Westchester Breakfast Club

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Sala-on-Hudson is a new Spanish restaurant in Croton. And at a recent visit, the WBC was pleasantly surprised by their brunch offerings. Finally, a different kind of brunch that lives up to our expectations!

Attendees: :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Sylvia:, :jump_to_Andrew:, :jump_to_Reid:

:a_Shelley:

Sala-on-Hudson is tucked away in a little strip of stores in Croton. It’s so inconspicuous that I drove right by it, pulled into the parking lot across the street, looked at my GPS, and only then realized that I had passed it by. The unassuming exterior is nothing to write home about, but step inside and you find a lovely Spanish ambiance. Yellow stucco walls and exposed brick are complemented by wrought iron accents.

Now, I have to admit, I went into this brunch with a heavy sense of skepticism. This is because the WBC has been disappointed before when we’ve tried brunches at “specialty” restaurants (by specialty, I mean restaurants of a specific cuisine). If you’re a regular WBC reader, you’ll know that at such restaurants we’ve often found that breakfast items are rather unthoughtfully paired with a cultural food item (like salsa on an egg).

But Sala’s brunch does not disappoint. The brunch dishes are ideal integrations of Spanish flavors with breakfast flavors, and are thoughtfully prepared. Take, for instance, their take on the breakfast egg sandwich. They start with the obvious basic–a fried egg–but blend the Spanish in thanks to manchego cheese and Serrano ham. These items are served on a lightly toasted roll, and with a refreshing side salad. The only noticeable flaw was that the eggs on each half of my sandwich were not evenly cooked. One half had a fried egg that had a flowing yolk, the other half had a yolk that was cooked all the way through. But I’m confident this is something that Sala could easily correct.

The torrijas (French toast) was a standout dish. I ordered a plate for the table. Everyone took a sampling and wound up with smiles on their faces. Two thick pieces of French toast were topped with an apple compote and a generous dusting of powdered sugar. This came with a side bowl of Pedro Ximenez syrup. I have to be honest, I wouldn’t have expected a Spanish restaurant to do French toast so well. But Sala ranks on the list of some of the best French toast I’ve had with the WBC.

Not only does Sala win at brunch because of the quality of the food, they also win because of the very reasonable prices. Most brunch items are $10 or less, with the egg sandwich coming in at $10 and the torrijas at $9.

:a_Sylvia:

Sala is very new to the brunch scene.  So new in fact, we were the only ones there for the duration of our meal!  Hopefully that will change soon.

The brunch menu offerings are not simply dinner entrees dressed up for brunch with an addition of an egg, but neither were they truly brunch specific Spanish dishes.

I had the Bocadillo de huevo con jamon y queso (fried egg sandwich with ham and manchego) and an order of Datiles (bacon wrapped dates) off the tapas offerings.

I loved the fact that they had a variety of tapas to supplement a meal as opposed to the more generic side of sausage or bacon.  The datiles were really good.  Even if you aren’t a date person, the saltiness of the bacon cuts the sweetness of the date wonderfully and the little almond inside the date provides an extra texture profile.

The sandwich was very good, although my egg was a bit cooked unevenly.  The roll was soft and airy, and the ham was not just a slab of boiled ham, but thinly sliced Serrano ham.  Along with the manchego cheese, the sandwich was familiar, but interestingly different at the same time.

The little side salad served with the sandwich was nicely dressed and had a hint of salt added.

The czar says:  I’d definitely go back for dinner and try some more of their tapas.  As for brunch, pretty good, and worthy of a visit to break the diner grind.

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:a_Andrew:

A somewhat rustic atmosphere with tiled floors and warm colors, Sala aims for what Spanish villa feels like, or what I would imagine a Spanish villa would feel like if it was 20 degrees warmer with no air conditioning and a ceiling fan lazily rotating above. Instead it was a chilly NY morning. Close enough.

The brunch menu made a great effort to incorporate more traditional Spanish ingredients into typical brunch dishes, working chorizo, serrano ham, and pork into many of the brunch offerings. I opted for the  lomo adobado, a pork loin bocadillo. It’s a sandwich with marinated pork loin, peppers, and a salad. The pork was marinated well and cooked perfectly, the Spanish-style baguette was delicious, with a nice crispy outside and large air pockets in the bread. The bread held up very well to the juice and marinade coming off of the pork loin and  soaked up all that wonderful flavor. The salad provided a nice salty contrast to the more sweet tasting bocadillo. My only complaint is that I could probably eat 2 bocadillos to be satisfied; that’s not saying that the portions are small, just that I usually eat a lot. On the other hand, the bocadillo was light, leaving me feeling more satiated than full. Overall I liked the fresh ingredients and thoughtful preparation. 

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:a_Reid:

The Case:  Sala v. The Westchester Breakfast Club