When eating crepes, do as the Parisians do.
It’s tempting to grab a crepe from the first crepe stand you see, whether it’s in the alleyways of St-Michel, or a plaza by Notre-Dame, or in the shadows of Sacre Coeur Cathedral. Indeed, many of the street vendors do produce decent crepes, and you will find that some are better than others. If you’re a “guide book tourist” and are happy with that, then don’t bother reading any further.
However, if you want to experience French crepes like a Parisian, make your first stop the rue du Montparnasse.
The Montparnasse neighborhood, sitting between the 6th and 14th arrondisements, has several noteworthy landmarks. It boasts the Tour Montparnasse, with a view that rivals the Eiffel Tower. It was an arts and culture center during the 1920s when Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and those of the so-called “lost generation” spent their nights partying at the cafes there. And it continues to house artists, galleries, and gourmet restaurants its many winding, unassuming boulevards.
But my favorite street is rue du Montparnasse. This is not to be confused with Boulevard Montparnasse, which is the major boulevard that brings traffic and travelers towards the magnetic Tour Montparnasse.
Rue du Montparnasse is a diamond in the rough, a local treasure amid a hubbub of Parisian life. The block of rue du Montparnasse between Boulevard de Montparnasse and Boulevard Edgar Quinet contains doorway after doorway after doorway of crepe restaurants, each doorway offering a glimpse of local Parisians enjoying the finest crepes Paris has to offer.
You see, of the major train stations in Paris, the Gare Montparnasse (located across from the Tour Montparnasse) was historically the gateway to the West, connecting Paris to western provinces such as Bretagne, the region of the crepe’s origin. As westerners arrived in Paris from this region, they set up shop right in Montparnasse. Restaurant owners and shopkeepers easily imported their authentic ingredients straight from Bretagne, and recreated the delicacies of their home region.
And now, although the period of migration is over, we can still enjoy the remains. I’m not referring to the crepe stands that litter the city and pander thin, weak crepes to the tourists who expect nothing better. I’m talking about the row of marvelous creperies that inhabit rue du Montparnasse – the home of Paris’ best full-service crepe restaurants.
When you find the street, you’ll notice that you have a multitude of options to choose from. My host mother claimed that Creperie Josselin is the official best creperie in the city, but other locals will disagree. On any given weekend, almost every creperie on the block is packed with Parisians who laugh at the silly tourists who don’t know any better than to munch the street vendors’ fares.
Try an authentic, gourmet, Montparnasse crepe – and you’ll know what I mean. The savory crepes are called “gallettes” and are a slightly different recipe from the sweet crepes. The batter, made with buckwheat flour, is meant to complement salty, heartier crepe fillings, such as cheese, ham, spinach, or tomatoes. The dessert crepes are lighter, sweeter, and filled with chocolate sauce, honey, sugar, and almost any delicious combination you can imagine.
Don’t forget to order a carafe of the house cider. Hard apple cider, another specialty from Bretagne, is almost a requirement for a complete crepe meal. Some of the creperies on rue du Montparnasse make their own cider in-house, but others serve bottled brands imported from Bretagne. Either way, it’s a wonderful and refreshing way to wash down a spinach, cheese and egg crepe, and a beautiful end to a long day of exploring the gems of Paris.
Chloe Jenkins is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. You can read more of Chloe’s thoughts at her blog, Chloe’s Constant Comments.
