|
diversions
Viva la France
Bon jour.
An adventure to
the shops down the Second Street strip, in Belmont Shore,
might cause the zoo of people to develop an appetite. Sometimes
it is an appetite for something other than super-sized hamburger
value meals or deli sandwiches.
Bars may even become
monotonous, offering the usual yard of your favorite tap,
hot wings and a weekend of triple-header basketball games
or football tournaments.
La Creperie Caffe,
however, offers more than the average menu. La Creperie
Caffe offers what it calls a "savory experience."
A typical trip
to this Paris-inspired eatery would be painted as being greeted
by a handful of smiling faces, sitting at tables lining the
sidewalk, enjoying cups of cappuccino. And, of course, devouring
the crepes; the reason for the restaurant's existence.
Crepes are very
thin pancake-like delicacies, generally served rolled or folded
and filled with either fruits or meats.
Waiting inside
is a café style diner, filled with upbeat patrons and
lively chefs, waiters and waitresses. Bar stools and high
tables make up the majority of the dining area. Ceiling fans
twirl insanely, as smoke from the crepe stoves scatters throughout
the café, inviting the patrons to indulge in their
appetites. To complete the feel of a Paris eatery, a replicated
Eiffel Tower shadows the bar where the usual customers mingle
with Marlina Campos, a waitress who has been serving for the
restaurant since its opening last spring.
Derrick
Engoy
"The owner,
Chef Dino, got the idea when he visited Paris," Campos
said. "He wanted to bring his experiences back to the
states."
The menu is blanketed
with over 70 items to choose from. One of the unique features
that the restaurant takes pride in, are the individual names
for each delicacy, giving originality to every experience.
The names themselves would intrigue people's curiosity.
From La Prima Donna to Dancing Salsa, customers are sure to
spend time reading each description, making concrete decisions
as to what to eat.
The first 27 items
on the menu are sweet crepes, made with fine baker's flour.
Sweet crepes are filled with any choice of fruit, ranging
from apples to strawberries and bananas to peaches.
The taste is usually accented with honey, cinnamon, an array
of nuts or Nutella, a hazelnut spread with hints of cocoa,
or a combination of everything.
One of the more
popular sweet crepes is Romeo y Julieta. For those who love
to drown themselves in strawberries and bananas, this is the
crepe for you. Overflowing with these two fruits, the sweet
crepe is big enough to feed two people. Nutella and powdered
sugar add to the finishing touches.
Aside from the
27 sweet crepes, listed on the menu, creative culinary artists
can conjure up their own creation. Starting off with a plain
crepe, amateur chefs can add virtually anything the restaurant
has to their work of art.
For those whose
taste buds draw them away from something sweet, La Creperie
Caffe also offers savory crepes. Savory crepes are stuffed
with deli type fillings; meat, cheese and vegetables. The
lunch/dinner type crepes range anywhere from plain ham and
cheese to the complex Al Mare; filled with shrimp, sausage,
caramelized onions, green peppers and Tabasco. Just like the
sweet crepes, artsy patrons can start off with a cheese crepe
and build their unique treat from scratch.
The rest of the
menu is filled with breakfast type crepes, sandwiches, salads
and coffee; coffee being another specialty in which La Creperie
Caffe takes pride. Serving high quality espresso drinks, a
separate menu is dedicated for the variety of coffees available.
La Creperie Caffe
originated as a pushcart in Long Beach's Shoreline Village,
located directly across from the Queen Mary.
"The cart
did so well that they decided to turn it into a full-on restaurant,"
said Top Chef Mike Soto.
The owners also
celebrated the grand opening of their second location, last
Wednesday, on the Sunset strip in West Hollywood.
Prices, which range
from $3.50 to $7 for crepes and $1.75 to $2.75 for espresso
drinks, do not even make a tremendous dent in the pockets.
Bon Appetit.
|
