A New Brunch Favorite

Another Saturday morning, and a visitor from out-of-town, found me roaming the streets in search of a comfy, yummy place to spend a couple of hours. Just a few Saturdays before, I attempted to get take out from one of the most locally famous places on the Upper East Side. I quickly learned then that the place did not offer take-out during weekend brunch times. It smelled so wonderful inside. The ambiance looked to be exactly what I crave on the weekends for those 2 hours while I am almost child-free. I decided to go back this weekend and experience it to the fullest. The place? Yorkville Creperie.

In all the years I have lived on the UES, I have never been to this local treasure and I was beginning to feel like I was missing a lot. A friend of my daughter's mentioned that it was her favorite place a few years back and I vowed to give it a try. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

My cousin came in from Virginia and I began to think of something close and delicious for her to try since it was so cold out and we were not looking forward to much sight-seeing. I had even held on to the menu from my attempt at ordering take out weeks prior.

We ended up getting there a bit too early. FYI....most normal New Yorkers don't head out to brunch until late morning. I was forced out before most normal New Yorkers.(I dread Saturday morning test prep). The Creperie opens at 10am. We soon found out that it was well worth the wait. We went in and within minutes knew what we wanted. We both had something fruity/chocolaty/sweet in mind, but had no idea about all the savory offerings on the menu.

After some brief deliberation, we settled on splitting a savory crepe and ordering our own sweet crepe that we could also split. I think we just assumed the savory crepe would hold no weight to the sweet ones we know and love. Boy, were we wrong. In fact, I could go to brunch and forget about my regular Nutella smothered special! I think.

We settled on the Spartan crepe to share. A savory choice with spinach, garlic, roasted tomato and ricotta, all topped with an extra virgin olive oil drizzle. It was heavenly. The spinach was cooked to perfection. When we cut into the crepe, the bright and bold greens came pouring out. Among all the greens were perfectly roasted tomatoes and garlic minced so tiny that if it weren't for the contrast you would not be able to see it. There also must have been some salt inside. They must have put the crepe together at just the right temperature because you could taste and feel the crunch of the salt with every few bites. It was perfectly balanced in every way. I almost wish I decided to get my own savory dish.

I was definitely ready for more. When our sweet(classic, to us) crepes came out, we were just as excited. Mine was a traditional crepe with strawberries, bananas, and Nutella. Hers was a strawberry, blueberry, whipped cream crepe with a raspberry puree drizzle over the top. Both were exceptional. Although I think that when I go the sweet route I will almost always opt for Nutella on mine! The raspberry puree made the other one a little more fancy that any old crepe. It separated this restaurant's crepes from ones we have had while cruising through NYC street fairs.

Everything was really reasonably priced too. I don't remember how much those street fair crepes are, but I would imagine that the prices we paid could not possibly be much more than that. It was truly reasonable. The fanciest crepe they have is 12 dollars.

Beyond the food being insanely delicious, the coffee was amazing too. The atmosphere was more charming than many of our UES restaurants. It was naturally well-lit, which is important to a mom who wants to fall asleep every time she stops moving or doing for more than 5 minutes. It felt like the home of a family member. It was bright, inviting and quiet, although not too quiet. After about an hour of us nursing our crepes and coffee, the once empty space became almost filled wall to wall. That would explain their reluctance to do take out. They don't need to. Their brunch is personal. As it should be.

These early-to-rise Saturday mornings are really beginning to do a number on me. A working mom needs to sleep in once in a while to stay sane, but if I began to frequent a place like this, I would be one happy Upper East Side Mom.