Crepes in Paris

Finding the best crepes in Paris is like finding the best pizza in Rome.  So many places offer them, yet only a few stand out.

On my foodie adventure in Paris, one of the required "must-eats" was a crepe.  While we strolled a Christmas Market looking at all the foods and goodies offered, my expert and I realized we should start our first night out right: eat a Crepes Suzette. We saw this brightly lit vendor ready to create thin pancake deliciousness so we gave them a try.

 She expertly ladled the batter onto the griddle.

 A few circles and the crepe was properly spread out for even cooking.

 When it finished cooking, she moved it to the practice pile and added a little bit of sugar.

Then a little bit of Grand Marnier on the sugar.

 After a couple folds and a powdered sugar dusting on top, we were off with our order.

I must say.  It was absolutely TERRIBLE.  The picture at the top of the post suggests it might be good.  And it DID look good. But I am accustomed to Crepes Suzette being served flambee'd. Thankfully, no one tried to light it on fire while it was in my wife's hands!

I thought it was flambee'd for a reason. Perhaps burning off some of the alcohol is what makes the usually delicious crepe more mellow.  But this one, with its orange flavored alcohol at full power, was overwhelmed.  How sad.

The rest of our trip was dedicated to other foodie adventures so we didn't get a chance to experience any other creperies that were recommended by expert bloggers of the Paris food scene... except for one.

Enter: Breizh Cafe.

As always, we did our research to find one of the, if not the, best creperie in Paris.  And though we couldn't compare it to the other recommendations, our single experience easily stood out as our best meal in Paris.  And we ate pretty well during our three night trip! The staff was courteous and pleasant.  There was no hint of snootiness that I spoke french at the level of a 2-year-old.  Yes.  No. Thank you. More cider please.  You know, stuff a 2-year-old would say.

And the food itself, to die for.  Everything was clearly made with excellent ingredients.  How do you know?  Well, the kitchen is right there in the open next to the front door.  Can't miss it.  As you'll see later, I couldn't help but watch the chef in action.

 So what did we have?

 To start off, we had a bottle of hard cider instead of wine. Apparently in Brittany, France, where this cuisine presides, that is the most common beverage to accompany your crepe.  We prefer the dry kind of cider over the sweet kind, so they showed us the massive list and we chose the Sehedic.  Dry and ultra complex.  The yeast used for fermentation added some sort of unique flavor that reminded me of roquefort bleu cheese. Fascinating choice for the evening and complimented our foods well enough.

 Then came the fresh oysters.  Best I've ever had.  Easily.

Three each just wasn't enough.  Too bad oysters = $$$.

 Then, for the main entrees, Galettes.  Authentic galettes are made with buckwheat flour: darker and nuttier in flavor than normal wheat flour. This galette had egg, bacon, creme fraiche and emmenthaler cheese if I remember correctly.

This galette had egg, ham, gruyere cheese and caramelized onion.

And for dessert: Crepe Suzette - Breizh style!  Although this one had orange wedges on it, an amazing house made salted-butter caramel, AND it came out on fire.  The way it was meant to be made. Unfortunately, the picture didn't come out so well so please imagine it.

And for your entertainment, the management was kind enough to allow me to shoot a little kitchen entertainment.  Enjoy! As always, my apologies for the poor craftsmanship in videography as well as my inability to lower the volume!  Every video is loud loud loud!

When in Paris, or for that matter, their other locations in Tokyo or Cancale, visit Breizh Cafe for an unforgettable crepe experience.