Café Crepe - Santa Monica

          

           Keep breathing. That’s the smell of the California breeze from the beach mixed with the warm smell of the sweet breads and coffee coming from outside the café you’re sitting at on a beautiful modern black bistro set with a good friend. That just so happened to be my experience on August 6, 2012. My friend, Sailyn and I walked around the famous Santa Monica 3^rd Street Promenade and came across Café Crepe, which was perfect since we were craving crepes during our walk along the boardwalk earlier in the afternoon. Café Crepe's mission is "to serve the highest quality product to our customers” (Lavazza). The atmosphere, service, and price makes it one of my favorite cafés in the West Los Angeles area.

         
          The setting was absolutely appealing. It reminded us of a real Parisian café like you would see in movies. The building’s exterior was a modern chic design with hints of vintage. There were old posters framed of classical French-American twenties art and a bar as if it was from the 1920’s. You still had a sliced view of the water since the café was still pretty far up along the promenade.
          The weather was unbeatable with 80 degrees with a cool salty sea breeze as the sun was close to its hours of setting. The hostess warmly seated us down outside the café, able to see people walking through the promenade towards the beach. Our waitress was very friendly and the vibe was just right with others sitting around you. Jazz music was playing in the background, people were laughing, talking, and it was a welcoming environment to have a conversation with others around you. Francis S., a customer who reviewed the café said, “Like the location as well, attracts a lot of attention, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is cool” (Francis S.).

Our waitress, Katherine was very friendly and attentive to our needs, and always with a smile. Sailyn and I both ordered a delicious refreshing sparkling lemonade imported from France. It was just right; not too sweet, not too bitter, a perfect refreshment for the summer. For our entrees, I ordered a Parisian Hot Dog and we both shared a Café Crepe Especial (the house specialty) filled with Nutella, Grand Marnier, bananas, and walnuts with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. When our food arrived, the smell alone arose my senses. First of all, the warm bulillo bread stuffed with God knows what kind of heavenly cheese it was with marinated and tenderly cooked sausage. The smell of the Nutella stuffed inside the fresh crepe was begging for my name.

As we were indulging into the tingling sensation from the heat of the crepe with the cold of the ice cream, I spot the world’s cutest dog. Literally. About five yards away, I saw a beautiful Pomeranian dog who was none other than the famous dog, Boo. I wanted to take a picture of him, but I didn’t want to leave my food lonely without me devouring it. His owner set him down from the bicycle basket, and were about to take a walk together. Suddenly, more and more people were crowding around the dog until he was surrounded by about thirty people and my hopes of ever seeing Boo again were lost. This however just came to show the diversity and excitement circulating throughout 3^rd Street Promenade, making Café Crepe the perfect spot to be in the middle of witnessing it all in motion. In this moment, I was in paradise. I soaked it all in; I was in Santa Monica, enjoying company with a great friend, had beautiful weather, eating the best crepe of my life, while literally sitting next to the dog who holds the title of the World’s Cutest Dog.
Even though the world's cutest dog was gone, more celebrities have been spotted at 3rd Street Promenade, so it's very likely to run into someone famous! Just within months of October and September 2012, Nick Cannon, Jennie Garth, Jessica Simpson, Victoria Beckham, and Jennifer Gardner have been walking around the very same street; just to name a few. The promenade offers a wide variety of different shopping as well to walk off the big meal. Such stores include H&M, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, Apple, Aldo, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, Diesel, and much more.

To wrap up our day, the sun was finally setting and we were on the final bites of our food. When Katherine came back and we asked for the check, the quality and satisfaction of our experience along with Boo was a topic of conversation. She was telling us of the different things she sees going on at the promenade and loves working at Café Crepe. Our total came out to be $18.85 with tax. For the best crepe of my life, a Parisian Hot Dog, two sparkling lemonades, and friendly service, this was not bad at all! To even show my gratitude to the business and our waitress, with a touch of my personality and humor, I wrote on the receipt,  “I JUST DIED from the INCREDIBLE food. GOD BLESS YOU.” I would recommend anyone who loves the culinary arts, beach vibe settings, culturally diverse environments, or even someone who simply enjoys having a cup of coffee to experience Café Crepe in Santa Monica, California.

Works Cited

S, Francis. Yelp. Rep. N.p., 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.<www.yelp.com/biz/café -crepe-santa-monica-3>.

"Lavazza." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cafecrepe.com/Coffee.h

tml>.

C., Katherine

"Celebrities Spotted in Santa Monica, California Past Month." StarSightings. N.p., 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.starsightings.com/location-Santa-Monica,-California/>.