The Great Parisian Plate Debate

52 Rue du Montparnasse, 75014
Tel. 01.43.21.96.98

I’m assuming most individuals have encountered the phrase “The thrill is in the chase” before. If you have, and if you agree with it, then I truly had one thrilling experience on the evening that I graced Porte Manech with my presence. It took about twenty minutes of walking about in incorrect directions, dodging traffic, and confusing three separate groups of police and one innocent bystander by mumbling questions in Frenglish like “Arghahxhg ou est Rue du Montparnasse, Rue not Boulevard, please God tell me it’s freakin’ hot out here and I’ve been walking forever.”

No matter the effort required to track this place down it was worth it. If you have an hour or so to kill, read Dan’s post on crêpes and you will soon realize that bothering French policemen is a small price to pay for gorging upon delicious crêpes. Especially those snazzy, luxury crêpes. You can find very good crêpe specimens on any street corner, but at a place like Porte Manech they step their crêpe game up. All of a sudden items like crème fraîche and asparagus and citron become commonplace, not a bizarre anomaly to be frightened of.

Porte Manech was recommended to us by a co-worker, so expectations were naturally high. The wait staff did not disappoint, asking if we preferred to sit inside or out. Of course, when in Paris on a gorgeous evening one simply must request to sit outside, right? Normally when there are no tables available on the sidewalk I would expect the staff to roll their eyes, say something in French, and then tell me it will be at least thirty minutes before a table becomes available. Not at Porte Manech! They swiftly hauled a table out from the interior, threw a couple chairs around it, and voila! Instant seating gratification.

Apparently the thing to do when dining upon this finest French delicacy is to not drink wine. That’s right; this is an instance when the French actually do *not* demand wine. Breakfast, Christmas morning, celebrating the birth of a child, all ok - but a crêpe? Better get a bottle of that brut cider! Which is what we did.

Unlike my Chicago Cubs or expecting Dan to buy a round of beer, the crêpes did not disappoint! We had selected three crêpes to sample - the first contained crème fraîche, potatoes, bacon, and caramelized onions. The second offered a respectable combination of white asparagus, cheese, and crème fraîche, while the third wrapped crème fraîche, mushrooms, and ham in a warm and loving crêpe hug. Each was quite good, with the crème fraîche (the theme of the night, it appears) delivering a nice compliment. As someone may have said during dinner, “There is a taste fight in my mouth, and both sides are winning.”

After dominating the main crêpe course there is, of course, the dessert crêpes. Going to a crêpe restaurant and not ordering a dessert crêpe is a bit like going to a birthday party and punching the birthday boy / girl in the face. The great difficulty with dessert crêpes is the selection process - how do you choose just one? So we chose two. Crêpe A was a delightful mix of chocolate, orange marmalade, and Grand Marnier (set on fire to enhance both deliciousness and ridiculousness). Crêpe B was simpler and less pyrotechnic, but better - applesauce and carmel seducing one another inside the crêpe, while a scoop of vanilla ice cream hung out on top waiting its turn.

The total for three came to 48.60€, which includes three galettes, two dessert crêpes, and a chilled bottle of cider, a mere 16.20€ per person. This is a very small price to pay in order to transcend reality. Go get a crêpe!

For those keeping score…number of times the word “crêpe” or “crêpes” was written in this article? 19.