April 15, 2015 | Short Order

Andre Soltner Fixes Jacques Torres’ Crêpes.

          Chocolatier Jacques Torres was not feeling confident about his crêpes. He had decided it would be good to serve crêpes -- both sweet and savory -- in his new shop on the Grand Central Station concourse. He figured he needed help. He would ask his friend, the culinary master, Andre Soltner, to make a house call. “I’m coming,” Soltner said.


          “I just do the crepes my way to do crepes.” Torres told Soltner when he arrived. Soltner tasted. “It’s good,” he said politely, “but it’s not great.” He suggesting doubling the butter and making it browned butter -- buerre noisette -- for more intense flavor.


          “Shame on me,” Torres says, “I didn’t think of it.” Soltner grabbed a pan and flipped the delicate pancake. They tasted, adjusted, flipped out another. “Okay, now I can go home,” Soltner said. “Simone is waiting for me.”


          The filled crêpes range from $6 to $9.25 for smoked salmon with cream cheese and a little salad on top moistened with vinaigrette. With 30 flavors of housemade ice cream, and iced cocoa, his summer menu was taking shape. “People are not interested so much in eating chocolate in the summer,” he says.

 

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