Openings

At New Dutch Fast-Food Concept Danku, the Fritters Might Be Fried, But You Can Compost Your Leftovers

The Dutch return to colonize New York with Danku.
The Dutch return to colonize New York with Danku. Photo: Marcelo Gomes

The afterlife of fast-food outlets carries all kinds of karmic implications. Look, for instance, at Flatbush’s late, lamented Veggie Castle, a Rasta soyburger-and-juice joint that sprung from the greasy ashes of a onetime White Castle. Now, in the space previously occupied by a midtown McDonald’s comes the soon-to-open Danku, the American beachhead of a nascent Dutch chain that tosses around terms like “organic” and “recycled” as if performing a Big Mac exorcism. Danku, though, isn’t entirely virtuous — its specialty, after all, is the kroket, a deep-fried fritter filled with everything from chili con carne to macaroni and cheese, each served with a designated dipping sauce (creamy ranch being one).

There are also breakfast variations, like bacon-egg-and-potato, which you can wash down with Fair Trade coffee, plus poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes) and a selection of organic breads, like the European multigrain spanner, custom-baked by Boiceville’s Bread Alone. The menu’s Indonesian specialties, a consequence of three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, include chicken and tofu satays, sweet soy beef stew, and basmati fried rice. There is also fro-yo, just because. And the former Golden Arches have been rendered eco-friendly with recycled composite wood, low-energy appliances, and a compost-and-recycling station front and center.

Danku opens at the end of the month at 47 W. 57th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-888-3777

At New Dutch Fast-Food Concept Danku, the Fritters Might Be Fried, But You Can