Crepe Bar: C’est Magnifique

As a mother of two young boys with a pretty significant age difference, I try really hard to make special time with each of them separately. This can sometimes be a struggle, but I have found a common ground between the two of them and a way to enjoy myself at the same time.

Enter Crepe Bar. My elder son had the privilege of meeting Jeff Kraus at the Ahwatukee Farmer’s Market towards the end of the Truckin’ Good Food reign, complete with conversations full of beignets and zombies. The initial fateful meeting made him a crepe fan for life. While I cannot be 100% sure, this very well may have been his very first exposure to Nutella…and it was life-altering.

Fast forward a year and a half and his baby brother is now a ‘Crepe Covert’.

While we can no longer get our fix from the Farmer’s Market, we have something much better…the opportunity to visit Jeff and sample his creative dishes every single day. A little over two months ago, Jeff and his team traded in wheels for a brick and mortar spot in Tempe…and how lucky am I? It’s about a mile from my day job! The space is perfect, cozy and intimate. The walls are decorated with inspiring art created by Andy Brown, aka. Soldier Leisure.

They feature a standard menu as well as some daily specials. You have your choice of sweet or savory (or both) from 6:30am-3pm Tuesday through Friday, 7am-2pm on Saturday and 9am-2pm on Sundays.

Chuck the standard sandwich or pizza and take your family out for something new. When my youngest and I made our visit, the restaurant was bustling. There was a great buzz about the place, but it wasn’t out-of-control loud. We were seated and served quickly and the most difficult part of our visit was my trying to figure out what in the world to order! Everything on the menu sounded phenomenal. Ultimately, I opted for the Breakfast Burrito Crepe, a chipotle crêpe with egg and bacon, queso, and avocado salsa — a masterful breakfast creation that I would be delighted to eat at any (or every!) meal. There was a tiny kick — enough to add complexity but nothing too crazy and the texture of the queso made for an interesting mouthfeel. Delicious.

My dining companion went with the First Time, a sweet crepe filled with Nutella and banana brûlée. From the above picture, you can tell he is a huge fan!

My son and I had such a great time, all of the staff that we encountered were delightful and so very sweet to my tiny friend. Even the other patrons were incredibly friendly — such a great place to have a leisurely meal on a weekend. And at around $20 for the two of us, not an excessively pricey meal either.

As I previously mentioned, I had a really hard time figuring out what to choose. I ended up paying a visit on my lunch break the following Tuesday. I was able to have some time to talk with Jeff on this visit and was reminded of what a genuinely nice guy he is. He immediately offered me some of his specially-made Vegan Cereal, comprised of spelt & pistachio granola with berries and almond milk. The pistachios were a delightful surprise and the whole bowl was light — the seasonal fruit made the whole thing!

After Jeff and I had the opportunity to discuss the menu, I opted for the day’s special which was an amazing combination of Gruyere cheese, ham, egg and spinach nestled in a cone-shaped crepe.

The edges were all crispified cheese – I am having a hard time thinking of anything that is better. The salty and crispy bits were divine and then when I dove into the main part of the crepe, I felt as I were in an adorable corner cafe in France (when in sad reality I was alone in my cube at work). I made a point to walk my crepe around to my row neighbors to insight an intense lunch envy. They are all eager to make a trip to Crepe Bar…so I suppose everyone wins!  The 5-8 dollars you will spend on your lunch is well worth it and far more interesting and delicious than any trip through a drive-thru.

You will not only get an amazing meal, you’ll make new friends and support an amazing local business…what’s better than that?

Crepe Bar is located at 7520 South Rural in Tempe.