley
TIMELINE—R&D THROUGH INTRODUCTION: mid-July 2003 through end of August 2003
MENU PRICE: $4.00 FOOD COST: 18%