Media Mentions
7x7 San Francisco 09/22/09
No Crêpe! A New Lunch and Late-Night Destination
We hold these truths to be self-evident: late-night dining in San Francisco is pretty pathetic. Sure, there are a few notable exceptions, but for the most part this fun-loving town does not shine its brightest at two in the morning. But one little outfit is taking a bold step in the right direction: Crêperie Saint Germain is open until 3:30 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights (they also serve lunch daily). This crêpe shed on wheels, permanently parked in one location (Howard between First and Second streets) is poised to go to war against the venerable midnight slice. Given that you can order sweet or savory crêpes with myriad fillings (some 35+ options in all), that they are made quickly and that the most expensive among them tops out at $7.95, we think soggy pizza looks pretty lame in comparison.
There are still kinks to be worked out—curiously, the Mediterranean crêpe—a mixture of feta, olives, spinach and green onions—also includes avocado as a surprise ingredient, and the black olives come straight from a can. But the batter for the savory crêpes, made from buckwheat flour, is toothsome and nutty and the finished product emerges with crispy edges. And, of course, we all know the curative powers of a crêpe thickly spread with nutella, no matter what time of day the cure is employed. Go to page
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SF Gate 09/1/2009
Places for sampling street food
The explosion in Bay Area street food is not just a trend, it's a phenomenon. With several street food festivals premiering this year and dozens of more impromptu carts, trucks and sidewalk stands cropping up on city streets, there's a whole new world of street food to explore. Note that some street trucks do not have phones, but information is usually available online. Expect to pay with cash.
Here's a selection of carts that offer meals:
Creperie St. Germain
It's a little taste of Paris with buckwheat crepes available for breakfast, dinner or dessert. The ratatouille crepe, filled with eggplant, bell peppers, spinach, green onions and tomatoes, is good enough to be enjoyed on the stoop right next to the cart.
Cuisine: French
Vitals: 546 Howard St. (at First Street), S.F. (415) 706-9733. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Wed.-Sat., and 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (will remain open from 7-10 p.m. if busy) Wed.-Sat., closed Sun. Go to page
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7x7 San Francisco 09/02/09
This Week's Best Food Events: Kraut, Crêpes and Eat-Ins
A Pancake By Any Other Name
With the sudden explosion of food carts, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff—which are worth a stop? We suggest the adorable new Crêperie Saint Germain (creperiesaintgermain.com), parked at the edge of a parking lot at 546 Howard Street. They’re making organic buckwheat crêpes (both sweet and savory) and—get this—they’re open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and on weekends until 3:30 a.m. What is this, New York? Go to page
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SF Weekly 08/11/2009
Crêperie Saint Germain, The French Truck You Won't Read About in the Wall Street Journal
In France, the folded crêpe is almost as popular a street food as hot dogs in N.Y. They're cooked to order in front of you and served piping hot, topped with anything from the simplest sprinkling of sugar or scattering of cheese to more substantial stuffings of ham, egg, whatever.
A cheerfully blue, gypsy-ish crêpe cart has recently roosted in an unlikely, somewhat out-of-the-way spot, at the corner of a parking lot on Howard in SOMA. Crêperie Saint Germain offers a full line of more than a dozen savory crepes and over 18 dessert versions, plus four waffles, even tomato soup in a bread bowl.
The crêpes are made with organic buckwheat flour, which has a distinctive yeasty flavor and is rich in magnesium and dietary fiber, according to Ahmet Cagin and Zeynep Aynaci, the owners (they're Turkish). This - along with fresh, seasonal, organic-when-possible ingredients used in the fillings - makes the crêpes what Saint Germain's Web site calls "healthlicious."
A salty and filling ham, cheese, and egg crepe ($6.50) was more stolid than healthlicious, though it was satisfying (we made two meals out of it). The popular Mediterranean crêpe (feta, olives, avocado, green onions, and a forest of spinach, $6.95) was crunchy and light. A simple butter-and-sugar crêpe ($3.75) allowed the subtle buckwheat flavor to shine. Faced with a lack of tables, we set our red-and-white boxes of foiled-wrapped crêpes on the hood of a nearby parked car.
On weekend nights the crêperie stays open until 3, allowing patrons staggering out of nearby clubs to stop for a solid hand-held snack with the power to healthliciously balance quite a bit of alcohol, we'd imagine.
Crêperie Saint Germain 546 Howard (at Second St.), 948-7348. Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-3 a.m. Go to page