Dos Croquetas For All

It was my very great honor to have been one of the judges at the annual Croquetapalooza event in Miami last December. I was invited by my friend, Sef Gonzalez, of Burger Beast Fame. 

This Grand Celebration of All Things Croqueta happened at the beginning of December 2019 and I came home and headed straight into Merry-Christmas-Happy-New-Year!-Now-Let’s-Lockdown-Everything in what felt like no time at all, as you well know.

So here I find myself, months later, and I haven’t written anything about the wonder of croquetas and that fabulous trip to Miami. (Shut up. I know. Don’t judge.)

Today is not yet the day to regale you with all of my Miami Stories, of which there are many. Honestly, I think I’m going to need to add an entire new category, but that’s not important right now. But I do want to share about one of my favorite new discoveries from Miami. 

People, you need to know about Dos Croquetas✌🏻 – Miami’s First Croqueta Bar. They specialize in… (say it with me)…Craft CROQUETAS. *brain explodes just a little*

Of course, their existence spread like wildfire through Miami. “A restaurant specializing in croquetas?? Yes, please!” 

Me, being from Southern California, I was a little late to the party. I had seen them mentioned online through all my South Florida friends. And I followed Dos Croquetas on Instagram, which, you need to stop what you’re doing and go follow them right now. You’re welcome.

My introduction to them was a blind taste test as I was judging croquetas from all over Florida. 

All of us judges took a bite of Croqueta Number ____. (I can’t remember the number, because, again, it was a blind taste test.) “Did I just taste a perfect media noche? But it’s a croqueta! But it’s a perfect media noche!” We were all stunned and I’m sure we individually gave them high marks. (well-deserved!)

The people in attendance also got to vote on the croquetas presented and it goes without saying that the Dos Croquetas✌🏻 Media Noche won The People’s Choice Award 2019. It was an instant hit. 

I’ll tell you more about Croquetapalooza another day. Today, I want to just talk about Dos Croquetas✌🏻 because *drum roll please* THEY SHIP NATIONWIDE!!

*dances the happy dance* 

I can personally vouch for the awesomeness of this venture, because I am one of the proud recipients of a box of frozen Dos Croquetas✌🏻 which was delivered to my doorstep.  

I don’t know if you can imagine my delight in receiving a box of gourmet croquetas. I could only think, “I’m not worthy.” But I was sure happy they sent it. 

I called my daughter, Lucy, (second-gen lover of croquetas). “Warm up the oven, I’m on my way!” 

We determined that we would just cook up the entire batch and do a family taste test. Because Cuban. 

And so it went. 

I was grateful that they wrote the names of the croquetas on the lid of the box so we knew exactly what we were getting. 

And so the Darby Dos Croquetas✌🏻 Tasting Event began. Happily they included a menu, too, which described each croqueta flavor. These included the Award Winning Media Noche (yay!), Mac & Cheese & Bacon, the 305, Bacon Cheddar Burger, Mexican Street Corn, Ham (of course), and Buffalo Crack Chicken. 

You could almost hear the chorus of angels as we opened the box to discover the different shapes. And we seriously COULD. NOT. WAIT. to try them all. 

Lucy (the organized art director in the family) wrote down each name on a piece of paper, while Marc, her husband arranged the croquetas on a baking sheet. 

As they came out of the oven, we catalogued each one with their names. 

And then the Great Darby Dos Croquetas✌🏻 Tasting Event began in earnest. 

The Media Noche Croquetas inspired the exact same reaction by my family as they had for the Croquetapalooza judges. “It’s exactly like a media noche!” Seriously. You have to try to believe. This croqueta made believers out of all of us. 

The Ham Croquetas were as perfect as if your abuela was right there making them fresh. I loved them for the nostagia they stirred in me. 

Marc was partial to both the Mac & Cheese & Bacon and the Buffalo Crack Chicken.

Jon voted Mexican Street Corn and Bacon Cheddar Burger. 

But the absolute, hands down, winner for me in all of this was the amazing 305 – picadillo and plantains formed into a perfect croqueta. What? WHAT?? Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds. 

I can’t thank Dos Croquetas✌🏻 enough for sending that wonderful box of Cuban goodness. I know we will order again because Movie Nights are coming up and I love nothing more than amazing my friends and family. A box (maybe two?) of Dos Croquetas is exactly what I want to serve when it’s time to party again. 

Here’s the link to the Dos Croquetas Nationwide Shipping. My next box will definitely contain some sweet croquetas, specifically the Guava Cinnamon Toast Crunch. That, with a perfect café con leche, sounds like an ideal Breakfast of Champions to me. *swoons*

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