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Food Wednesday: Best Parisian crepes
By Ann | February 23, 2009
In yet another “best of” (they are simply tireless!), last week’s Le Figaroscope ranks the best galettes complètes in Paris (photo above, courtesy of Le Figaroscope).
First of all, perhaps you’re wondering, what is a galette complète and how is different from a ham, egg and cheese crêpe? The answer is: they’re pretty much the same. Galettes are savory crepes, usually composed of buckwheat flour, that hail from Brittany, aka the home of crêpes. (Interesting etymological side note: The Penguin Companion to Food says: the word galette is “derived from galet, a pebble weatherworn to the shape that is perfect for skipping.”) In Paris, the area around the Gare Montparnasse is crowded with creperies — trains from this station usually headed towards Brittany, making the neighborhood a mini-Bretagne. Also, on an unrelated note, the French eat crêpes to celebrate Mardi Gras, which is tomorrow, February 24.
So, who won? Breizh Café, which, I am thrilled to report, I discovered before Le Figaroscope! Though I haven’t yet sampled their galette complète, I can vouch for their dessert crepes (not made with buckwheat flour), particularly the salted butter caramel, which is like liquid gold. And the bittersweet Valrhona chocolate crepe runs a pretty close second. Interestingly, I noticed quite a few Asian servers at Breizh — a friend later told me that the owner also has a branch in Tokyo, and the two restaurants regularly exchange staff. (109 rue Vielle-du-Temple, 3ème, tel: 01 42 72 13 77). Check out the other winners and the rest of the article here.
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5 Responses to “Food Wednesday: Best Parisian crepes”
Comments
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February 24th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Fascinating etymological point about the word “galette.” I also wonder what the original Breton word for “crepe” is. In any case, I still can’t decide whether I prefer savory or sweet galettes. On my walk to Paris III along rue Mouffetard back when I was an exchange student, I used to often buy ham and cheese crepes from a stand for lunch — utterly divine.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2009/02/pimping_my_crepes.html
Virtuostic pancakery involved.
(Ohhhhh, she said the p-word!)
Have you ever tried making your own?
February 25th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Thanks for the interesting link, Devorah. Re making my own “pancakes,” I’m afraid I’m of the philosophy: Why whip up crepe batter, when Breizh cafe is just a metro ride away?
BTW, I found out that the Breton word for crepe is: “grampouezhenn.” !!!!
February 25th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Dear Ms. Mah,
The Mister and I will be coming to Paris in March.
We beg you to please make some time for us between sittings at your favorite creperies.
Would love to blame Paris for putting on a few pounds!
Salo, M.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
great-grampouezhenn!!! What a word!