It was a cold and windy day in Long Beach, where my boyfriend's cousin's wedding was held. Our plan was to go try a bakery called Gusto bread (which was recommended by a colleague) after the ceremony ended at 2:00 PM. That didn't work out the way we wanted.
The bakery closed at 2:00 PM. We were still craving something sweet. So we decided to go Creme de la Crepe.
When we walked in, we were greeted by the server. She brought over the dinner menu for us to share. Creme de La Crepe was decorated with pumpkins for table center pieces, it had a couch for lounging and the walls were covered with paintings and French related items. The place had a very chill ambience.
It took us a minute to look through the menu and order. Their menu is quite big, it ranges from savory crepes to sweet crepes. They even have a WINE list for wine enthusiasts.
We finally ordered: tomato basil soup, salmon toast, banana nutella and cookie butter crepe and a Daph' (cinnamon apples topped with toasted almonds and a side of vanilla ice cream).
The wait for the food was a bit long for the amount of food we ordered, but my boyfriend and I are also in the food industry, so we can empathize with the wait time.
This bowl of soup wasn't the tomato soup that I was expecting, but then again, it would be called a bisque if it was smooth with cream in it. Regardless of what kind of soup, it was packed with the right amount umami, salt, and acid. It was a little bitter and I believe it came from the basil, but otherwise, the soup was delicious and I couldn't get enough of it. Topping it off with the croutons and the parmesan made all the flavors come together.
Our first impression of this toast was... that there wasn't any special about it. The bread the was toasted with smoked salmon and topped with dill creme fraiche on a bed of arugula. This dish had so much potential, in my opinion, it's waste for the balsamic glaze to be on the side.
I would've enjoyed the toast much more, if they had spread the dill creme fraiche on top of the bread, then added the smoked salmon and then drizzle the balsamic glaze on top. The balsamic glaze would've added a nice hint of acidity to the smoked salmon.
I'm not a fan of bananas because of the texture and taste, but according to my boyfriend. This crepe really hit the spot with the flavor and texture of the cookie butter, Nutella, and bananas.
I'm not a fan of cooked apples, but I do like the flavor combo of spices, brown sugar and apples together. So I was very excited to try this cinnamon apple crepe. When it arrived at the table, it smelled good, it looked good, but it didn't taste as good as I expected.
Don't get me wrong, ALL the flavors were there... the only problem I had was that it tasted starchy. Which could mean that they didn't cook the cornstarch (or whatever they used to thicken the liquid) long enough because they didn't want to over cook the apples. It's unfortunate because it had good flavors. I ended up not finishing the dish because of the starchiness.
At the end of the day, we had a good experience regardless of the minor flavor issues. There was no bad service or long wait time. If you're in Long Beach and craving a crepe, be sure to stop by Creme de La Crepe.
They're open from: Sunday - Monday: 8:00 AM - 9:30 PM
They're located at:
400 E 1st St, Long Beach, CA 90802
Creme de La Crepe also has a location in:
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