International crepes steal the show at quaint café
When Yelp Reno announced its list of 25 top eateries in the Reno-Tahoe region—encompassing cities throughout northern Nevada and California and based on volume and ratings of reviews—there were four Reno establishments in the top 10, and among those was Kaffe Crepe, a creperie in an inconspicuous strip mall on Plumb Lane.
If you frequent the Costco/Mattress Firm/Mor Furniture shopping center, you may have passed Kaffe Crepe before. And while its location is perhaps convenient, it’s not where I’d expect an adorable, affordable and well-reviewed niche restaurant to find its home. But when the food is good, the foodie will travel.
Kaffe Crepe is charming but small, offering up a hearty list of sweet and savory crepes representing a multitude of cultures. Crepes are often associated with France and Belgium but also have roots in Germany, and Kaffe Crepe pays homage to many of those locales—and more—with its international menu of varied flavors.
The savory items available for breakfast and lunch cover the map. There are nods to home, like the Mount Rose Breakfast Crepe stuffed with cheese, chorizo, scrambled eggs, green salsa and fresh avocado. Then there are regions outside of Nevada represented through menu items like the Parisian Breakfast Crepe, the California Breakfast Crepe, the Mediterranean Crepe and the Alaskan Crepe, each encompassing some of the better-known flavors of each area.
A standout for me was the French Riviera Crepe, encompassing some of the culture crepes are best known to represent with bright, fresh ingredients, including vibrant green spinach and hearty red tomatoes. The dish is finished with a melted cheese blend, flavorful cubed chicken, artichoke hearts and fresh basil, resulting in a flavor bomb one can’t always expect from a simpler dish.
For something sweet, crepes heavy in custards, creams, fruits and Nutella grace the menu. The lemon curd crepe exudes fruit and citrus flavors boasting fresh lemon and tart raspberries while the s’mores crepe offers graham cracker crumbles, marshmallows and chocolate chips for a more saccharine final product. Regardless of what you order, from the cookie butter crepe fixed with Biscoff cookie butter, bananas and cookie crumbs to the bird’s milk crepe stuffed with marshmallows, Nutella and fresh strawberries, you’re sure to have your sweet tooth satisfied, licking each lingering bit off the tines of your fork.
I have a feeling what sets the crepes here apart is the method used to make them. Crepes are cooked right in front of customers, using special stove tops that heat evenly. The results are crispy, never soggy, soft and never crunchy, warm crepes filled and folded to perfection. And because each menu item is made to order, substitutions are easy—just don’t go overboard.
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1300 East Plumb Lane, Suite C4
