My husband and I are making our first journey to Paris next week. I am looking forward to all the sites and to just %26quot;BE%26quot; in Paris... but I%26#39;m just as excited to get a real, authentic Parisian crepe! Are all crepes good in Paris? From your experience, how do you choose the right creperie?
We are staying in the 6th on Rue Dupin, are there any creperies you recommend in that area?
Merci!
|||
Just a few points on the subject.
1) Virtually all the crepes are good.
2) You have two options, the creperie and the crepe stands. Both are authentic and there isn%26#39;t any one place that is reknown for their recipe.
3) Americans generally get confused, but in France there are savoury crepes (we call %26#39;em galettes) that are made with buckwheat batter and sweet crepes with flour. At most crepe stands even the savoury crepes are made with the sweet crepe batter. In a creperie you%26#39;ll get the real deal for savoury crepes.
4) Where to go given your location. There is a crepe stand at Odeon, just across the street from Les Editeurs cafe that makes savoury crepes using buckwheat. They are excellent. The best sweet crepe I ever had at a stand was on the corner of rue de Rennes and boul Montparnasse, on the left side of the street as you face the tower. There was lemon zest in the batter, which is rare and yummy. Both places are a walk from Dupin.
5) For a creperie, the rue St Andre des Arts (also a walk) has a series of them that are all fine. The best ones are said to be behind the Montparnasse tower, but I can%26#39;t really tell the difference and they are breton, not parisian.
|||
Phread made a good point about the difference between buckwheat crepes (crepes bretonnes) and the regular wheat flour crepes. When I was a %26quot;starving student%26quot; in Paris way back, I used to eat crepes from the stands near the university. Of course, if you go to a sit-down place, you%26#39;ll probably have more choice and better quality. There are a lot of little stands on the street corners. If you find one with lots of people or fresh-looking ingredients, it%26#39;ll most likely be good.
For sit-down crepes, there used to be the Creperie du Comptoir near 3, carrefour de l%26#39;Odeon (not sure if it%26#39;s there since the owner - the famous Yves Camdeborde - may have converted it into a wine bar. His restaurant is next door and very popular.)
My favorite creperie for buckwheat crepes is Breizh Cafe in the 3rd. It%26#39;s not just a crepe place. They use Bordier butter, serve oysters from Brittany and carry really good ciders and fruit nectars. You can find them through their website.
|||
Thank you for the clarification between the two! :) I am definitely going to track down the stand near Montparnasse!
We%26#39;ll probably eat %26quot;on the go%26quot; a lot, so I%26#39;m looking forward to both the savory and sweet crepes!
|||
The best crepe tip we got was to look for a stand where they are pouring batter and making each one as ordered, not taking one off of a pile that are already made.
We never found any we didn%26#39;t like, and came home saying there should be a crepe stand in every mall food court in the U.S.
|||
I%26#39;ve been eating at the crepe place on rue St.Andres des Arts, in the 6th, across from the movie theater, forever. There%26#39;s a take out window that faces the street. You put your order in to the guy in the window and he makes it there on the spot. The grand marnier ones are really good. The place is easy to find as rue St.Andres des Arts is a very short (and narrow) street. It%26#39;s the street that changes names and becomes rue de Buci farther down. Happy Travels!
|||
I didn%26#39;t make much sense... we%26#39;ll probably eat on the go a lot so finding good crepe stands will be ideal for us. I%26#39;ll just follow the crowds to the good ones!
|||
Thanks everyone! My mouth is already watering thinking about the great food we%26#39;ll have!
|||
A general rule of thumb about crepes from a street vendor or someone making them at a window opening onto the street...
The Longer the Wait
The Better the Crepe.
This holds for Falallel, too.
Pjk
|||
Nutella and banana !!
|||
«My favorite creperie for buckwheat crepes is Breizh Cafe in the 3rd. It%26#39;s not just a crepe place. They use Bordier butter, serve oysters from Brittany and carry really good ciders and fruit nectars.»
I COMPLETELY agree with this. It%26#39;s the only place we go for crêpes.
I%26#39;d also add that the crêpe stands almost always use factory-made batter from cartons and most of them prepare and stack the crêpes in advance.
It%26#39;s the little details, like freshly combined ingredients, Bordier butter, and making each crêpe order fresh and hot that separates the real thing from the tourist fodder.
No comments:
Post a Comment