I've wanted to try Japanese-style crepes for a while after learning about their existence through reviews on Yelp LA (Yes, I like to peruse the eats of other cities...). Sadly, Vegas is slow on food trends...forcing me to look at pictures (like this http://bit.ly/h42u9L and this http://bit.ly/ftAs5D) of these crepes to satisfy my craving. Just in the nick of time before I was about to attempt to create my own Japanese crepe in my kitchen, Crepe Shack & Waffles popped up in my neighborhood next to my beloved Trader Joe's. And reading all the fabulous reviews, I knew I had to make a visit to this shop ASAP. With friend by my side, I visited Crepe Shack & Waffles for a sweet dinner treat.
The place is super clean and roomy with high ceilings, colorful walls & a minimalist feel. Perfectly designed to cater to the rush of high school students who come by this place after school and during the night to hang out. Plus 1 for free wi-fi!
Upon walking in, we were greeted by one of the workers who explained how the menu and ordering process worked. My friend and I both decided to order from the Specialty menu rather than the DIY menu, as the Specialty Crepes are a much better deal in terms of price. I chose the Tickle Me Berry (Strawberry, Raspberry & Blueberry) Specialty Crepe w/ Green Tea ice cream and no whipped cream, and w/ my Yelp discount I paid less than $5 for this wonderful cone of yumminess.
Owner Li and I started talking about his business, Yelp & such, while he was making my crepe. He told me that he wanted to make his crepe batter reminiscent in flavor to a fortune cookie with the addition of more vanilla, compared to regular crepes which are more eggy in taste. Great decision! I'd much rather taste more vanilla than more egg. Anyways, after Li added fresh strawberries, blueberries & YELLOW raspberries (!) and a scoop of ice cream into my crepe, he rolled it up in a cone and handed me this piece of food art. Being a Japanese-crepe newbie, I thought the crepe was meant to be eaten w/ a fork at first, but then I realized "utensils not required" as it's meant to be eaten like how you would eat an ice cream cone.
I took my first bite and was impressed. The crepe itself was thin, soft, airy & slightly chewy all at the same time. The flavor of the crepe was sweet but not too sweet, the berries were fresh (I wanted more berries...) & the ice cream was just the right amount of sweetness. All these elements harmonized well with each other, resulting in a concoction that left my sweet tooth satisfied and not aching. I felt less guilty about eating this somehow. My favorite part of the crepe was the last bites before it disappeared, as the slightly melted ice cream combined w/ the remaining fruit and the crepe made for the last perfect bites.
I'll be back again with friends in the near future. Not just for the yummy crepes but for the friendly service as well. I hope this place sticks around for a while.