( holy crêpe ! )

by gillian slater

tired of your usual noxious fast food options ?  looking for something more tantalizing for mouth-ways ?  steve asztalos has just what you’re looking for !  crêpes !
    
steve provides these delectable delights at his café, taste of crêpes, which now boasts of two berks county locations. steve and his wife, ildiko, came all the way from budapest, hungary, sharing lightly pancakesque palate pleasers with america.
    
why america ? well the answer, according to steve, is simple, “it’s the united states. america ! america ! it’s beautiful !” and it deserves beautifully done food a bit out of the american norm just as well.

    
steve and ildiko ventured to america several decades ago, marrying in 1990. before diving into the world of crêpes within this american scenery, they labored as a postal worker and a beautician, respectively. but it wasn’t until ildiko became laid off that they considered starting their own business and becoming restaurateurs.
    
so in may of 2009, the happy couple opened their first location in west reading. their second location, tucked into the heart of kutztown, joined the southeastern pennsylvania food landscape this past june. kutztown served as the obvious choice for steve because he wants to offer a healthy alternative to a good variety of people but also college students—all in the form of a thin pancake you can dazzle with batter whippings, joining in whatever sweet treats or savory slices you want.

“today’s big thing is greasy food, and often fried, whereas crêpes are a healthier choice,” steve says. “we can make a fresh crêpe in three-and-a-half to four minutes.”
    
all that’s required to cook crêpes, aside from batter and contents, is a little oil to prevent the crêpes from sticking to their brief home on a flat-topped circular electric grill. for an even healthier alternative to their usual crêpe batter, buckwheat goes nicely with savory crêpes.
    
crêpes are a natural choice to this wife and husband duo, with ildiko running the west reading restaurant, while steve operates the kutztown eatery. the asztalos’ grew up on the freshly prepared crêpes crafted by their grandmothers back when they were growing up in hungary.
    
crêpes, as it turns out, are not limited to their strongest association, france. in fact, they can be found scattered affectionately all over europe and asia. crêpes were originally made in frying pans as a childhood treat with lemon, jam, or melted butter and sugar, at least according to the history of steve’s youngest days.
    
in fact, despite the amazing variety that taste of crêpes has to offer, steve confesses that his favorites are the crêpes reminiscent of the ones cooked and put together lovingly by his grandmother.
    
the most popularly enjoyed crêpes on their menu are chicken monterey, artichoke and spinach, and apple pie.  and a little tip—if you ever get the bananas foster one, ask for nutella. steve revises the menus once a year and is thinking about expanding upon the amazing selection that they already have to offer.
    
not only that, but he has considered joining crêpe-making classes to the eatery and potential discounted specials for students.
    
in the three-and-a-half years during which their west reading location has been open, steve estimated that his kitchens have produced an average of sixty to seventy crêpes per day. that’s roughly 80,000 crêpes in just three-and-a-half years. holy math, and yes, holy crêpe.
    
“it’s the uniqueness. it’s original. european,” steve says about why he and ildiko opened taste of crêpes in berks county, of all places. “there’s nothing else like this; the closest crêpe restaurant i can think of is in lancaster.”

it certainly is an original idea, which fits both the west reading and kutztown theme of eccentric little shops that offer unique finds that can’t be scooped up anywhere else.
    
while it’s not always easy to train new and young folks into becoming crêpe-making connoisseurs, the repeat customers and wealth of compliments make this european food venture all worthwhile. people appreciate the effort that goes into homemade food artfully created with fresh ingredients.
    
to learn more, visit tasteofcrêpes.com and search for taste of crêpes on facebook.