La Creperie of Fort Collins has already staked out its corner on the college town’s busy Mountain Avenue restaurant row.
With warm-hued interior walls hand-painted by owner Claude Lucas, who grew up in Brittany, this cheery restaurant serves authentically French crepes, cocotte brioche (poached eggs in buttery popover breads), onion soup and omelets.
The authentically French portions will seem slight for diners used to overflowing platters of food. But the lacy sweet crepes and the heartier but still-delicate galettes (savory buckwheat crepes) make up in flavor what they lack in size. Round out the meal with a bowl of French onion soup ($5.50) and a salad tossed with the house vinaigrette and sunflower seeds ($3.25).
The menu offers 35 savory filling combinations, from the generous “basic” with egg, mushroom, swiss cheese, ham, bacon, tomato and chives ($9.25), to the spare but lovely goat cheese and apples ($7.75). The sweet crepes ($3.35 to $8.25) can be simple buttered and sugared envelopes of fruit, Nutella or jam, or the classic crepe Suzette (butter, sugar and flambeed Grand Marnier).
As for service, let’s just call it laissez-faire. The coffee’s good, but at $2.25 per cup, they could serve it more than half-full, and offer refills without having to be asked.
La Creperie is actually owners’ Claude and Carole Lucas’ Plan B. They intended to open a bakery, making croissants and wedding cakes, but the electrical wiring in the 102-year-old building was insufficient for the Lucas’ ovens. For now, the experienced restaurateur is keeping it simple, and hopes to get the ovens wired and running before Christmas.
Kristen Browning-Blas: 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com
LA CREPERIE OF FORT COLLINS
French. 163 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins, 970-224-2640. Open 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. every day but Monday; 5:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
