Secrets of the Chefs  Rue Des Crepes — Savory and Sweet

– By Janice Llanes Fabry –

The only crepe restaurant in Westchester, Rue Des Crepes, opened last month at 261 Halstead Avenue in Harrison, and the word is out. Owner M. Denise Diaz has pulled out all the stops and knows, “You can only make a first impression once.” So far so good at her much anticipated family friendly eatery, open for breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner.
Crepes galore include a variety of the traditional, like a croque monsieur, along with vegetarian crepes with hummus or goat cheese and buckwheat flour crepes that are cholesterol free and low in carbohydrates. Patrons who just want to stop by for an exquisite dessert have their pick of an assortment of crepes with creative fillings that include cinnamon baked apples and crunchy granola; creamy brie, grapes and toasted walnuts; fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries with vanilla crème; or the Parisian “sidewalk” with butter, sugar and lemon. There is also a grand selection of brunch crepes with sausage or salmon, as well as crepe quiches, served on weekends along with champagne and mimosas.
Diaz named one of Rue Des Crepes’ desserts for her mother, the crepe Madeleine filled with guava and fresh fruit. “I grew up in a household where my mother knew how to cook every kind of international dish and we’d have crepes every Sunday morning,” recalled Diaz. “She has been my inspiration.”
A resident of Rye for five years now, Diaz grew up in Rye Brook. Having inherited her father’s strong work ethic, she has been working since she was 13. “I learned early that if I wanted anything, I’d have to work for it and I worked around food,” said Diaz, who was employed at a deli and managed a pizzeria throughout her adolescence.
After a stint at a successful dot.com company in Manhattan, Diaz decided to go into business for herself. Subsequently, she opened Denise’s Skybox, a café at Elmsford’s Skating Academy that’s busy in the winter, and a catering business for local country clubs during the summer. 
During a visit to New York City, she and her mother discovered Rue Des Crepes in Chelsea. They forged a connection with the four chefs, the Ramirez brothers, and when that eatery went out of business, they came to work for Diaz. In the meantime, she bought the corporation, upgraded the recipes and relocated the creperie to Westchester. Diaz initially wished to stake her claim on Purchase Street, but “the town planning board did not share her vision.” Subsequently, she was thrilled to have discovered the space on Halstead Avenue.
“I love Harrison’s downtown area for its potential,” she said. “I also have a captive audience right by the train station and across the street from the post office. As mothers drop off their kids at Bruce Chung’s tae kwon do and at Gym-mini-kick-it, they come right over.”
Diaz is also grateful that her landlord was incredibly accommodating throughout the reconstruction of what was originally three separate stores. Supervising the renovation from beginning to end, she was her own general contractor. To execute her vision of a “French café feel,” she employed Studio One Arts, a mother/daughter team.
Their faux painting of a French village captures France during the day in the front of the house and in the evening in the more spacious back room with a starlit ceiling, both divided by an ornate wrought iron gate. A French country farm and Toulouse-Lautrec inspired his and hers restrooms. In addition, Studio One decoupaged all the tables with French newspapers from the 1930s and 40s, which Diaz found on the Internet.
“I took a French concept and had fun with it,” said Diaz, who is quick to point out that Rue Des Crepes does not claim to be a French bistro. Although her lovely crepes take center stage, the restaurant also boasts a delicious array of salads in crepe bowls, homemade soups served with crepe crisps and a nice selection of sandwich samplers. Interesting alternatives include steak with Roquefort cheese and shoestring rosemary onions, avocado fries with a Mexican tomato sauce and fried calamari with a cilantro marinara.
Diaz’s menu also offers a wide range of handpicked wines, Belgian beer served with berries, and a custom blend coffee. “My objective is that everybody leaves here happy. I want my customers to leave feeling they’ve just had a massage.”

Smoked Salmon et Caviar with Grilled Asparagus Crepe

Ingredients
Smoked salmon
Salmon roe caviar
Crème fraiche
4 medium grilled asparagus

Crepe batter

1⁄4 c. buckwheat flour
3 T. white flour
A splash of Corona beer
A dash of salt
1 T. canola oil

Mix the batter ingredients. Brush a pan lightly with canola oil and pour batter in. Cook over medium heat for 30 seconds on each side or until bubbling up and lightly brown. Place the asparagus on the crepe and fold over. Serve with the caviar delicately placed within the rolled salmon atop a dollop of crème fraiche. May also serve alongside a mesclun salad.

Hours:

Monday through Thursday: 9 a.m. – 9:15 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: brunch: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; dinner: 5 - 10 p.m.

For reservations for six or more, call 315-1631.