Crepeaway

Crepeaway isn't going to win the award for Best Restaurant Name, but we would suggest you ignore the name and the Lakers color scheme, and focus on the crepes. Like Pizza Autentica, this little restaurant is located on L Street in Downtown and has crazy hours. Who comes to eat crepes in the middle of the concrete jungle at 4am? Must be some nearby bars open that late.

We stopped in around 10:30pm on a Friday night and surveyed the menu. The first decision is whether you want savory or sweet, or both. They have combo meals which give you two crepes and a drink for around $10. Because we came for dessert, we tried to order two sweet crepes, and the cashier (and crepe artist) kindly told us that it would be cheaper to go for the combo. Thanks!

Unlike Crepes-A-Go-Go (read post here), Crepeaway has a limited variety of fillings, but scores points for some interesting ones such as crushed vanilla cookies and marshmallows. I ordered the Celine, which I can only hope is named after the owner's daughter and not Ms. Dion. Whatever the name, it was a tasty crepe. It was a huge crepe packed full of nutella, marshmallows, and strawberries. Once folded up, the heat of the crepe caused the marshmallows to melt into an ooey, gooey, messy delight.

B ordered the Cameron, which was made up of nutella and crushed vanilla cookies. Our crepes were on the doughier side, and I really like that texture. If you like your crepes really well-done and crispy, Crepeaway might not be for you (although perhaps you could make such a request).

While probably not traditional French food (lots of the savory options have hot sauce in them), Crepeaway is a convenient and yummy way to satisfy your crepe cravings at any hour of the day or night. They also deliver on Sunday through Friday evenings. Even lukewarm crepes would beat the heck out of greasy Domino's pizza.

Second Thoughts from B

I went to grad school with several people from France, one of which had semi-regular "crepe parties." She would prepare the batter and guests were invited to bring a topping or two of their choice. What resulted was a rather considerable spread of ingredients for savory or sweet crepes... and a bunch of unskilled cooks trying to flip their first crepe, which often ended up on the floor or ceiling. Needless to say, I've got a lot of fond memories associated with crepes, whether from those parties, ones J and I have hosted, or even from my wanderings through Paris.

Why crepes are seen as so much more sophisticated or refined than a taco, an empanada, or a stack of pancakes is beyond me. Once you've made them - much less hosted a party and taught others how to make them - crepes are far from exclusive cuisine. Since those same experiences that fostered our love have also revealed whatever magic is hidden behind the proverbial green curtain, we've become tough critics of store bought crepes (although if you put enough Nutella on anything, J's toughness melts away).

So how did Crepeaway fare? No bad. Most notable was the crushed vanilla cookie which was surprisingly good. Initially I thought it might be a throw away topping that got lost in the Nutella, but I was thrilled that it added a wonderfully sweet and complimentary flavor. I've previously written about how I love vanilla, so Crepeaway gets points there. They also get bonus points for having an ingredient that I've never seen at any number of crepe parties that I've attended or hosted. However, as J said, the limited number of available ingredients (unlike Crepes-a-Go-Go) would not make for very many unique trips and the bottom line is that paying $4-5 per crepe isn't particularly palatable when most, if not all, of the ingredients are found in your kitchen. However, if I worked in the area and this was a prospective lunch spot rather than just a dinner spot, I bet I'd change my story...