Crêperie La Bohème (Crêpes Food Cart/Truck)

Restaurant: Crêperie La Bohème
Cuisine: French/West Coast/Healthy/Brunch
Last Visited: February 23, 2013
Location: Vancouver, BC (Kensington)
Address: Usually at Trout Lake Farmers Market 15th Ave E & Victoria Dr
Transit: Commercial Platform 3
Contact: crepelaboh@gmail.com
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 5
Service: n/a
Ambiance: n/a
Value: 3.5
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:

• Owner/Chef Bruno Dehier from France
• Sweet/savoury crêpes
• Savoury buckwheat crêpes (galettes)
• Healthy
• Farm to table
• Mostly organic
• Local/fresh ingredients
• Home made compote/sauces
• Eclectic/innovative crepes
• Local favourite
• Long lines at peak hours
• Gluten free options
• Vegetarian option
• Vegan options
• Seasonal menu
• Saturdays and Sundays at the Farmers Markets at Trout Lake and Kitsilano

**Recommendations: Savoury crêpes (called galettes) Chèvre, Pesto Brie, Ali Baba and Herbed Squash. Sweet crêpes: fresh berries and lemon-honey ricotta crêpe in the summer.

No Facebook. No Twitter. No website. It is hard to imagine any business let alone a street food vendor operating without any of these, especially in this day of age, but this is one of a kind. It might not make the best business sense, but they’re not struggling and in fact it has one of the longest line ups at the Vancouver Farmers Market. They do not roam the streets of downtown, or many streets at all for that matter, they are stationary at the market and are perfectly content with being just there.

I would love to have them operating in various areas on a daily basis because it would mean more opportunities to have their delicious galettes (savoury crêpes), but they walk to the beat of their own drum – not in a hipster way, but in an organic/hippie kind of way. It has a very laissez-faire attitude, but when it comes to the food they really commit and bring a quality product. This would easily make my top 10 favourite food trucks/carts in Vancouver.

Owner and operator Bruno Dehier is originally from France and has been a professional chef for over 30 years. He completed classic French training in France and ran a restaurant for several years before opening Crêperie La Bohème.

I was doing some food truck research at the Vancouver Farmers Market and was hosted here for lunch. I remembered seeing it last summer, but I didn’t make a point to stop. I thought a crêpe was just a crêpe, but these ones were unlike many I’ve tried and they left a lasting impression. Their crêpes are as unique as their mobile trailer.

The design for their mobile crêperie was developed in the Cariboo region of BC’s interior. It looks like something out of a storybook. The artwork was completed by local artist Jill Hardcastle and it is really representable of Bruno and his personality. He wanted the unit to resemble something from the ‘Old World’ with a nod to the bohemian theme of the travelling gypsy caravan. He also wanted it to represent his Parisian roots and the artistic ‘ Vie de Boheme’. In a way, the mentality and feel for the trailer was to contrast the new world… and then it all made sense why they wouldn’t be into social media or online representation. They are not seeking that sort of attention.

Feedback from customers throughout the years have helped them develop their innovative and experimental menu that is less traditional and more West Coast. Their food philosophy is to serve food that tastes good and is good for the body. They feature buckwheat style crêpes, traditionally called galettes in France, which they find most versatile for eclectic savoury toppings.

Just look at that! I didn’t expect them to look this good! They have the equipment and he has the experience. These house made galettes are generously filled with fresh, local, and good quality ingredients reflecting the bountiful harvest of BC. Most of it is purchased locally and sometimes even from the market. The galettes are assembled upon order, but the crêpes themselves are made ahead to keep up with the volume. They have a loyal following and I can easily see why.

On the table:

Savoury Buckwheat Crêpes – “Buckwheat crêpes” might not sound great, but these Galettes de Sarrasin or “galettes” are traditional in France and typically used for savoury crêpes. They originated in Brittany and are cooked on one side. This is the only place I know of in Vancouver to get them.

• It is a 100% organic wholegrain buckwheat flour crêpe, but it isn’t salty and rather neutral tasting.
• It has a robust, earthy and nutty flavour, but it does not taste like cardboard which most fear.
• I could tell it was buckwheat right away, but it wasn’t dense, tough, brittle or woody in flavour or texture.
• It was perhaps a bit mealy and not as soft, flexible or tender as a white flour crêpe, but that was expected.

I can’t compare it to the popular French style crêpes made with white flour and egg yolks because it is apples and oranges. However these buckwheat crêpes were excellent with the savoury fillings and it is how they are meant to be enjoyed. It was a healthy and good tasting take for a savoury crêpe, which means I can eat more than one… or two.

Stage 1 of the Chèvre Galette being made

Stage 2 of the Chèvre Galette being made

**Chèvre Galette – 5.5/6 (Excellent!)

• Bechamel, caramelized onions, black olives, goat cheese, greens, vinaigrette $8.50
• It was one healthy looking crêpe well stuffed with good quality fresh ingredients.
• The crêpe was thin and even all around and made ahead of time, but it was still good.
• The edges were crispy with the help of a little melted butter on the grill, and none of it was soggy.
• The warm Chèvre galette is the most popular and it is on the menu all year – thank goodness because it was amazing!
• It was creamy fluffy salty bites of goat cheese and olives and fresh crisp lettuces.
• The goat cheese was not gamey which I liked and there was a decent amount.
• I could have used more olives, but even the bites without them were still good.
• The mixed greens were not just standard greens either. They had flavour and they were market fresh.
• It was sweet and savoury and also tangy from the vinaigrette and it was basically a goat cheese salad in a buckwheat wrap/crêpe.
• It was sweet from the stringy and soft caramelized onions that were actually caramelized and not just fried.
• I would have loved this with some pecans inside and next time I might actually just bring my own and add them.
• It was a good ratio of each ingredient and I have nothing but love for this galette.

**Ali Baba Galette – 5/6 (Excellent)

• Red bell pepper spread, roasted & garlicky eggplant, goat Feta, greens, vinaigrette $8.50
• Again it is a 100% organic wholegrain buckwheat flour crêpe with an earthy, nutty and robust flavour (see above for details on the crêpe).
• The edges were crispy with a little help from butter, and the middle softer and it was thin and even throughout and served warm.
• This was their Middle Eastern inspired galette and it is a bit more on the tangy and savoury side.
• The roasted eggplant and red bell pepper spread kind of mixed together and it tasted like a red pepper hummus.
• It had some good acidity especially with the added vinaigrette.
• The roasted eggplant spread tasted like it was mixed with a house made hummus, but there was actually no hummus in this.
• There was tahini (sesame paste) in it however which gave it a hummus like quality and flavour.
• There weren’t chunks of eggplant, but I could tell it was in there.
• For some reason I could really taste chickpeas, but there were no chickpeas in the spread.
• The salty bites of goat cheese were great and if you like flavours of nutty hummus and baba ganoush then you can expect something similar, but much lighter.
• Although mild in spices, this was not a bland galette and it had lots of fresh and good quality flavours.
• Every bite had some creamy spread and it is not ingredient heavy with big pieces of roasted vegetables, so they’re not that filling but still very satisfying.

**Herbed Squash Galette – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Bechamel, pesto, herbed squash, goat feta, greens, vinaigrette $8.50 (Only available in the winter.)
• I love squash and I loved this galette again! It wasn’t as salty as the Chèvre galette, but it was just as well stuffed and made.
• Again it is a 100% organic wholegrain buckwheat flour crêpe with an earthy, nutty and robust flavour (see above for details on the crêpe).
• The edges were crispy with a little help from butter, and the middle softer and it was thin and even throughout and served warm.
• I couldn’t really taste the bechamel and the pesto was mild, but it was still a very flavourful galette.
• It was a very light galette because the squash is puréed rather than in large chunks so it wasn’t heavy.
• There were creamy dollops of fluffy sweet squash throughout and then salty bites of goat feta which were not gamey.
• Again it was sweet and savoury with the tang of vinaigrette and it was almost like a salad in a buckwheat wrap/crêpe.
• It was creamy and crunchy from the market fresh greens and it had excellent texture and it wasn’t dry or soggy.
• I loved the variety of sauces and ingredients and this is one of the seasonal favourites for the winter.
• I can appreciate vegetarian things, but this would have been great with chicken… although that’s something entirely different.

Sweet Crêpes – I expected the sweet crêpe to be made with a traditional sweet crêpe recipe, but it was again with the buckwheat. The recipe was slightly different and their sweet crêpes use a mix of unbleached white flour and organic wholegrain buckwheat flour. The texture is softer and a bit sweeter and it is not as gritty or nutty in flavour and texture. It was a healthy take on a sweet crêpe and again not bad, but just different and still very good.

Apple Compote Crêpe – 3/6 (Good)

• $5 (add ricotta and maple syrup $6)
• This is a popular favourite for sweet crêpes during the Fall, but I wasn’t as enthusiastic.
• I thought it was good, but the crêpe got very soft and a bit soggy from the filling and heating process.
• The crêpe was also a bit softer already so together with the apple compote it just got a bit one dimensional.
• The home made apple compote had a bit of cinnamon, but it was very mild and natural, but slightly flat in flavour.
• The apple compote was not completely puréed so it still had some texture and little chunks throughout.
• They were good apples and it was not very sweet or tart at all, but I just like more flavour and texture contrast with the crêpe.
• I probably should have added the ricotta and maple syrup, but that’s personal preference.
• I can’t wait to go back to try their fresh berry crêpes in the summer where the berries are purchased from local BC farms.