I missed it. I missed the opening of the most unnecessary restaurant on State Street. It is the madness that has attracted me since I first heard it was going to open. It is the madness of opening a shop specializing in one type of European pastry on the same exact point on this fickle globe where a shop specializing in one type of European pastry just fizzled out. The long suffering Gophers finally succumbed to its own idealism and now, Lacey's Crepery is open for business. I cannot forecast fate, so I do not make predictions, but somehow this seems like tempting fate. Perhaps it is actually laughing in the face of fate. Whatever it is, this is the most entertainment and amazement I have ever experienced just from the opening of a new restaurant. If there was a restaurant that only served food from that scene in \Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"" it would not be as entertaining to me as this continuation of a dream.
I was there when Gophers opened its doors. I was only back twice for the lard-based bricks of Belgian satisfaction. Since then a major overhaul has happened to the interior. Cozy tables for two vie for space in the small seating area between the lace-draped front window and the counter. Each one is accented with a tasteful glass vase and a set of tiny??salt and pepper shakers, one red, one green. A cash register beckons the customer, but instead you get a menu and a waitress takes your order from the seat of your choice. The bright blue of the wall bounces cheerfully off of the yellow on the floor and the colorful tarts and cakes in the dessert display case. The coffee comes with a classy little sugar pot and cream decanter. The fine service and dinner sets give off a first-class little restaurant vibe, while the bright colors give the sense of a homey caf??. Something still isn't right though; the space and counter setup is that of a takeout place. It reminds me of a salon that a contractor's wife runs in her basement or the ice cream/bait shop in the house in Monona. Other people don't seem to mind, as there were three other customers in there at the same time as I was.
As I said, the food is only crepes and tarts and pastries. There are two lists of crepes to choose from: sweet and savory. The sweet crepes include crepe suzette, bananas foster, chocolate fondue and nutella and banana. The savory choices include spinach and feta, shrimp alfredo, prosciutto and brie, and brie and caramelized apples. Crepes, as known to those who frequent IHOP, generally contain sweet fillings, but a crepe can also act like a Mexican tortilla as long as the filling flavors don't clash too much with the sweetness of the crepe itself. As much as I wanted to try a savory crepe, I was really in the mood for chestnuts, and the chestnut with apricot sauce was there for me. The bittersweet apricot sauce perfectly complemented the earthy sweetness of the chestnut filling. The crepe contained an amount of filling comparable to a Q'doba burrito. Even so, I still wanted another one. I had to settle for a raspberry tart. The crust was a shortbread crust of the extremely rich variety, the kind I imagine is made by taking a stick of butter and throwing a bit of flour, sugar and salt on it. It's good stuff and is well-enjoyed with the light vanilla custard and fresh raspberries which fill it. I still wanted to try a savory one, but the $7.25 price tag on the crepe left me a little short of purchasing another. The prices of crepes range from $5.50 to $7.50. They are big enough, but they are just crepes and are not served with anything besides some sort of well-prepared sauce. You can even ask for your own combination, as long as the ingredients are there. A couple of rough-looking college kids tried to order a ham and cheese crepe, but left when they heard prosciutto and brie instead of ham and cheddar. I say just go with it, but you have been warned: The ingredients are all kind of high-class and European.
Lacey's tries to prove a point, the same point that Gophers tried to prove: This item is not just for breakfast. Gophers failed to put the dough where people's mouths are. Lacey's Crepery has convinced me that they are correct much more than Gopher's monochromatic offering could. Whenever I have a good night and it is not Sunday (Bon Appetite brunch time) and I feel like taking someone out for a poignant sort of breakfast, I will go and order delicate crepes and pastries. If I had the money I would go anytime, for as the crepery knows: anytime is crepe time.
