Guest blog post by Program Consultant Phil Todisco.
On my recent trip to Paris, hosting many of our traveling teachers, I realized my favorite experience was not one of the sights, but one of the senses—taste! On your next trip to Paris, make sure your first stop is at one of the city’s quaint little “street creperies.”
Let me tell you, the process of watching the crepe made before your eyes, and the anticipation of the final product finding its way into your hands and belly, is as satisfying as any meal you will ever have.
Now, there are crepes of all sizes found on many menus, but my favorite ones were found for less than 7 euro from some window on a Parisian lane. My first crepe was found in the Latin Quarter, the Bohemian and somewhat touristy section of Paris. But no worries, it’s not to be missed. There is excitement, chatter in the street and winding alleys, and yes, right at the very start, a little street creperie. It’s a perfect spot to start your walking tour of the Latin Quarter, properly equipped with a handful of goodness to keep you fueled.
My wife and I stopped into a creperie craving a banana-Nutella breakfast. Our sweet crepe was crafted by two young ladies who started this process by pouring, then carefully spreading the batter over the heated surface. After about 2 minutes, she slathered the Nutella to create what looked to be a chocolate pizza shell. Next came the freshly sliced bananas.
As the crepe creator folded over the fresh ingredients, carefully turning an oval “Pie”, into a stuffed triangular slice of heaven, something else caught my eye. It wasn’t a sweet crepe, like the one I was awaiting, it was something even more delicious—a ham, mushroom and cheese crepe!
I had no choice but to order, yes, another crepe! When in Paris. . . So the girls went at it again, first the crepe batter, then the cheese, yes the cheese, followed by a sumptuous portion of freshly cut ham and diced mushrooms!
In true European fashion, I ate my sweet dessert crepe while I awaited the completion of my breakfast crepe! Funny enough, by the time the ham, cheese and mushroom crepe was ready, my wife and I had already finished the banana nutella crepe!
We went from starving for food at 9:30am, to looking for a place to cure our food coma by 10:00am! Lucky for us, the Latin Quarter has so many lively markets, great places to people-watch and landscapes to explore, that we had walked off our crepe crush in short time.
Here’s hoping that you too, get to experience a local treat from the street!
Phil Todisco is a lifelong learner and traveler who also heads up the company’s international business development team. He’s on his own personal pilgrimage to sample each great city’ signature street fare. Follow Phil on Twitter: @doctrphilgood