After a stressful week full of errands and unforgiving schedules, it’s appropriate to indulge in something that we may not eat a daily basis.
For me, this includes anything I “crave.” When encountering a food craving, in my experience, it’s usually something rich and classically delicious. Recently, I found the perfect dish to satisfy my palate at Le Happy, a quaint creperie located between the Pearl District and Northwest.
Le Happy is a fabulous mix of dainty little café and hip bar. At its 5 p.m. opening, Le Happy is a cozy restaurant, but starting at 10 p.m. it transforms itself into a bar, giving people a reason to congregate and linger after dinner.
But the restaurant never looses its leisurely “Old World” atmosphere and continues delivering the best crepes in town well into the night.
The menu has both savory and sweet crepes, but also features salads (an interesting mix with everything from mixed greens to spicy steak, to literally an “Everything Salad”), and “Le Steak.” I sampled the “Saummon Fume” savory crepe, which is stuffed with smoked salmon, a white wine Gruyere sauce and green onions. Other interesting savories include a crepe with a Southeast Asian twist, the “Demi-Vegan Tofu.” This crepe comes with tofu, cilantro, cucumbers, onions, fermented black beans and panang peanut sauce.
As for the sweet crepes, you really can’t go wrong. On my second visit, I went for the “Spectac” (Grand Marnier, Nutella and Banana Flambe). The sweet crepe list is long, and of course, you always have the option of creating your own crepe from their list of ingredients.
This is a very tempting offer, given their mouth-watering selections. Choose from items like cremini mushroom sauce, roasted chicken and cr퀌�me fraiche from the savory menu or baked apples, fresh strawberries and fudge brownie from the sweet. Creating your own crepe is easy, and starts at just $2.50.
The crepes themselves are delicious, made from buckwheat and white flour, egg, salt for the savory, and white and wheat flour, eggs, milk and vanilla for the sweet.
To drink, you will find a lovely list of white and red wines, fresh juices, coffee and tea. The Mariage Freres teas are an excellent Parisian import, and can be purchased for less than $2.
It may be a crepe restaurant, but Le Happy is undoubtedly an original. It’s open late, until 1 a.m., so you are able to placate those late-night crepe cravings. No matter what your palate calls for, you will find a crepe you love, so definitely pay Le Happy a visit, its bright yellow exterior makes it a hard target to miss.
All crepes are $5 to $10. If you are really hungry, consider their special: a half steak and half salad with any crepe, for an additional $9. Consider that a Western twist on a well-done French classic.
Le Happy (1011 N.W. 16th Ave.) Eat: The Saumon Fume, or the Spectac Drink: Mariage Freres Tea Damage: $5 to $10