Sunday, February 03, 2008

Cafe Lenfant: Best Crepes in Town



Cafe Lenfant is quickly becoming a neighborhood favorite of mine. After browsing furniture along U Street yesterday, we decided to have an afternoon snack at the little cafe at the corners of 18th, U, and Florida. Their crepes work well at any time of the day...especially their ham and gruyere with a Kasteel Triple beer (they have a small, but pretty good selection of Belgian beers and french wines) and a side of roasted potatoes. Heaven.

Man, I love this simple dish. The thin pancake was slightly crusty, the ham flavorful, the gruyere melted perfectly and was accompanied by a little green salad with a nice vinaigrette. The roasted potatoes were soft and tossed with herbs. All so good. For brunch, you can get the same type of crepe, but with an egg--they call it the Complete, and it comes with potatoes or fruit. The menu is classic and true cafe fare with a range of sweet (lemon and sugar, Nutella, etc.) and savory (ham and gruyere, roast beef and brie, salmon, etc.) crepes, tartines (open faced sandwiches--like a bruschetta but with a lot of variety for toppings), salads, and a couple bigger entrees like burgundy beef and tarragon and mustard chicken.

It feels suprisingly authentic. Though I kinda detest Paris and think the idea of a French cafe is a little cliche, there is a romance there, and it's captured here...and it feels real. There's nothing fake or wannabe about it. It's very simple bits of good food at good prices, no fuss, and it's served quickly. And the corner view of the street (along with the patio) makes for great people watching.

2 comments:

The Professor said...

Interesting..I discovered this spot about a month ago after a work out at MINT, and now it has emerged as one of my favorite neighborhood places. One downside: on a busy night, the seating can get a bit cramped.

ROGANISTA said...

dear professor:

stop stalking me.

best,

roganista

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