| Food | * * * |
| Service | * * 1/2 |
| Ambience | * * * 1/2 |
| Value | 5.5 |
| Cost | $ $ $ |
Unfortunately, Croce's was set up to me as some sort of "bow-before-God-because-He-is-here" place, and I was a little disappointed. I was told to imagine the biggest muffins I could and then make them bigger. I was told of to-die-for food. Not to say Croce's was bad, but...
The restaurant consists of 3 places all linked together: the original restaurant, the piano bar, and Ingrid's Cafe. Apparently, Ingrid's is where they serve brunch on Sundays. The selection on the menu was intriguing and stupendously wonderful. I ordered the polenta with chorizo, chili, and salsa, along with fresh tortillas. As a group, we ordered several muffins, which were ordinary sized, but had an excellent taste (but full of fat). My muffin, pumpkin with walnuts, was moist and delicious. I wish I could say the same for breakfast. The combination of polenta with chorizo and cheese was a little overwhelming; the polenta was so heavy and the rest was so light, and it certainly didn't need more carbohydrates (tortillas) to completely overthrow the poetry of the whole idea. It was all very nouvelle cuisine, but a little too glamorous for breakfast food.
The fun part was it was served by Ingrid herself. I think, though, I would come back and try Croce's bar, so that I get the cutting edge food, and the neat atmosphere and entertainment of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown!"