I FEEL LIKE CREPE (605 College, at Clinton, 416-832-5679) Complete meals for $25 per person, including all taxes, tip and a glass of wine. Average main $8. Open Sunday to Wednesday 10 am to 11 pm, Thursday 10 am to midnight, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 2 am. Licensed. Access: barrier-free. Rating: NN
“Can’t… think… straight. Completely disoriented… by ridiculous restaurant name… ugh. Hold on – florid house music, Jet Li on flat-screens, high-gloss 80s Euro look. Okay, I’m definitely still on College Street. Phew.”
It’s good that I Feel Like Crepe offers cinematic distractions, because the food won’t hold your attention. It might be too much flour, too little butter/oil or just overcooking, but on the evening in question the crepes are too thick, dry and verging on tough.
If you operate a creperie and you can’t make a good crepe, you’re in trouble.
Shortcomings in the pancake department could be overlooked if this place came through with superior fillings, but these are also less than stellar. The Hector ($9): grilled chicken, bacon, cheese and house sauce the Leopold ($8): feta cheese, olives and sun-dried tomatoes the Solange ($7): raisins, walnuts and honey – all suffer from an absence of harmonization.
They’re just envelopes of sympathetic but unamalgamated ingredients, sort of like a play where all the actors rehearsed in separate rooms.
The above crepes are merely naive, whereas the Delphine ($4) seems almost malicious. The lemon and sugar that normally constitute this classic are barely detectable within the folds of the uncharismatic pancake.
If this joint can’t execute this standard, what hope is there?
Ironically, the culinary high point of my night at Crepe Sole was the simple salad of mixed greens in vinaigrette ($4).
What’s in a name? Perhaps more than the owner intended.
food@nowtoronto.com
