Teach me about 'crepes'
 

I've enjoyed a few 'street vendor' crepes, usually the sweet kind - nutella, butter/sugar, strawberry...

I'd like to know more about the types of crepes, particularly if we were to go to a 'creperie' and sit down for a meal.

I've read a little here about savory, sweet, buckwheat(sarrasin), galette . . .

Please - lay it out for me, what are the authentic types, what filling goes with which crepe, etc. How big are they? How many do you usually order for a medium appetite? Do you get a savory & a sweet (is that like the meal + the dessert)? Are they served hot, cold or 'depends'..?

If you know of an online menu that shows a typical assortment, post it for me, please.
Thank you for any contributions!

If you go to a creperie for a meal, you generally have a 'galette' followed by a 'crepe'. The 'galette' can have any variety of fillings -- cheese, eggs, ham, mushrooms, vegetables, seafood, in just about any combination. A lot of places let you choose your fillings at will.
The 'crepe' is like the crepes on the street, except they can have all sorts of fillings that you could not carry around on the street -- ice cream, fruit, nuts, chocolate, whipped cream, etc.

There is no such thing as 'authentic' anymore, even in Brittany. You can start worrying if they propose maple syrup.

LOL - maple syrup - that's exactly what happened to me at famous philocafé on Place de la Bastille, Café de Phares, this past February! :) (see photo)
http://www.pbase.com/beatchick/image/56505460

When crepes are served, are they 'rolled up' or flat with the filling spread on top? If so, do you roll them then cut to eat, or do you just cut it as presented?

In restaurants, filled galettes are usually folded into a square shape, with the four edges folded over to the middle and the filling contained within. However, some garnishes/fillings (e.g. egg) are occasionally served on top of the folded galette.
While different restaurants may have different ways of folding, they'd never serve a savoury galette rolled up (in my experience anyway - and I used to live in Brittany!).

You usually eat the galette with a knife and fork as presented.

Sweet crepes may be served in various ways- usually folded around a filling but perhaps topped with ice cream, sauce or cream. Again, you'd usually eat the crepe as presented, with a knife and fork.

Actually, Travelnut, sometimes they're flat with the toppings on top, other times they are filled with the fillings then the edges are flipped over envelope style. Here are a few photos:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/fdcdc/

Beatchick!

Those are incredible pictures.
Excellent that I have just come back from lunch... I cannot imagine my broken heart had I seen those pictures and then try to find some like that here...sigh.

Sigh, I know, SuzieC. I pride myself on my culinary artistry but, as yet, cannot master the art of the crêpe - alors.

There was a crêperie stand here in Cincinnati but by the time I visited, it had closed down completely. :(

My fiance makes wonderful crepes. He is German but lived in France off and on for years. One thing he does with the leftovers instead of carefully freezing them for later use. (He thinks that is a crime because they are so easy to make) He cuts them as you would noodles and dries them. Makes a wonderful light soup or salad topping.

OMG Suzie C, you just made my mouth water!

Thank you!

There are 57 recipes for crepes on epicurious.com, some with photos. In addition to the conventional, you will find them used with moo shi pork, mexican fillings, used as wraps etc.

Start with the basic recipes and experiment to your heart's content.

No doubt I'm dating myself here, but I remember in the 70's one didn't go to a baby/wedding shower, ladies luncheon or "tea" party without filled, rolled crepes. It was de rigeur. Thanks PBS and Julia!

Me!? recipe? my hubby is ROFL this minute.
I am starting to get the picture (figuratively and literally, thank you!).

Travelnut, remind me where you live.

I used to think of "French" crepes as filled with something like shredded chicken and cheese, then drizzeled with a white sauce. Does one not see that kind of crepe anymore?

Maybe not authentic, but if you happen to be in Honfleur, in Normandy, the thing to do is stop by The Ciderie and order the boudin noir (blood sausage) gallette with onion, cheese (whose name I should remember) and apples poached in Calvados. You can watch the chef at work, and his concentration is remarkable. Aside from the galletes, he's created his own batter for a thicker, pancake-like main course "crepe." Eight euros for the boudin noire galette, and out of this world!

"I used to think of "French" crepes as filled with something like shredded chicken and cheese, then drizzeled with a white sauce. Does one not see that kind of crepe anymore?"

I see what you mean, though the name of the dish escapes me at the moment. If I'm not mistaken, it was originally a typical dish in northern France. But mostly, it became a industrial product, sold already made and frozen.

The thin crisp crepes are a national dish of Brittany. Friday is still a traditional day for patronizing the locale Creperie. Sweet crepes are newcomers to the Breton scene because years ago the white flour was very expensive. There's a two day fete every July in the tiny village Gourin(NW corner of the Morbihan) to celebrate the crepe.
Bretons disagree about galettes and crepes(as do the nicoiseans for what goes in a Nicoiçe salad and the Marseilles for the Bouillabaisse)
Galettes are always savoury, made with buckwheat. Upper Brittany and lower Brittany differ. The French Journalist, Louis Ogés is quoted as saying: "Crepes are to galettes what Valenciennrs lace is to macramé." The Bretons always want them fresh off the griddle. My favorite place was in Belon at Chez Angele.

Missypie, we live in Jacksonville, Fla...

Travelnut, did you meet with our poster Scarlett when she lived there?