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Let Crêpes à Latte Cater to the Kid in You

By John DiGilio in Food on Dec 17, 2010 5:20PM

crepesalatte.jpgA good meal out should be a full sensory experience. From the tastes to the smells, sounds, and even sights, it should be almost holistically pleasing. Many restaurants focus their efforts on creating a great tasting dish. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. In fact, it makes those rare occasions when all of your senses are engaged even more enjoyable. Cozy little Crêpes à Latte provided us with just such an experience.

Nestled near the Irving Park Brown Line stop in North Center, Crêpes à Latte is hard to miss. The colorful palette of its interior, a melange of blues, greens, oranges and whites virtually jumps through its big windows to drag you inside. As if that is not enough, the smell of fresh crepes wafting through the door also beckons to the taste buds. The whimsical decor, friendly staff, and funky ambience are all great. However, they take a back seat to the true main attraction - the crêpes.

Whether you like them sweet or savory, there is a crêpe on the menu for you. For vegetarians, the selections are more than plentiful. We loved the avocado, cheese, and tomato crêpe. It was light and delicious. We paired with a fresh tasting cucumber salad that was just tart enough to tickle our tongues. The Nutella and strawberry crêpe was equally fantastic. They say you are what you eat. Well, it made us feel quite young in our tummies with its gooey filing of chocolate-hazelnut spread, fresh stawberries and generous dollop of whipped cream.

My dining companion and I felt like a couple of youngsters as we giggled at the names of the coffee drinks and smoothies. Signature javas like the Toasted Marshmallow Mocha and Peanut Butter Mocha didn't just sound good, they were good. The peanut butter banana smoothie may have been low in fat, but it was definitely high on taste. Had we any room left, there were milkshakes and teas available. However, just like kids in a candy shop, we had already overindulged ourselves.

Crêpes à Latte is located at 1840 West Irving Park RoadPhoto from Chicagobusiness.com.