Whisk Crepe Cafe

If you love French crepes, you've gotta go check out Whisk Crepes Cafe at Sylvan Thirty. The owner, Julien, is French, and this is about as close to being in Paris as you can get. :)

*FYI: He's got a 2nd location, called Whisk & Eggs, opening in the new Legacy Food Hall (Legacy West) in Plano THIS WEEK!! Be sure to check that out too! He's gonna be serving up more than crepes there! I can't wait to try the egg sandwiches.*

Whisk Crepes Cafe
1888 Sylvan Ave. F120
Dallas, TX 75208
(469) 407-1899
www.whiskdallas.com
Price: $$

I had been to Whisk Crepes when they first opened and was very impressed with the quality and flavors of their crepes. I was very excited when I got invited to check them out again. I rarely go to Sylvan Thirty area so I haven't really been back. The place is really small. Intimate and quaint, I'd say. But I wouldn't take more than 2-3 people with you at a time. They also cook all crepes to order, so be prepared to wait a little bit. You're in France now... you have to learn to slow down, sit back, and relax. :P

I met Julien when we arrived. He actually remembered me from my previous visit. :) We sat down and got served some waters and waited for him to take care of the table that was there before us. When he came to us, he asked if we drank... I don't, but my friend did. But Julien insisted that I needed to try their French Cider. Sure... why not. :P He explained the cider to us a little bit. It's made from fermented apples. And it's gluten free btw.

Domaine Dupont Reserve. Cider from Normandie. Matured six months in Calvados Casks. 6.9% ABV. 

This was delicious. I was surprised I liked it since I don't like most wines, ciders, alcohol basically. haha. It wasn't even super sweet like the moscatos I drink. But there was no bite from the alcohol, no sour aftertaste like wine. Just smooth. And you get hints of the fermented flavor at the end... and in the smell. But I'm Chinese, I love fermented stuff. As does my friend, he's Vietnamese. It's seriously good stuff. Initially I only told him to pour me a little taster. I actually refilled my glass! He said the cider pairs really well to the buckwheat crepes. I started feeling it pretty quickly though. haha. I'm a super lightweight. Time to get some food in my belly!

They have "Wine Wednesday" specials FYI. When I was there it was $4 glass of wine, and $3 mimosas.

Julien started recommending some of their items. The first one he mentioned. The smoked brisket, was one of the ones we were looking at. Done!

Smoked Brisket (queso fresco, mozzarella, pickles, jalapenos, bbq cream; in a buckwheat crepe) $12~ 

Buckwheat has a more earthy flavor and is gluten free. It's great with savory crepes. He said the smoked brisket actually works with both types of crepes, the flour one just adds a sweet and savory combo. The brisket is sourced locally from Lockhart BBQ in Bishop Arts, one of my favorite BBQ places in town. You get the smokiness right off the bat. The pickles and jalapenos complimented well to the meat. We enjoyed this a lot.

He also mentioned their special that day. Which was also the other one we were looking at. haha.

Special of the Day: Monte Cristo (turkey, ham, gruyere, dijon mustard; served with a side of strawberry preserves; in a flour crepe) $11~ 

Flour crepes have a more sweet nature... reminicent of a thin pancake. It's great for sweet crepes, or if you want more of a sweet and savory combination. Since normal Monte Cristos are already sweet and savory, it makes sense to use the flour crepe for this. I never order Monte Cristos because they are like heart clogging monstrocities. haha. Typically they are ham and cheese, and sometimes turkey too, sandwiches that are battered, deep fried, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with a side of jam. Whew... they're soooo heavy. But it wasn't the case with this. I LOVED it. One of the best crepes I've ever had. It had all the positives of a Monte Cristo with none of the heavy, heart-clogging parts. The crepe was much lighter than bread, and the flour crepe was perfect with the ham as well as the preserves. The strawberry preserves are a French brand, so staying with the theme. I can eat this every morning, noon, and night. I told him he MUST put this on the regular menu.

Of course we had to have dessert. I already had two options in my head when he mentioned their special of the day...

Special Sweet of the Day: Belgium Cookie Butter & Bananas (with coffee whipped cream, caramel, and Biscoff cookie crumble). Um. I'll take that. Yes. Thank you. 

I freaking love cookie butter. It was delicious. The coffee whipped cream made it. It wasn't too sweet so the bitterness from the coffee helped to balance the sweetness of the cookie butter and caramel. He said his inspiration is that when you're in Europe and you order coffee, they generally give you a little cookie or Biscoff on the side. I hope he puts this on the regular menu too. haha.

This visit was even better than the last! Not only did I get to try some amazing new crepes, I also discovered an alcohol that I enjoyed! Next time you go, I highly recommend you get the French Cider to go along with your crepes.

Thanks for having us, Whiske Crepes. I'll be back for that Monte Cristo! :)

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance: 

Value: (comped)

Overall Experience: 

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Honeymoon in Greece - Santorini Eats

Oh Santorini... it's been at the top of my travel list forever. So why not go for our honeymoon. It really is a beautiful place. You can't walk 2 steps without snapping a picture...at least I couldn't. It made our "15 min" walk from Imerovigli (where we stayed) to Fira more like 45 minutes. hahaha.

There was certainly an abundance of food. But it was so hot during the day, I didn't really have much of an appetite. So we usually just ate a big breakfast, snacked throughout the day, then have a light/normal dinner. This is one of the first times where the trip is not all about the food. :P

Most of the places we ate at were recommended by our hotel manager. I have a separate post about our hotel, which is basically paradise. It deserves it's own post.

Aegeon Restaurant - Imerovigli. This was a short walk from our hotel. Imerovigli is a small town between Oia and Fira. We liked it a lot. It was less crowded and much quieter.
Fresh Tagliatelle (from cuttlefish ink with grouper fillet) 19,80E~ Very good but was overshadowed by my salmon. hehe. I love me some squid ink pasta tho!

Grilled Salmon (with steamed vegetables, quinoa, and hollandaise sauce) 18,50E~ One of the best salmon I've ever had. Beautifully presented too. The salmon was cooked to perfection and was crispy on the outside. The entire bottom of the fish was crispy!

 

Lemon Meringue Tart. This was very good. Again, plating is nice. The crust wasn't super hard to cut into as I've experienced a lot with lemon tarts. It was quite large too. 

Cappuccino 4,00E~

These were given to us with the check. Complimentary.

Raki - an unsweetened, anise-flavored distilled spirit. I've become a super duper lightweight since before the wedding since alcohol made me break out, so I could barely handle 2 sips of this. My husband drank it all. He really enjoyed it. haha.
Mosaiko - homemade chocolate/biscuit cake. First time having this. Sooooo good. But they don't sell it. It's homemade. So I had to look up the recipe when we got back to the states. Gotta make it sometime!


Fira:
Gelato. We went to this place twice during our trip. They had some interesting flavors. And also really yummy looking desserts. We didn't try any of those tho.

 

 

 

 

 

#FoodBar. This was snack one day. A cute little shop. The chairs were swings!
Pork Skewer 1,50E~ Basically pork belly on a stick. With a little salt. Deeeelish!

 

Pita with Pork Gyros 2,50E~ Pretty tasty!

Crepe House
Loopino (mix of milk and white chocolate, fresh banana, caramel syrup) 6,00E~ It was ok. The crepe was well made, but needed ice cream for sure!

Oia. We were headed to Ammoudi Bay for some fresh seafood, as recommended by our hotel manager. It's at the farthest end of Oia. So we got there a little earlier to check out the town. It's nice, but sooo packed. Everyone was there waiting to see the famous sunset.
We came by the Crazy Donkey - cute little cafe on the way to Ammoudi Bay. Someone had recommended it to me through FB so we went in to check it out. My husband wanted to get something refreshing to drink anyways. It's hot in Santorini. Very hot!
Watermelon Juice. As fresh as can be. My husband loved it on a hot day. 

Brownie. All their desserts looked amazing. I started perusing the display case when he was looking at the menu and I HAD to get something. Even if I was to take one bite. haha. I've noticed they like to bake their brownies like a round cake and cut slices out of it. I saw it at several bakeries. It was dark, and yummy. 

We also got Kataifi to go since we had the ice cream flavor in Athens. And we've never had it. Were not fans of it...haha. Too much of the hair stuff and needed more filling. The inside is like the inside of a baklava.

Ammoudi Bay. To get to this place, you have to climb down over 200+ steps. And be careful of the donkey doo-doo! People can pay to ride donkey's up the steps. So yay for those of us on foot! Watch your step! Thank goodness it was still light when we climbed down. The way back up however.... eeeeks! hahaha.
Ammoudi Fish Tavern. There was a whole bunch of restaurants along the water serving up fresh seafood. But this is the one our hotel manager recommended and had made a reservation for us.
Agioritiki Eggplant Salad (baked local flasks or white aubergines with garlic, onion, parsley, and extra virgin olive oil) 5,80E~ For someone that doesn't like eggplant, I sure love Greek eggplants. haha. We had it several times in Greece and all of them have been fantastic. This isn't much to look at, but it was so good. 

Sun-dried Octopus (grilled) 14,50E~ Gotta have octopus! Again, delicious!!

Seafood Quartetto (salmon, shrimp, clams, white fish) 25,00E~ This was ok. I loved the white fish and the cream sauce, but the clams were super gritty. The view was nice though.

Lolita's Gelato. Cuz we can never have too much ice cream. This was on the way to the bus stop to head back to our hotel.

We rented an ATV one day and drove down to the Red Beach and Black Beach. It was cheaper than taking a cab or renting a car and more flexible than waiting around for buses. It was an interesting but still fun experience. hehe. My first time on an ATV!
The red beach was first. Beautiful, but super rocky. You have to take a short hike to get to the actual beach. And up close the water was quite dirty. Not a great place to hang out for a long time, so we only stayed for about an hour or so.

Headed to Perissa - Black Beach for some lunch!
Tranquilo - recommended by our hotel manager. HUGE salads for cheap she says.. She wasn't joking!

XL Caesar Salad (fresh green salad, grilled chicken, parmesan, corn, croutons, special Caesar sauce) 11,00E~ This thing is bigger than my head. We made it through 2/3rds and couldn't finish it. Cheapest meal yet! And they seem to put corn in their Caesar salads here, I can dig it. :P Sorry for the photo quality...

 

The black beach is totally my kind of place. A long row of restaurants and bars on one side, the beach and lounge chairs on the other. We parked ourselves in front of one of the restaurants. The waiters come to you on the beach, while you relax and lounge. That's the life!

Pistachio Milkshake

Waffle (butterscotch ice cream, caramel sauce)

We stuck around til dinner time and grabbed some food before heading back.
Pergola Restaurant - we just looked at their menu and walked in. The food prices in Perissa were significantly cheaper than Fira/Oia. The portions were bigger too and just as delicious!
Fried Calamari (with fish roe dip) 6,90E~ One of the best calamaris I've ever had. No breading but crispy and tender and so much flavor. 

Caramelized Octopus (with fresh mashed eggplants) 8,50E~ The octopus was super tender. However, the caramelization made it quite sweet.. other than that it was good.

Sunset Sail with Spiridakos Sailing Cruises:
Our hotel also highly recommended doing a sail. It was a bit pricey but why not! We're in Greece! And I'm so glad we did it, it was a great experience. They provide everything, from transportation to and from hotel, give you towels, tour around the island, visit the caldera, and even cook you a feast! The meal was magnificent and I'm so impressed it was all cooked on a catamaran!
Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Shrimp, Greek Salad, Crispy Fried Shrimp, Bread, and Dips. So delicious and so much food. I was stuffed!

 

 

 

Last day in Fira:
We went souvenir shopping and got some snacks. Randomly walked by this little cafe...and had to stop by their dessert display...

 

 

We had one night in Athens before flying out early the next morning, so we stayed in the airport hotel, Sofitel. Went to one of their restaurants, Mesoghaia, for dinner.
The bread was free here, so we ate ALL of it. hahaha

Traditional Moussaka (slices of potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and minced beef; finalized with a "mornay" sauce) 16,00E~ I realized I haven't had a single moussaka since I've been here. And it's one of my favorite Greek dishes so I had to get it. It was beautiful. The prettiest presentation of moussaka I've ever seen, and I think one of the tastiest too! So glad I got it. 

Crispy Cod (tempura style garnished with local greens, homemade mashed potato, and aioli sauce with saffron from Kozani) 16,00E~ This was another story... left a lot to be desired. Portion was pretty small too. Luckily the moussaka was huge so I shared.

I think it was a pretty good food overall. But believe me when I say the food wasn't the best part. Everyone should experience Santorini sometime. And splurge to get the nice hotels on the side of the cliff, with the cave like architecture. It's amazing!

~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~