Cheap Eats: Planet of the Crepes

Duck crepe (Credit: Andi Berlin/Special to Metromix)

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Cheap Eats reviews

A meal for two under $20

What we ordered: one smoked chicken breast crepe ($6.50), one smoked duck crepe ($6.75), one Nutella and banana crepe ($3.95), a Coke ($1) and a bottled water ($1) for a total of $19.20, comfortably below our Cheap Eats goal of $20 for two people.

Comments: When you see a truck parked on the side of the road next to a laundromat, your first thoughts probably don’t include Parisian cuisine. (Unless it’s the French Laundry of course.) But trucks are full of surprises these days—haven’t you seen those holiday car commercials?—and the French café scene is now an added feature.

The kitschy crepe truck parked on Tanque Verde’s restaurant row has quickly achieved cult status since it came down from Mount Lemmon in late October. Its clever name, gourmet combinations and low prices make it very appealing to the East Side lunch crowd looking for a quick, stylish bite.

Food: The truck cooks up a small menu of sweet and savory crepes (as well as a breakfast crepe with eggs) all under $7. The crepes come out relatively quickly and are encased in a triangular plastic holder for easy, on-the-go eating.

Impressed by the artful combinations, we splurged and ordered an extra dessert crepe after our meal. Although it was a good decision, it really wasn’t necessary. For French food, the portions here are ginormous. The crepe itself is fuller and richer than other Tucson options, similar in size and texture to a pancake. As far as the casing goes, this is the best crepe in town.

Unfortunately, the two savory fillings were a slight let-down. The smoked duck breast, havarti cheese, arugula and olive oil crepe was in fact quite bland. The duck breast it advertised was sliced extremely thin, almost like ham, depriving it of its powerful flavor and texture. In all honesty, the crepe needed some sauce.

The smoked chicken breast, green chili, salsa and avocado crepe was an improvement, mainly because the chilis and diced tomatoes gave it a Southwestern punch. The chicken here was finely chopped, mixing well with the avocado. But still, the flavor wasn’t a slam dunk like I’d hoped.

That’s why, I quickly realized, Planet of the Crepes is mainly a dessert place. The list of sweet crepes is actually larger than the savory, with unstoppable combinations of chocolate and marshmallow, strawberry, banana and pastry cream, and select jams. To stay under the $20 minimum, we chose the simple but sumptuous Nutella and banana. Holy crepe! It was good. The sweet hazelnut spread paired divinely with the large banana chunks. And for the first time, the thick, doughy casing served to enhance the flavors instead of cover them up. It’s a pity you can’t do dessert every day, because this was tres magnifique! (Pardon our limited French.)

Service: Order from the truck and they’ll bring it out to your makeshift table. 

Bar: No

Bottom line: Not sure it’s worth a trip to the other side of town unless you’re going for dessert, but if you live/work in the area, Planet of the Crepes is a must-visit. Plus, gourmet road food is a trend we can totally get behind the wheel for. Bring it on, Tucson!