Veggie crepes at Mr. Crepe
A weekly notebook about dining options during the Covid-19 shutdown, with a focus on quality and ease of pickup and delivery.
A vegetarian option at Mr. Crepe in Somerville’s Davis Square. (Photo: Tom Meek)
Crepes are a cozy, homey eat with international dash. Camberville does not have a lot of them – Little Crepe closed on Oxford Street last fall and has yet to fulfill a promise to reopen under new management – but Mr. Crepe in Davis Square is steadfast. It opened in 2007 (in its second home) in what was once the grungy Someday Cafe, a bohemian classic where you could get Dancing Goats coffee and sit on dilapidated couches worthy of a frat house. The space, in the Hobbs Building, the same facade that houses the Somerville Theatre, is now spare and open. Long gone is the bo-ho vibe, but it’s still a gathering spot for Tufts students and cafe-goers looking for a calm, quiet nosh and a cup of joe.
Mr. Crepe offers a decent array of pastries, but its specialty is the golden brown triangles of goodness coming in savory (sausage, turkey and peppers, chicken pesto, smoked chicken and caramelized onions) and sweet (Nutella, banana, strawberry, honey and Belgian chocolate combos). My go-tos are vegetarian: one with mushroom, spinach, basil and mozzarella – anything with mozz; the Super Fennel with mozzarella, shaved fennel, baby spinach, basil and tomatoes; the Super Avocado of smashed green glory with Monterey Jack and cilantro; and the Super Spinach with eggs, Popeye’s energy source, cilantro, Monterey Jack and cured olives has my eye.
Place your order at the counter, take your buzzer to a Scandinavian-styled table and, when it goes off shortly after your first sip of espresso, a friendly server will bring you the neatly folded concoction. Mr. Crepe and Mike’s Food & Spirits, a longtime Davis Square establishment across the way, are great quick comfort eats to fill up on before or after a flick or show at the theater next door.
Mr. Crepe (51 Davis Square, Somerville)
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
The Super Fennel is sooooo good.