If a walk around North Fourth Avenue has ever left you feeling like a lingonberry, Café Zope may be the place for you.
The unassuming little spot in between Che's Lounge and the extreme-sports store Hardcore 101 features an array of sweet and savory crêpes with eclectic ingredients.
Owner Niklas Österman moved to the United States from Sweden in the mid-'90s. He gets his lingonberries, a staple of Swedish cuisine, at the 17th Street Farmers Market. Österman says the berries go well with chicken, turkey or meatballs.
The crêpes at Café Zope are made with mostly organic and imported ingredients: vanilla powdered sugar Österman's family sends him from Sweden; organic spinach, arugula and tomato; and hardy but expensive cloudberries that Österman can find only at Ikea.
The vibe
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Despite the brashness of its next-door neighbors, Café Zope manages to create a cool and leisurely atmosphere. Smartly placed abstract paintings of amorphous figures and lines adorn the walls, and diners have the choice of sitting on either a fashionable high-backed chair or one with a wooden seat that comes with butt indentations for ultimate relaxation.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, the restaurant had one server, who was also the cook. She hurried around behind the counter preparing crêpes for the two people in front of us, and it took almost 10 minutes for our drinks to arrive. This gave us plenty of time to listen and relax to the Brazilian jazz that played in the cafe.
The food
In addition to its status as a crêperie, Café Zope is also a European-style coffee shop featuring an array of Italian sodas, gourmet iced teas and espresso creations. I ordered a pomegranate Italian soda ($2.50), which was crisp and bubbly: just light enough not to overpower the food when it arrived. My partner ordered the desert flower tea ($1.25), which had hints of prickly pear fruit.
When the savory lunch crêpes arrived, they almost looked like flattened burritos with lemon slices garnished on top.
The crêpe, spongier and slightly thicker than a tortilla and sprinkled with a little pepper, paired well with feta cheese, spinach and tomatoes ($6.95).
My partner told me that the feta crêpe was a bit tastier than the option with mozzarella, spinach and arugula he had previously, because feta cheese has a stronger taste.
My ham and brie crêpe ($6.95) teetered on the edge of blandness as well, but recovered whenever I reached a hunk of the cheese. Cooking brie too long can lessen its flavor, but this cheese was only slightly warmed instead of baked, leaving it soft, but with a distinct flavor.
Dessert is where the crêpes shone. The light crêpe pairs extremely well with sweet filling.
We ordered two dessert crêpes: the lemon juice and sugar crêpe ($3.25) and the Nutella, banana and slivered almonds ($5.25). The lemon crêpe was sprinkled with a little of the Swedish vanilla powdered sugar and had a hint of orange as well. The Nutella crêpe was a puffy slab of hazelnut and chocolate, and reminded me of a banana split mixed with a pancake.
By the end, I was surprisingly less stuffed than I had expected.
Crêpes have a funny way of being light and rich at the same time. They're good for dinner, they're good for lunch. They might even be a good snack before you hit up the skate park.
Café Zope
• Where: 344 N. Fourth Ave.
• Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
• Phone: 623-3700
The bill:
Pomegranate Italian soda: $2.50
Desert flower tea: $1.95
Feta cheese, spinach and tomatoes: $6.95
Ham and brie crêpe: $6.95
Lemon juice and sugar crêpe: $3.25
Nutella, banana and almond crepe: $5.25
• Total, before tax and tip: $26.85
