Best Crepes in Greater Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, city of tomorrow! Whether you're a visitor or an Angeleno, make sure you make the most of all the great opportunities this city and environs have to offer. "A Been-There Done-That Guide to Visiting Greater
Los Angeles" by Laura Evans gives you some great ideas of what to do. You're bound to get hungry while doing so much running around town. What is better to keep you going than a great crepe? Keep reading and you will learn of three places where you can get a delicious crepe and a tasty cup of coffee.

I am something of an expert on crepes. Crepes are one of my favorite food groups. I grew up in eating panqueques de dulce de leche, which is the Argentine version of crepes. This delicacy - one of Argentina's most popular desserts, and one which is often on the menu of Argentinean restaurants in the United States - consists of a crepe, rolled or folded, with plenty of the rich, caramel-like filling.

Crepes make a great dessert. But crepes can be even more. There are some wonderful crepes with savory fillings, such as cheese, meats, veggies and salmon (not all mixed together, of course).

Here are three places you can visit in Los Angeles in order to get a sense of how wonderful and varied crepes can be, in my personal order of preference:

Solar de Cahuenga (1847 Cahuenga Blvd. (corner of Franklin)), is a great coffeehouse in the heart of Hollywood, serving many different kinds of crepes. I particularly love the savory ones the have on the menu, such as one with smoked salmon and another with ricotta and veggies. And they are served with potatoes, which are well prepared and delicious. The dulce de leche crepe is also amazing - I'm not sure, but I think the place must be run by Argentines, because this crepe is so good. This café is very relaxing and unpretentious, and I like that too. It is surprisingly large (the place, not the crepes - crepes are always too small no matter where you order them), with several adjoining rooms. One of these rooms is cozy and Moroccan-themed, with a rug and large pillows to sit on and eat on a low table. Very cool. You can hang out here all day, with or without a laptop, and no one will bother you.

French 75 (3400 W. Olive Ave.) in Burbank offers a great dessert called banana crepes with hazelnut chocolate. This dessert is incredible, and was recommended to me by the bartender and a server who work there. On the plate are two crepes, filled with warm hazelnut chocolate cream, and there are pieces of caramelized bananas around it. Dessert does not get much better than this. French 75 is a pricey restaurant, but you can just sit at the bar during bubbly hour (their version of happy hour) and order your crepes and drink champagne cocktails at half price. They have bubbly hour every day during the week from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., with 50 percent off champagne cocktails and 20 wines by the carafe for glass prices, plus complimentary hors d'oeuvres and nightly martini specials. What am I doing at home and not at this place now?

The French Crepe Company (Third and Fairfax) at the Farmers Market is a great old-fashioned landmark place in
Los Angeles, with some great crepes. I love the location. The crepes themselves are OK, sometimes a bit doughy. I love the applesauce and sour cream crepe in particular. The applesauce and nice and chunky. They also made a Crepe Suzette that is out of this world, although the booze in it makes it not my personal choice for breakfast. The French press coffee is pretty good too. Something I really like about this place is that you can sit down at the counter and order and eat right there, while they make the crepes in front of you. There's a new French Crepe Company location opening in November 2006 at the Hollywood and Highland mall, in the middle of Hollywood.

Solar de Cahuenga
1847 Cahuenga Blvd.
(corner of Franklin)
Hollywood
323-467-7510

French 75
3400 W. Olive Ave.
Burbank, CA
91505
(818) 955-5100

The French Crepe Company
Farmers Market - Third & Fairfax
6333 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA
90036
(323) 934-3113
(Also a branch opening at the Hollywood and Highland mall)