Crepes Cafe opens with a French twist Crepes Cafe opens with a French twist (March 03, 2004)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Lifestyles Editor

In France, creperies are as common as our sandwich shops. Beatrice Chastagnol, a software engineer from France, missed having a creperie nearby for a light lunch or a snack after the movie, so she has opened her own, Crepes Cafe, in Menlo Park.

Her partners are mother and daughter Helen Pascal and Alexandra Carrou, both from Menlo Park.

Here's the French connection: Ms. Chastagnol is from Toulouse; Ms. Pascal was born in French Morocco. All speak French fluently.

Ms. Chastagnol and her husband came to the Bay Area in 2000 to work in Silicon Valley. After she lost her job with Portola Software in Cupertino two year later, she started looking for a business opportunity.

Missing the creperies at home, she approached her friend, Alexandra, and her mother about opening their own. To prepare herself, Ms. Chastagnol went back to France to take a course in preparing crepes and galettes.

The crepes at Crepes Cafe are the real thing. They're paper thin and lacy. The savory galettes (crepes made with buckwheat flour) come with such fillings as chicken, mushroom, goat cheese with diced prosciutto, and scallops served with a leek fondue. Prices range from $6.95 to $8.95.

Galettes originated in France's Brittany region, where they are made with buckwheat, because the soil is too poor to grow wheat, says Ms. Pascal. Buckwheat actually comes from the rhubarb fruit family.

Sweet crepes, made with wheat flour, range from the sidewalk crepe, sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice; to Belle Helene, pear in syrup, vanilla ice cream, chocolate, whipped cream and toasted almonds.

Even the sandwiches have a French accent. Croque Monsieur (hot sandwich with ham and Swiss cheese) and Croque Madame (same as above served with an egg on top) are also imports from Brittany.

Other sandwiches include French ham and Swiss cheese on buttered baguette ($5.25), brie on baguette, and duck rillettes (a mixture resembling a pate) with cornichons on baguette.

Crepes Cafe also has specialties, such as a charcuterie plate of cold meats, a plate of assorted French cheeses with baguette, and cheese fondues and raclettes (four people minimum, 24-hour reservation required).

The cafe also offers the imported ciders so typical of Normandy and Brittany, French wines, beer, espresso and lattes. This is also the place to get an authentic bowl of cafe au lait.

Crepes Cafe is a casual restaurant where you place your order and pay the cashier. Waiters bring your food to the table. The restaurant can seat 100 if you count the spacious porch. Both the inside and porch were filled the day I lunched there.

One long outside table was filled with students from St. Joseph's elementary school in Atherton. Their French teacher, Patty Lyon, organized the excursion so students would get a chance to practice their French while ordering lunch and speaking to the servers.

Crepes Cafe fills a niche in Menlo Park as an inexpensive and authentic place to find casual French food. It joins Gambardella's and Lisa's Tea Treasures in a trio of restaurants at Menlo Square, right across from the Caltrain station.

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