Up the crepe!
1. YOU WILL LOVE THE GALLETTE
In Spain we associate the crepe with dessert, unforgivably ignoring the gallette. Its dough, made with buckwheat, it is browner, has a more consistent structure and a less sweet and childish flavor . That is why it is always filled with salty ingredients. Bretons tend to be quite creative with final recipes, putting cheese (emmental, if possible) ham, bacon, egg on the plate and everything that is in the fridge . It resists everything, that's the good thing and here in the infinity of possibilities is its magic. If not, most of the creperies would have to close since they would offer the same recipes.
two. YOU WILL HONOR THE CREPE
The classic creperie menu has two courses. Don't give up either or you'll be singled out for life. . After the biscuit, it is the turn of the crepe. And even if you've tried all sorts of sweet tooth experiments in mobile creperies, in Rennes they outdo themselves day after day. There is usually no lack of cream or ice cream, but as an accompaniment to exotic fruits in syrup, jams and syrups of all kinds. The pinnacle of the invention are those flamed with Cointreau or similar liqueurs. And it is not very clear how, but in Rennes they manage to convince every diner so that the dish ends up resplendent.
A Breton creperie
3. WHEN YOU GROW UP YOU WILL WANT TO BE A CREAMER
There is something quite common in Breton youth: in moments of crisis, the possibility of opening a creperie wins the whole. It comes to be the French version of "I leave everything and set up a beach bar" . The investment is not very excessive: a few plates to make crepes and a little imagination. The social acceptance of this type of business, the word of mouth encouraged by colleagues and good decorative taste will do the rest. Of course, the truly original thing would be to set up a croquette restaurant in the heart of Rennes...
4.**YOU WILL ALWAYS DRINK BRETON CIDER (NEVER NORMANDE)**
And you will always serve it in a small ceramic cup. Its soft alcoholic touch helps to digest well so much wheat and so much fusion of flavors and accentuates a little more the nationalistic character of these lunches. The Bretons are delighted to meet each other and to exaggerate their shortcomings and for this reason they also fatten their cultural and gastronomic peculiarities. That is why in many creperies they do not even ask about the drink, they directly ask if they want the brut or semi brut variety of cider. . Sometimes (rarely) they even offer water, but as a pure accompaniment. In the end, this curious pairing becomes a custom and an indivisible association.
5. YOU WILL SANCTIFY THE SMALL ESTABLISHMENTS
Another significant feature of Rennes creperies is their very small size. Do not enter or trust the restaurant that is not in an old half-timbered house that is bigger than your house. There is a lot of affection and love in the treatment, a lot of dedication in each crepe , so the atmosphere that is generated is quite warm and familiar. They are usually crowded spaces, with many wooden tables and chairs and a very traditional decoration , accentuating the feeling of being at home and making the folkloric experience complete.
pancakes with oysters
6. YOU WILL INVITE THE FAMILY
In a way, the success of creperies in Rennes is based on being suitable places for all types of diners. In them you can find from university students who arrive attracted by prices to large families who find in the technical vicissitudes of gobbling up crepes an ideal entertainment for the little ones. There are even creperies like the Coffee Clochette where it seems that it is the children who carry the parents, and not the other way around. For this reason, it is usually the perfect place to invite (for the first time) the family without breaking the budget. These Bretons know how brothers-in-law spend it...
7. YOU WILL LEARN IN AND FROM THE MARKET
Despite all these rules, the key to Rennes creperies is none other than competition. Every month a new restaurant opens with the consequent pull among a very distributed public. More offer but also more effort and more imagination . For this reason, the daily life of the crepero master begins in one of the many markets that are set up daily in the city. The most massive is Marché des Lices , where every Saturday dawn bursts with colors and flavors from all corners of Brittany. Without a doubt, it is the most inspiring space for new talents looking for ingredients and ideas to fill the demanding homemade dough for their crepes and also a source of salivation for the visitor. And as if the supply and demand weren't low, the local government organizes the gourmand festival every year, where they choose the best creperie of the year (among other awards) . This prestigious designation comes with plaque included , luxury space in the newspapers and later fame that translates into more and more visits.
Have a good breakfast when you arrive.