If a visit to Paris seems out of reach for a weekday lunch, it’s time to expand lunch options to a small salon at Biltmore Fashion Park. Open there a little more than a year after expanding from its origins as a popular food cart on the ASU Tempe campus, the crêperie keeps that casual vibe with its walk-up-to-order counter. Crêpes are the family pride for the restaurant’s owners, three Syrian brothers whose family lived for a time in France — where crêpe-making became a bit of sibling rivalry — before immigrating to the United States. And co-owner Fares Tarabichi says it was a highlight of his recent return visit when he “spun crêpes under the Eiffel Tower” with a local crêperie.
Cheerful and elegant, the space offers a small taste of France in more than the menu, with an ambience built around a model of that famed tower and music en français in the background. Inside seating is limited, but in good weather there’s always the option to take lunch outside to the mall’s central courtyard.
Turkey and Swiss Croissant Carved roast turkey, avocado, basil mayo, lettuce, tomato $8.95
The menu offers crêpes in two sizes (regular and mini) and many guises. One hearty lunch choice is the Mediterranean Chicken, the crêpe folded in layers around a generous filling of chicken and mozzarella cheese with sundried tomato aioli and a modest hint of garlic. Another is the Smoked Salmon Crêpe Wrap — the Tarabichis’ play on the burrito — with an incredibly fresh-tasting filling of smoked salmon, mixed greens, capers and a pesto mayonnaise. The crisper dessert crêpes vary from the Crème de Lemon, with a filling made of lemon juice, sugar and butter, to the “PBH,” filled with peanut butter, bananas and honey. It’s not all crêpes, though — there are also quiches, croissant sandwiches, salads and paninis.
Sauces are house-made, and the menu is updated every couple of months based on customer input and seasonality of ingredients — not to mention creative experiments such as crêpe chips. “Innovating is a fun part of the business,” Tarabichi shares.
Strawberry “ShortCrepe” Fresh strawberries, whipped cream, crumbled Biscoff cookie Mini $4.85 Regular $7.95
Another plus for weekday lunch: Service is quick once the order is placed. Notes Tarabichi, “We made our bones on the ASU campus serving students in the crowd rush between classes.” The brothers still serve on the campus, although now from a brick-and-mortar location, and have a third location in San Tan Village in Gilbert.
The Crêpe Club
2502 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix • (602) 956-0087 (pictured)
2268 E. Williams Field Rd., Gilbert • (480) 686-8333
550 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe (ASU) • (480) 965-3454
