Last weekend, my boyfriend and I woke up on Saturday morning knowing two things for certain: one, we were ravenous; two, neither of us felt like dirtying up, or rather cleaning up, egg-soaked sauté pans and scattered vegetable scraps. So we laid in bed, listening to the romantic sounds of our stomachs roaring, neither of us bothering to provide an alternative morning activity… until it hit me. Crêpes. Yes. That is what we would eat for a deliciously filling breakfast. Although it was slightly cold outside, the sun was shining, and walking over to Creperie de Paris on Webster would be the perfect excuse to at least pretend like we weren’t going to lock ourselves in our apartment all day and read (which, by the way, is exactly what we did). I shared my idea with Chris, and to this day, I have never seen him change into socially acceptable clothing so fast. I threw on my Timberlands and a chunky sweater, and we were off.
Photo Courtesy of Creperie de Paris
Creperie de Paris in Lincoln Park is a pink-frosted doughnut in a sea of plainly glazed pastries. There haven’t been many places that I’ve been too in Lincoln Park, or in the entire city for that matter, where I walk in and think, this place is absolutely charming. It isn’t a large restaurant by any means, which I believe adds to its allure. Inside, the walls are bright and splendidly decorated with images of Paris and Europe. From any seat, you are able to see the crepes being prepared and filled. Prices for savory and sweet crepes range around $7-8, which given the rather large portion is extremely reasonable. Chris chose a smoked salmon crepe while I went with one of their most popular options, the Epic, which was filled with mozzarella, egg, spinach, tomato, pesto, and prosciutto. I opted for chicken instead of prosciutto… they are extremely flexible and will let you sub out any ingredient for another. After our savory experience, we decided to indulge in a crepe filled with gooey Nutella and fresh sliced strawberries.
Did I mention how wonderful their coffee is? I’m typically not one for hot drinks, (iced coffee year-round for me) but I decided to order one and I am happy I did. The vanilla late had the perfect amount of sweetness and the price of $2.50 was a huge plus.
Photo Courtesy of Creperie de Paris
When you’re looking for a wonderfully filling brunch, one that veers from the typical omelet or pancake, try Creperie de Paris. I was excited to hear that during the summer, they extend their hours till 11pm, and have a wonderful patio set up that really adds to the Parisian experience. When we heard, Chris and I looked at each other mid-bite and communicated telepathically that this would now be our summer late-night, fourth-meal “spot”. Now if this cold would just disappear.
I do plan on learning how to make crepes myself one of these days. The Chopping Block carries crepe spreaders, and with my newly-found crepe fixation, there’s a good chance one of them will be coming home with me this week. We have Fabulous French Pastries class coming up in April at the Merchandise Mart that features Ricotta and Lemon-Filled Crêpes with Strawberry Sauce. Yum! I also have our Owner/Chef Shelley Young's video on how to make crepes to guide me:
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