I discovered Sofi's Crepes two weeks ago, and I've been there three times since. That's how good it is.
Although it's only been open for a little over a month, this tiny carry-out crepe restaurant has already established a loyal clientele of theatre-goers, local residents and business people. Above the window, a colorful banner declares, "Sofi's Crepes, Now Open" and a neon blue and purple sign reads the name of the restaurant.
Through the big window you can see the bright décor of Mediterranean blue walls, small orange cone lamps, a large print of the Chrysler building taken by the owner's friend, and a faux-fur orange picture frame displaying a photograph of a tri-color bearded collie.
A counter lined with plants, flowers, and dishes of cream and sugar for coffee separates the cozy standing area from the comfortably crowded cooking space.
Nestled between the Charles and Everyman Theaters, the line for crepes is often 20 people long on the weekends, according to owner Ann Costlow. "I'm so happy to be neighbors with the Charles Theater. We trade crepes for movies, and our customers can eat in their lobby."
Costlow is no newcomer to the treasures of French cuisine.
"I spent a lot of time in France, and I always missed the crepes while I was away," says the tall, blond, 30-something woman who was once married to a Frenchman and still goes back at least once a year. "So I decided to open my own place here, and spent three weeks traveling throughout France, especially Brittany, where crepes were invented. I tried all sorts of crepes, and I also went to creperies in Florida, Philadelphia and New York. Basically, I've been eating crepes for the past year."
She also attended Le Cordon Bleu, the renowned French culinary institute. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it, and Baltimoreans should be glad she chose to do it here.
The restaurant was a solid year in the making. Costlow acquired the 150-square-foot space on Charles Street and decided to name it after her 11-year-old bearded collie, Sofi, who "was my inspiration. She went through two surgeries but she just never gave up," remembers the owner with a smile.
Costlow keeps a box of dog treats under the counter and a water bowl on the sidewalk on a blue dog bone-shaped mat for her canine clientele. Sofi will be coming to the restaurant to bask in the sun once the weather gets nicer, Costlow promises.
After nearly a week of rain and clouds, the sun was shining on my latest visit to Sofi's, and I could enjoy my lunch in the sun at one of the three small sidewalk tables under the newly blooming trees. Each table has two metal chairs and a tiny vase of flowers -- very French.
For those of you unfamiliar with crepes, you can think of them as very thin, airy pancakes filled with any number of ingredients.
They can be paper thin and almost crispy around the edges, or slightly thicker and fluffier, like Costlow's creations.
True to her French teaching, Costlow has divided up her menu into two sections. The "savory" (or "salé" in French) crepes are usually the main course and run between $6 and $8, while the "sweet" ("sucré") crepes are the dessert and go for $3 to $5.
It's never easy choosing from the first section, which features a mix of distinctly French ingredients like gruyere, avocado, and mushrooms, peppered with more American items like turkey and cranberry chutney. You can choose from six groupings such as ham, gruyere and Dijon mustard, or bacon, avocado, tomato and sour cream. Or add your own fillings for $1 each.
My choice that day was the spinach, mushroom, and pine nuts in a cream sauce ($7). I normally don't like cream sauces because of their heaviness, but this one was very light and a nice complement to the fresh chopped spinach, chunky mushrooms and crunchy pine nuts.
For dessert I was tempted to go for a French classic like Nutella and banana ($5) or lemon and sugar ($4), or create my own from the long list of options including fruit jams, peanut butter, homemade butter-scotch, and seasonal fresh fruit (base crepe $3, $1/filling).
But I had to go for the crepe du jour, fresh strawberries in sweet cream ($5). As Costlow expertly poured the batter onto the steaming round crepe machine and deftly handled the delicate dough, she explained that she made the sauce from cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar and strawberry juice, for a nice light cream. The strawberries were incredibly fresh, and the final product was absolutely delicious.
Sofi's has a full line of bottled drinks, coffee, cider, tea, soda and water to offer for $1.50 to $2.
I order a hazelnut coffee ($1.50) and add a sugar cube from the ceramic dish of colorfully-wrapped Saint Louis sugar cubes, the same kind that I had with every cup of coffee for the five months I lived in France. Costlow tells me how well her business is doing.
The restaurant is now open for its winter hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. These hours are compatible with the theater crowds and keep Costlow and her eight employees on their toes.
Business is so good she's looking to hire a few more people before she turns to her summer hours some time in May, when she will add a few evenings on to the schedule.
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