A Savory Crepe at Crespella

Though it opened in November, it was only this week that I finally had the opportunity to check out Crespella, the newish Italian espresso bar and crêperie on Seventh Avenue near Ninth Street.

Crespella, which means crepe in Italian, is owned by an Italian-American husband and wife team, and the menu is certainly a nod to their Italian heritage: espresso is from Illy, and the shelves are lined with everything from Italian-imported gum to pasta and sauces.

In addition to crepes and espresso, the small café stocks Stumptown coffee and a full range of baked goods, including Robicelli’s cupcakes, Blue Sky muffins and a variety of Italian sweets.

But the crepes are certainly the main event here, and a worthy one at that.

I ordered the #11, a ricotta, spinach and mushroom crepe with a good drizzling of olive oil. As I’m not so much a mushroom fan, the gentleman behind the counter was nice enough to let me substitute in zucchini in their stead.

The result was a crepe that was thicker and heartier than typical, but wholly satisfying nonetheless. All savory crepes at Crespella are gluten free and made with chickpea flour, which gives the crepe itself a rich, nutty flavor. As for the fillings, in my #11 the ricotta was fresh and the spinach was perfectly cooked as to retain a slight crunchiness.

Crespella gets extra points for plating – my crepe looked nearly too good to eat thanks to an artistic drizzle of olive oil and a smear of ricotta.

On the whole, for $7.50 it was a filling, pleasant bite. And I’ve already been back a second time.