Crepes Et Amis

 

I like to see what there is to eat no matter where I go and that includes when I go to Michigan to visit my family.  My parents live in downtown Midland, Michigan and I noticed a crepe place that I was interested in a few years ago.  It took me a while, but I was finally able to visit Crepes et Amis for brunch the last time I was in Midland.  It's a small counter service space with the kitchen on one side and bench seating on the other.  There are also some tables in the front and a couple of tables in the back, opposite the bench seating and next to the kitchen.  The lights are hanging lights, strung above the bench and chandelier-like over the order counter.  There are also some wall hangings consisting of framed coffee bags and Paris art with a vintage clock in the center.  The entire look is both rustic and very homey.

 

Crepes et Amis specializes in crepes, both sweet and savory, but they also do waffles and pastries (and coffee).  While there were several waffles that looked good, as it was my first time there, I wanted to focus on the crepes.  I got two crepes, one sweet and one savory.  I also had a cup of coffee from a local roaster that was pretty good.  The crepes were thin and easy to cut, but they also held together well enough to hold its fillings.  My sweet crepe was the Banberry, which had Bananas, Strawberries, and Nutella, and was drizzled with Nutella and Powdered Sugar.  It was sweet with a little tartness from the strawberries and the Nutella added a sweet and chocolatey nuttiness that tied everything together.  My second Crepe was called Good Morning Paris, and it was a perfect Breakfast.  Inside the the delicate crepe was Smoked Ham, Scrambled Eggs, Swiss Cheese, Brown Sugar, and served with an Orange on the side.  While I will generally order both sweet and savory dishes for brunch, this was both sweet and savory in one.  The crepes were really good.  The space was very friendly and welcoming, and I will be sure to return. 

Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes

When you think about food in different cities, different places will evoke different things.  Memphis evokes barbecue, Traverse City evokes Cherries, Boston evokes Clam Chowdah, and Chicago evokes Pizza.  The foods that people think of when they think of different cities are not all inclusive, of course, and there are some very good dishes that can be found in different areas that don't necessarily fit their locations.  For example, I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that would think of crepes when they think of Detroit.  There is, however, a very good creperie, Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes, which is located in Midtown Detroit located near Detroit Institute of Arts and Wayne State University.  We were going to the DIA, it was morning, it was close, and I was hungry so we decided to stop here.  The restaurant is kind of small, seating about 40 people, but the tables were far enough apart that it wasn't really claustrophobic.  The street front was a window wall which helped light the interior which was done in black.  The ceilings were high and unfinished and the walls were decorated with French New Wave Movie Posters.  On the menu were all manner of crepes (and a side salad).  Beverages included Intelligencia Coffee and San Pellegrino.  The crepes were divided (roughly) into sweet and savory and were all named after women.  We ordered three crepes, one savory, one sweet, and one that could have gone either way.

For our savory crepe, we had the Annette, which contained Nova Lox, Spinach, Tomatoes, Brie, and Herbs de Provence.  The crepe was light, delicate, and slightly crisp.  The Nova Lox, or Nova Scotia Salmon was tender and had a light flavor.  The spinach, tomatoes, and Brie went together well with the salmon and the Herbs de Provence provided a spicy herbal flavor that added depth.  I really enjoyed it. 

The sweet crepe was called the Melinda and it was essentially a Key Lime Pie.  It contained cream cheese, limes, and brown sugar.  The crepe was topped with powdered sugar and was served with more fresh limes.  It was sweet, creamy, tart, and very delicate.  It wasn't as tart as a regular key lime pie was but it did have the fresh limes that were served with it.

The other crepe was listed as a savory crepe but it did have elements of sweetness to it and it could have gone either way.  It was called the Wendy and it contained Blue Cheese, Cherries, Walnuts, Spinach, and was topped with a Raspberry Vinaigrette.  It was sweet, tart, tangy, delicate, and some bitterness from the spinach and the blue cheese.  Of the three crepes that we had, I chose two of them, the Annette (Nova Lox and Brie), and the Melinda (Key Lime Pie).  My favorite crepe though, was the Wendy.

This place was fun, casual, and did some very good crepes.  The service was friendly, and the place was nice.  My one complaint was small and was actually with the crepes.  I prefer my crepes rolled and these were folded.  This however, will not prevent me from coming here again, given the opportunity.