Crepes Celeste A Taste Of France

Food court food is just that , your usual mix of tacos, burgers and pizza.If you're lucky there is more exotic fare like teriyaki or spaghetti. Luckily there's an upstart in the group, Crepes Celeste. It a breath of fresh French air for the palate.

Crepes Celeste brings French crepes to the masses.Forty years ago most malls and downtowns had A Magic Pan Restaurant This chain was great. They offered all sorts of lunch, dinner and dessert crepes. along with Salad Nicoise. They continued until 2005 when they were bought out by a company called Lettuce Entertain You,,They disappeared  and anything even vaguely Gallic disapeared from the landscape. Crepes, both savory and sweet were now hard to find. Luckily Celeste's came in and brought two favorites, crepes and macarons. The creators combined American flavors with artisanal French city and country cooking,For crepe lovers this is a dream come true. There are fresh veggies that can be combined with meats and cheeses.Celeste's even offers a breakfast crepe that you can order at any time.There are also turkey crepes as well along with one based on a roast beef sandwich.There is even one with a Mexican twist to it and one with pesto. The sweet crepes feature the classic Parisian street crepe with sugar and butter topped with a squeeze of lemon.There is also a clever Gallic homage to  s'mores, full of marshmallows, dark chocolate and Graham cracker crumbs.

I have tried both their ham and cheese along with the vegetable one. Both have made me their number one fan. The crepes are made fresh, right in front of the diner, They are the traditional  crepes of Brittany in northwestern France where the dish orginated. They are the perfect bed for the ingredients.I tried their ham and cheese, good and the vegetarian even better. I love this last. A smear of creamy ricotta is slathered on the crepe , then fresh sauted  veggies, such as eggplant, onions and tomatoes isthen laid on top. The crepe is then deftly folded into thirds so that the filling is safely tucked inside. A decorative blob of more ricotta is put on top (the ham had a curl of extra ham on it) with a squiggle of cooked pepper. The flavors are so perfect together, the cheese's creaminess mixes with the tang of all the veggies cooked together. The accompanying slad of just romaine and shredded carrot was also perfect, especially with the sublime French dressing. This week I am adding one of the dessert crepes for dessert.

Celeste Crepes brings back the return of Gallic fare to the malls .It is a breath of l'air fraiche to a landscape  full of burgers and tacos. Try one and enjoy the sophisticated simplicity of it