chococrêpe

Generally speaking, most people associate "crêpe" with "dessert". Fair, since there are numerous dessert spots that offer sweet crêpes on their menus alongside cakes, ice creams, waffles, etc.. However, the chances of one finding a savoury crêpe as an entrée at a restaurant is rather slim. Well, in comes chococrêpe (Twitter: @ChococrepeTO, Facebook: Choco Crepe), a creperie located on Queen West (620 Queen St. W). Owners Dewey Troung and wife Kim of chococrêpe are determined to change the popular perception of "crêpe = dessert" by concentrating on not just dessert crêpes but also on a variety of delicious savoury crêpes for lunch and dinner. The couple's inspiration for savoury crêpes came from vacationing in Montreal and Europe where they often indulged in crêpes as their main course.

As I mentioned previously, there are two types of crêpes at chococrêpe: 1) Savoury: currently with 12 savoury crêpes on their menu, chococrêpe uses buckwheat flour for these (which has a lighter texture and is slightly sweeter than their normal crepe batter) and 2) Sweet: 12 sweet crêpes made with regular crêpe batter (you can add a scoop of gelato or sorbet to any sweet crêpe).

My friend Audrey of Tasty Tours (@tasty_tours) and I had quite a crêpe tasting on our visit; we shared 3 savoury crêpes, a salad, and 2 sweet crêpes.

Truong insists on using only Valrhona chocolate for his crêpes and hot chocolates. A high-end chocolate from France, Valrhona costs almost three times as much as regular chocolate. I could easily taste the difference; the melted Valrhona hot chocolate was rich, smooth and luscious, miles better compared to hot chocolates made with regular chocolate (or the powdered stuff at some places....blah) chococrêpe's hot chocolates come in a variety of flavours such as pumpkin, fleur de sel dulce de leche, chili cayenne, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and orange (FYI lychee totally works...believe me!)

Lychee White Hot Chocolate ($5.95)

Traditional Hot Chocolate ($5.95)

SAVOURY CREPES

Chipotle Chicken - Chicken breast, arugula, mozzarella, chipotle mayo ($9.25)

Country - Caramelized pear, wood smoked bacon, cheddar ($9.25)

Mushroom Delight - White truffle oil, wild mushrooms, swiss cheese ($8.75)

chococrêpe offers salads as well (organic greens with salad dressing made in house). Extras that you can add on to your salad include: eggs, chicken, mushroom, cheese, wood smoked bacon & ham, potatoes, dried fruits & nuts, veggies, maple syrup / honey, apple / banana / kiwi / pear / strawberry, chocolate drizzle, whipped cream.

Pear Salad - Arugula, pears, goat cheese, balsamic dressing, roasted almonds ($12.75)

SWEET CREPES

Berry Banana - Strawberry, banana, dark & white chocolate ($8.75)

Dulce Pear - Dulce de leche, pear ($7.75)

Aside from crêpes, chococrêpe also has a chocolate fondue for two with a choice of dark, milk, or white chocolate (all Valrhona) and fruits and marshmallows. I must try it next time!

The crêpes at chococrêpe are awesome. I thought each crêpe had the perfect texture; they were made thin, not at all thick or doughy and slightly "stretchy". Really, just perfect. My personal favourites were the Chipotle Chicken (I'm a sucker for spicy stuff...actually I may ask for even more heat next time!), the Mushroom Delight (mushrooms + ooey-gooey melted swiss cheese + a hint of truffle oil = a killer combo) and Berry Banana. I must emphasize again that chococrêpe makes kick-ass hot chocolates!

I really want you guys to try chococrêpe so I will be running a chococrêpe contest this Thursday. Stayed tuned for details!