Oh Crêpe!!

Personally I think one of the most underestimated foods is the crêpe. It's not easy to find a place out there that can make you a really good crêpe with all the 'fixins' so to speak. The best thing about a crêpe is that it can be combined with pretty much anything you want, be it savory or sweet.

Recently, I was strolling down 9th avenue in New York and I came across Chelsea Market. This huge building that spans over 2 blocks used to be the home of the National Biscuit Company, commonly known as Nabisco. Ah, THAT got your attention didn't it? Those creme filled chocolate cookies that we know as Oreos were conceived here in this building. But that is the subject of another blog post.

Lets get back to present time Chelsea Market. Apart from the very unique exterior, there are more than 30 retail stores in there that range from selling clothing, books, food and fresh produce and seafood. Tucked away on the first floor towards 15th street is a cosy little crêperie called Bar Suzette. The place does not have any flashy lights or fancy music. What they do have is 2 guys, 2 flat top griddles, few menus and good fresh ingredients and all they make is crêpes.

Their menu was split into savory and sweet. my friend and I were glancing at the selection and I considered ordering almost half of it. After a few minutes of mind numbing indecision, I chose to get the crêpe with Nutella™ and strawberries. My compadre ordered the crêpe with ham and Swiss. The chef carefully poured the crepe batter onto the hot griddle and used a fancy tool to spread it around the flat top. While the crêpe was cooking, he was slicing fresh, juicy strawberries. A few minutes later he flipped the crêpe and spread the Nutella™ and laid the fresh strawberries. He folded the crêpe into a triangle pocket and handed it over to me.

The scintillating combination of the crisp crêpe with the sweet chocolate hazel-nutty ooey gooeyness of the Nutella™ and the mildly tart strawberries was fantabulous. The ingredients tasted very fresh and made the crêpe that much better. There was nothing about the crêpe that I did not like.

I tried the ham and Swiss crêpe that my friend had and it was a perfect combination of melted Swiss cheese and very thinly sliced ham. I'm surprised she let me even have that, she seemed entranced in crêpe heaven.

These guys really do have something amazing going on at this store. Their menu features a host of fresh ingredients that range from figs, speck, Brazillian guava, hummus and more.

So next time you are in the big apple, do not forget to stop by Bar Suzette and enjoy a delicious crêpe. If you can't decide what to have then let your trustee food guru do you a favor and go ahead and have the one with Nutella™ and strawberries - only if you are not allergic to nuts.

Ciao.