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A Word About Crêpes

Pronounced "crepps".
A tradition from Normandy (Where the Allies landed on D-Day - 2 hours northwest of Paris by car).
There are 2 kinds of crêpes - sweet and savory. Most tourists only see the sidewalk crêpe stands in Paris, but there are crêperies (crêpe restaurants) everywhere.

The thing to do is to go for a meal. One orders an apéritif perhaps (alcoholic cocktail, juice or soda) and the main course is a savory crêpe called a galette (not a crêpe). It is made in the same fashion - an ultrathin, very wide pancake, but with brown Sarazin flour - which is like whole wheat flour. The toppings are usually sliced ham, grated swiss cheese, and any combination of: more cheese, ground beef, sausage, a fried egg, chopped bacon, fresh lettuce on top, mushrooms, goat cheese, tomatoes, onions, walnuts, eggplant or seafood.

The traditional drink to accompany is Cidre - which also comes from the Normandy region where they grow many apples. French cidre is what Americans might call Nonalcoholic Apple Champagne. It is light and fizzy with an apple-juice flavor - not too sweet. It is not at all the strong autumn flavor of American apple cider. Cidre Doux is soft - 2% alcohol, while Cidre Brut is hard - 4% alcohol. You can hardly feel the alcohol - and almost never taste it. It is traditionally served in small porcelain bowls.
For dessert one orders another crêpe - a sweet crêpe this time. Made from a more cake-like flour. The crêpe is thinner and smaller and topped with any combination of butter, sugar, chocolate sauce, Nutella, banana, walnuts, jam, pears, lemon juice, Cointreau, Calvados or Grand Marnier (flambée of course.)

They may look small and thin, but you almost never finish both crêpes, or if you do, you can't walk straight for a while afterwards....