ELMHURST – Now, in the past I would have said I'm not much of a crepe person. If I went out to breakfast and my choices were pancakes or crepes, I would have chosen pancakes, as uncultured as that might be. I've typically found crepes to be kind of bland, but what I found at Nu Crepes in Elmhurst is anything but.
I recently went to this hidden downtown Elmhurst gem for a Saturday lunch.
I do not use the term "hidden" lightly. Nu Crepes has struggled with visibility issues in the past, as it sits on Schiller Court, a small offshoot of York Street near the York Theatre. Schiller Court is only open to pedestrian traffic.
However, with multiple banners hanging along the length of its building and a sign on the York Street sidewalk saying the business is open during construction (a parking garage is being built next door to its building), Nu Crepes seems to be making strides in the visibility department.
And anyway, like the old Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet dealership slogan used to say, this place may be hard to find, but it's tough to beat.
I mean, it's hard to beat a review average of 4.5 stars from nearly 300 reviewers on Yelp.
What I found when I walked through Nu Crepes' doors was a surprisingly large interior. Coming from street level, you either need to go down stairs or an elevator to get into the main restaurant space.
There are so many options for crepes – from breakfast to sweet to savory – so it took my companions and me a few minutes to choose. We wanted to get a variety of crepes for the purpose of this review (and our stomachs), so we ended up with a breakfast crepe, a few savory options and one sweet crepe to share as our lunchtime dessert (because why shouldn't lunch get dessert too?).
After we ordered, our crepes came out in no time at all – served hot and fresh.
I ordered the Hail Caesar crepe, which included grilled chicken breast, fresh spinach and tomatoes, and a mozzarella and provolone cheese blend, topped with Caesar dressing and parmesan cheese.
The fillings were stuffed generously into the crepe, and each bite was bursting with flavor and ingredients, with just the right amount of salt. I was looking for something savory and salty, and I got just that, but the salt was not overpowering in the least.
My companions were pleased with their choices as well, which included the B5 breakfast crepe (pictured: two fresh eggs, spinach, mushrooms, caramelized onions and cheddar cheese substituted for Swiss) and the ham and Swiss (ham, dijon mayo and cheddar cheese substituted for Swiss), Kickin' Chicken (seasoned chicken breast, bacon, house Buffalo sauce, ranch dressing and cheddar cheese) and Roasted Veggie (roasted squash, zucchini, asparagus and red pepper, house cilantro-pistachio pesto, a mozzarella and provolone cheese blend, and goat cheese) savory crepes.
The pesto on the Roasted Veggie crepe was flavorful, and a smattering of pistachio pieces brought additional texture to the vegetable mix.
The dessert crepe we split – appropriately named the Bomb – was essentially the crepe version of a cinnamon roll, with brown sugar and cinnamon rolled into two crepes, topped with homemade frosting. The brown sugar and cinnamon sauce was literally oozing from the crepes, and I found myself scraping my plate to get every last bit of sweetness.
Needless to say, Nu Crepes' delicious and generous crepes, combined with its quick service and reasonable prices (the most expensive crepes are $8.75), will keep me coming back for more. If you're in downtown Elmhurst, take a few extra minutes to find Nu Crepes because what you'll find is a spot that's tough to beat.
If you go
WHAT: Nu Crepes
WHERE: 115 W. Schiller Court, Elmhurst
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
INFO: 630-577-7558, nucrepes.com
The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at Suburban Life Media. The diner's identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. Only positive dining experiences will result in published reviews.