A Crepe-Eating Expedition Through Borderstan

From Alejandra Owens at One Bite At A Time. You can follow her on Twitter @frijolita.

It all started with a reader’s email. She suggested a run down on all the crepe spots in Borderstan… even cited some time in France wherein she learned the ins and outs of crepe consuming. As I read her email, I thought, “This is brilliant! This is the perfect excuse to eat crepes until I’m in a crepe coma!” (I apologize now for excessive alliteration.)

I don’t know what I thought this crepe tour would bring me. I’ve eaten plenty of crepes, at plenty of restaurants (in Borderstan even). Maybe somewhere in my food fest day dreams I got caught in a word association game: crepes… Paris… macarons… croissants… handsome men… stripped shirts… foux da fa fa. Whatever it was that I was wanting, I didn’t get. Merde.

Crepes 101

Quickly, a crepe lesson. Crepes originated in Brittany located in the northwest area of France. They are traditionally made of buckwheat flour and served with a bowl of cider. Laetitia of French Twist DC tells me this traditional variety is hard to find in DC, though Solar Crepes in Virginia has them.  Also, the women of Brittany wear funny hats while making the crepes, presumably.

Crepe Quest

Frankly, I’m disappointed by the crepe offerings in Borderstan. Before I set out on this adventure I consulted with French Twist DC to make sure I had a solid game plan —  a French game plan. Laetitia sent me her list of creperies and it matched up perfectly with mine. I thought, “I’m on a roll here!”

One chilly, but sunny Sunday I set off – dragging my friend Robert along like Pig Pen with his blanket. I had a list, a route and craving for crepes! First stop: Crepes A Go Go on P Street. We split a California Brunch Special. Mmm! Avocado! Tomato! Turkey! Oh wait. It’s lunch-meat turkey. *Insert sad face here.* Despite the fake meat we were happy with our crepe. It was tasty, filling without being heavy and everything a quick morning snackeroo should be.

Next up was Point Chaud on 14th Street. I turned to my partner in crepe crime and said, “Let’s get something DIFFERENT!!” Meaning, unique. Not, something else on the menu we just saw at Crepes A Go Go. Yep. It was the same damn menu! That means four of DC’s crepe shops are serving the same, near-exhaustive combinations of fruit/vegetable filled crepes! Sigh. We ordered a fruit-filled crepe and plopped down to eat it. Plump, juicy, fruit-sweet tooths satisfied.

I was so sad about the repeat menus I had to drown my sorrows in something with alcohol!

Later in the weekend I visited L’Enfant Cafe for some boozy crepes. I was so sad about the repeat menus I had to drown my sorrows in something with alcohol! A Grand Marnier and caramel crepe hit the spot… and then a Frengellico and Nutella crepe hit it too. Of all the crepes offered in Bordertan, L’Enfant gets an A+ for originality and tastiness. They also score big in my book for their Crepe Complete brunch plate which is a crepe with ham, Gruyere and an over easy egg served with potatoes.

Outside the Borders

It’s not like these are the only crepe options in DC though, fret not. There’s Crepe Away, Solar Crepes, Cafe Bonaparte and Napoleon Bistro to name a few.

Complete Crepe Details

So the next time you get a hankering for those delicate pancakes but don’t want to go too far — you now know where to go:

• Crepes A Go Go: 2122 P  Street NW and 701 7th  Street NW (Verizon Center)
• Point Chaud: 1736 14th Street and 1012 14th Street NW
• L’Enfant Cafe: 2000 18th Street NW

Where do you guys go for crepes? Any stand out fruit/spread combos?

And now, I bid you adieu.