Monday, March 14, 2011

Review: Crepe Cellar

I have to admit, the first time I went to the Crepe Cellar Kitchen and Pub, I knew nothing about Charlotte restaurants. It was our first week in Charlotte, and we didn’t know many people. I had come to Charlotte sight-unseen, and after two days, I was tired from moving, setting up a new home and wrangling a baby. My husband had been inundated with work and coming home to help get the house in order. In short, we were tired, grumpy and hungry.


My husband wanted to explore North Davidson (NoDa), and my husband, my son and I strolled down the few blocks, taking in the scene and trying to find a good place to eat. We weren’t feeling inspired, until we saw the Crepe Cellar. When we walked in, we realized it wasn’t exactly the best place to bring a 14 month old, but we were too hungry to care (and it wasn’t that late). Fortunately, the excellent wait staff took the whole thing in stride. They, along many customers, took the time to chat and play with the baby. We had great food and a terrific time. I could not have asked for a better introduction to Charlotte.


Then we got caught up in our lives in South Charlotte, and forgot to go back. Until Living Social had a special for the Crepe Cellar, and my husband took the initiative and bought it, and we planned a date.


We arrived to a huge mob, and the wait was going to be north of an hour. But they directed us to Growler’s Pourhouse next door. The Pourhouse is another restaurant by Crepe Cellar owner, Jeff Tonidandel, which was unopened but in progress our first time around. We made ourselves comfortable at the table (really a large, beautiful wooden door) in the middle of the bar, argued over basketball, snacked on some chips and drank some terrific beers. I was very pleased to find Midas Touch, from Dogfish Head on tap. While Dogfish Head brews tend to be hit or miss, I do enjoy this particular beer, and not solely because of the high alcohol content. All in all, between beer and basketball, the wait passed quickly and pleasantly.


We were seated in a busy back corner, and ordered the Pesto Brie French Fries to start. The fries did take a while to come out, much to the horror of our waitress. After a sincere apology (we didn’t think it was that much time) she kindly took the fries off the bill. I ordered the spinach and wild mushroom crepes, with the corn and zucchini succotash, while my husband ate the sausage and pepper crepe. The crepes were not as good as we remembered, just slightly too dense. I preferred the Queen City crepes from my first trip, filled with roasted chicken, bacon, cheddar and oven roasted tomato dressing. The succotash, however, was the perfect mix, and the zucchini was buttery and smooth.


The crepe suzette, however, was terrific. We were getting full, but still managed to eat the entire dessert. We were tempted to lick the plate, but managed to resist. Barely.


I would recommend the Crepe Cellar to anyone looking for a nice, casual date, or just a nice dinner. It was a good meal, and fabulous service (I’m not just saying that because of the free fries). Expect to settle in for a wait if you have no reservation and you’ve arrived at prime dinner hour, but just go next door for a beer, you will be well taken care of.


Crepe Cellar Kitchen and Pub

3116 North Davidson Street

Charlotte, NC 28205

704-910-6543

Crepe Cellar Kitchen & Pub on Urbanspoon

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