| rev:text
| - Situated in Noda (Charlotte's equivalent of Philadelphia's South Street), Crepe Cellar strives to cater to the gastropub gourmand while offering a casual atmosphere and good drinking.
I'll begin by saying that my overall experience (and that of my friends) was very enjoyable. The staff was friendly, the selection of alcohol was diverse and the food had its highs and lows.
I applaud this restaurant's efforts in offering gourmet dishes in a pub scene. It is rare to see many pubs around here moving away from the stereotypical american bar. Example: Beef Short Rib over Potato Herb Gnocchi with roasted tomatoes, shallots, and cabernet reduction. Sounds delicious, and it was! But there are other items that attempt to push the envelope and miss completely. The pan seared duck breast not only had a "gamey" taste, but the "Korean BBQ Sauce" that was drizzled over it had no resemblance to anything from that country (neither the North nor the South). In fact, the taste was so familiar to me that I pinpointed it directly to the sweet chili sauce that you dip your Chinese take-out spring rolls in. And for the $22 this place is demanding for such a dish, I was sorely disappointed. As for the steak and frites, the meat was cooked nice and pink and the red wine sauce had a deep and velvety richness to it. The fries are good for mopping up the leftover sauce.
I think if you're making a trip all the way out here though, you should just stick to the crepes because the dessert that followed was perfection. We decided to split three different crepes to experience a variety of flavors and the choice was well made. We chose the mascarpone with berries, the crepe suzette (grand marnier, delicious), and the banana nutella. Everyone knows that the filling is a big deal, but it becomes irrelevant if the the crepe that holds it is structurally unsound, overly doughy, or rough and grainy. Crepe Cellar lives up to its name. The crepes were perfect. They were smooth, light, golden, and salted just enough to bring out the flavors they were showcasing. Of all the three, the Crepe Suzette was by far the best. It had a little "pool" of Grand Marnier underneath, which I imagine was flambeed, and a small ball of vanilla ice cream was placed on top. The combination was a deliciously sweet, creamy, alcoholy flavor that one could probably keep eating non-stop.
I would definitely come back here to try the savory crepes and I would encourage others to do the same. Don't expect an intimate date though, it can get quite loud in the evening!
4/5
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)