Vive La Crepe!

Photo by Chris Card Fuller

Not only are crepes delicious, but for students in Paris (or Normandy and Brittany for that matter) going out to a creperie is an inexpensive change from normal student fare.

Depending on who’s making the crepes or galette ( a thin pancake made from Sarrazin flour similar to buckwheat) the ingredients can be folded inside the crepe or sometimes on top.

The galettes featured on this page were served at Jean-Pierre and Lydie Dauphin’s restaurant in Lisieux, Normandy, La Rhumerie. Sadly, La Rhumerie closed its doors several years ago when the couple retired, but there are still hundreds of creperies to satisfy your crepe craving. What may surprise you the famous ‘Crepes Suzette’ that crossed the Atlantic to US so many years ago - rarely appears on French crepe menus. You are more likely to run across the dessert in some upscale restaurants.On the other hand, French dessert crepes use some fillings not as well known stateside such as pureed chestnuts - very tasty in the winter.

You want to look for a creperie where the crepes are not pre-made. Often, especially on Rue Montparnasse, you can watch the crepes being made on a round griddle.

One of our recent visitors said that she liked the crepes at Chez Josselin (Rue Montparnasse) but that she preferred the crepes she’d tried in Normandy. Actually, Brittany is usually considered the crepe capital of France. Crepes are traditionally served with a bol of cold hard cider. Yummy.