New crepe restaurant opens in Dallas’ Uptown, stoking local Frenchy upsurge

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — Sacre bleu, it's another Frenchy place: Crêperie du Château, a new restaurant on McKinney Avenue that specializes in, but is not limited to, crepes. That said, they serve crepes both savory -- filled with chicken, mozzarella, and spinach -- and sweet, with roasted apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

I could eat you up, mon peu doux.

Sweet crepes are probably the better known, but it's the savory crepes here that are the big news. They're made in the style of crêpes sarrasin, which means they use special dark buckwheat flour. Aside from its earthy, nutty flavor, buckwheat is a nutritional star. It possesses all the essential amino acids, making it a more "complete" protein than any other plant including soybeans. Tais-toi! It is thus a big favorite for vegetarians. Buckwheat is also delicious, so these crepes are as much about the crepe as the filling.

Aside from crepes, Crêperie has fine-sounding salads such as the nicoise, the French classic with tuna, green beans, sliced eggs, olives, tomatoes, and anchovy; and sandwiches such as the croque monsieur. It's open for breakfast, so there are waffles along with breakfast crepes filled with eggs and fruit. An adjoining bakery offers cookies and pastries. Mais oui!

The restaurant opened three months ago in what surely has to be the space that once housed that weird restaurant Enigma. Owner Fatoumata Ndiaye, who says she moved here from France 16 months ago in order to start a business, kept the fanfare down so she could iron out the wrinkles.

"We tried to get ready, to get it right," she says. "We're doing sandwiches, and at dinner, some entries, wine and beer that works with the food."

According to the Web site, the restaurant's pre-opening party was attended by some Mavericks, and lo and behold, the photos include the happy mugs of Dirk, Cubes, and some really tall guys. Basketball fans might recall that, in 2004, a 7-foot fellow named Mamadou N'Diaye was signed to the Mavs for 10 days. Related, perhaps? But Ndiaye was a bit shy about her personal details on the phone.

Add Crêperie du Château to the recent opening of Rise No. 1, the souffle place, and it's looking like we have a little French revival on our hands. All that's left at this point is a place that serves snails. Avis aux amateurs?