Locomotoring

Inside Briezh Cafe

September in Paris is not supposed to be rainy, is it? It rained a good bit during the first half of September this year.  On a rainy day, I prefer to do nothing but curl up with a good book and snack on samosa-chai. I did have Simenon with me, I like detective fiction and police detective Maigret brings that in a Parisian setting. It felt a little lame doing that during a prized vacation. So, on one such rainy day this September, after wandering around Marais district of Paris in drizzling rain, I found myself warming up with some cider at a popular creperie, Breizh, that served Brittany style crepes.

Egg and jambon crepe

Valrhona chocolate crepe

Breizh Cafe

We had really wanted to hang around coastal towns of Brittany eating crepes and langoustines but that was not to be, at least not this trip. We had also read strong recommendation regarding Breizh Cafe from Clotilde as well as David Lebovitz, so we didn’t hesitate.

Making crepes is like making omelettes. Making a good one is not complex but a perfect one takes practice. In crepes, it is all about simplicity. A few ingredients is all that you need so the quality of the ingredients is really the key. And we are told that Breizh takes pride in the ingredients.

We ordered an egg and ham crepe. This was perfect. Crepe was crisp, the eggs and ham soft and the taste of buckwheat prominent. Buckwheat is one of my favourite grains. Perhaps because, growing up, eating buckwheat Parathas, and savoury-sweet buckwheat fritters was always special occasion treats. The sweet crepe was one with melted Valrhona chocolate, the “iron man” of chocolate kingdom. All that with some pear cider, had left me feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. The table at Breizh, was a curbside one. Sitting there, safe from the rain but feeling the chill on my skin, I was reminded of a trip to Vancouver a decade ago, where another good crepe and light rain had come together to form a similar warm and fuzzy moment.