Crepes

I think that Crepes may be in my top 5 all time favorite foods. A deliciously thin pancake I can stuff with anything I want from savory to sweet or both? How is that not the perfect food? I tend to have phases with foods and will eat one thing non-stop for as long as I can get away with. Sushi, pad thai, anything with smoked gouda cheese, and of course crepes. I'm not in a crepe phase right now, but I'd dangling dangerously on the edge of one. So while I drool for crepes and think about how I have the fixins to make my own for dinner tonight if I wanted to, here's a few of my favorite places to get crepes.

In New York City...

- There are a few savory crepes on their regular menu, but their dessert crepes are out of this world. My normal order when I go there includes the asparagus crepe, then the peanut butter one. The waitstaff must think I'm nuts...just really obsessed.

Creperie - A little whole in the wall place I dragged my family to one of their locations for some crepes after a graduation ceremony when I was finishing up my masters degree. Since then I've been back a couple of times and have tried several different items on their menu, each one more delicious than the next. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the one with Brie, walnuts, and apples.

In Palo Alto...

Stanford Library Cafe - Right outside of Stanford's Green Library there is a food kiosk that has sandwiches, salads, and of course crepes. They are huge, filled with yummy stuff, and cheap.

Crepewine - This is actually a chain and I've been to a couple of different Crepevines. There's lots of different stuff on the menu, but really, why get that other stuff when you want crepes? The Le Delice (cheese and onions), Jamaican (bananas in caramel rum sauce), and Monaco (the old standard Nutella and bananas) are all good but I think the Santorini (Walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and mascarpone) is next on my list to try.

Bistro Maxine - I have actually not been here yet but I've got some friends who have been and really like it. This is another little place tucked away on a side street. I've walked past several times and it has a very quaint European feel to it. I'm hoping I can drag Nick there soon. Some menu options that sound good are: La Cévenole (goat cheese, walnut, honey), the Gorgonzola (ham, mushrooms, cream of gorgonzola), and the Crème de marron (chestnut purée).

And if you're like me and you can't wait to go out to the next place and you want to make your own...

Stonewall Kitchen - Search for this at your local specialty food shop, Crate and Barrel, William Sonoma, or just buy online. It's taken me a little bit to get the hang of it, but with a super thin rubber spatula and large frying pan, you can make your own crepes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at home. It takes some time because we do it buffet style which means you cook the veggies first, set out TONS of options on the table, and make each crepe individually (one batch can make anywhere for 6-10 depending on the size you make them---just keep in mind that too big=difficult not to break but too small=not lots of space to stuff), but it's well worth the effort.

Some of our favorite stuffins are:

-Gruyere cheese with mushrooms and onions
-Semi-sweet chocolate sauce or chocolate chips, peanut butter, bananas, and coconut (make sure you nuke for about 10 seconds)
-goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, and smoked salmon

I think I've made up my mind, this is what I'm making for dinner tonight.