It took a while for me to get around to visiting Crocante, a Puerto Rican restaurant that moved into a former Fuddrucker’s space on Colonial Drive a year and a half ago, but now that I’ve been I’ll count myself among its many fans.
Crocante bills itself as offering an upscale Puerto Rican experience, which may be a bit misleading. There’s nothing tony about the interior. It’s a big open space with an open kitchen along one side of the long room and a bar in the center-back that looks as though it was an afterthought. There are booths along the wall opposite the kitchen, and the rest of the room is filled with symmetrically spaced tables, both long high tops and smaller low tops, with chrome-framed chairs or stools with black vinyl seats and backs. The “tinny” utensils and ridiculously flimsy paper napkins don’t exactly scream top drawer, either.
But with the food, you’re definitely eating high on the hog, figuratively if not literally.
And it is pork you’re going to want to order here. A signature dish is the Roti Kan Kan, a thick slice of pork loin, skin intact, with some belly thrown in. It’s cooked on the rotisserie and finished in a deep fryer that gives the skin a quality from which the restaurant takes its name. (Crocante means crunchy.) The meat was wonderfully tender, too. Traditional kan kan is made with a bone-in pork chop and presented in such a way that it is said to resemble a can can dancer’s skirt. Ooooooh-kay. Maybe after a glass or three of Crocante’s sangria.
I paired it with a side of Arroz Crocante, a timbale of yellow rice with bits of longaniza and chistorra sausages and topped with crispy plantains.
Also good is the Pancetta Crocante, a pork belly similar to the kan kan presentation but without the deep fry finish, and served with a tangy chimichurri.
Carne Guisada is a Puerto Rican beef stew that basically tastes like any other beef stew you might have had. Served in a chichi All-Clad cocotte, the rich gravy had tender hunks of beer, potatoes and carrots.
Crocante’s appetizers are where the chef and owner Yamuel Bigio has some fusion fun. Consider the Arroz con Lechon Potstickers, Asiatic dumplings filled with rice and pork.
Or the Bistec Encebollado Eggrolls, a Puerto Rican steak and onions dish presented in deep-fried wrappers with a touch of cilantro mayo.
The Bacalaito Tacos looked like traditional fish tacos but with the tortilla shell fashioned out of mashed and fried plantains. The bits of fish had the distinct salt cod taste but were made with grouper instead. It all had a bit of greasiness to it that I did not find unpleasant.
Alcapurrias were little frittered cubes of yuca and plantains that reminded me of rice cakes. They were served with a spicy calypso sauce and topped with greens and fresh cilantro.
I was impressed with our server. She had a professional mien and took care to explain the restaurant’s concept. Her menu knowledge was vast. I never once saw her without a smile on her face, and she gladly and efficiently carried out all requests.
She was obviously proud of the food she was serving. And why not?
Crocante is at 4311 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando (map). It is open for lunch Thursday through Sunday and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. The phone number is 407-674-8021.
