C'est magnifique! Expect big things from Algonquin's Creperie Normande

Posted April 27, 2010 11:00 pm

By Deborah Pankey

It's hard to tell which is bigger: chef Lionel Pilate-Jean's crepes, or his dreams for his new French creperie.

His pleasant eatery in the Algonquin Commons' lifestyle center opened up about two months ago and offers a fascinating array of savory and sweet crepes and salads. And if things go as planned, Creperie Normande will be coming to a suburb near you.

Pilate-Jean has worked in fine dining restaurants throughout the suburbs (Meson Sabika in Naperville among them) and hopes to spread the word that great French food doesn't have to be stuffy and expensive.

Creperie Normande certainly fulfills that mission.

The rich, earthy decor and cushy chairs give the restaurant an air of sophistication, yet diners order their selections at the counter and seat themselves at a mix of traditional and high-top tables. Two chairs perched next to the fireplace would be a lovely spot to relax with a cup of coffee and sweet crepe after a show. Waitstaff brings the prepared dishes to diners and clears the tables.

The current menu holds a trio of salads, nearly 20 varieties of savory crepes and more than 30 crepe combos sure to satisfy a sweet tooth. Pilate-Jean says paninis and other sandwiches will be introduced down the road.

As the chief crepe maker, Pilate-Jean cooks on two traditional crepe griddles, working the wispy batter into paper-thin wraps a good 16 inches wide. I told you they were big.

Inside the buckwheat crepes he folds classic ingredients like egg, ham and mozzarella and more exotic combos like shredded chicken and scallops, pineapple and coconut curry sauce. On his recommendation, I tried La Marina, a delightful but tad salty partnership of smokey salmon, chives, goat cheese and spinach. My dining partner dug into The Provençale stuffed with tomato, basil, olive oil, garlic and mozzarella cheese. C'est magnifique!

We split La Verte salad, a generous mix of greens, freshly made oil and vinegar dressing and raspberries with tomato wedges rimming the plate like a beautiful sunburst. The salad and the crepes would have been more than enough to fill us up, but we decided to take some of our crepes home so we could explore the sweet side the menu. I'm not a Nutella nut, but for those who are Pilate-Jean pairs the spread with everything from pears to shredded coconut.

Pure chocolate lovers will rejoice (as I did) in the chocolate combos like fresh raspberries, peanut butter and banana, and pear and roasted almonds. As if those weren't decadent enough, there's a category called "sweet delights" where we spied La Caprice d'Eva, a heavenly match of orange marmalade and flambéed orange liqueur drizzled with hot chocolate syrup and garnished with an almost obscene amount of fresh whipped cream.

Even more obscene - and I mean that in the best possible way - is La Bourgeoise: an over-the-top plate of chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream hiding inside a sweet crepe and garnished with Oreo crumbles, toasted almonds and whipped cream. If not for the ice cream, that would have gone into our take-home bag as well.

The beverage selection is disappointing - serve-yourself fountain drinks. But Pilate-Jean said that's going to change this summer when the restaurant gets its liquor license.

He hopes that by June to offer a selection of French and California wines, Champagne and French ciders. A nice chardonnay would have been wonderful alongside the salmon crepe.

Also in the future, Pilate-Jean sees a few more Creperie Normande locations. He said he and his partners have their eyes on Schaumburg.

Tall wooden tables and a fireplace give The Creperie Normande a comfortable yet sophisticated feel. John Starks | Staff Photographer

The Creperie Normande

1644 S. Randall Road, Algonquin, (847) 458-2621, <a href="http://thecreperienormande.com" target="new">thecreperienormande.com</a>

Cuisine: Traditional and modern French crepes and salads

Setting: Sleek, comfortable space belies its strip mall address

Entrees: $8 to $8.95

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11 am. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

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