Too good to be gluten-free
By: Sara Schwartz
Special to The Examiner
June 30, 2009
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| Chef Kyong Yi opened Fontaine Caffe and Creperie, which features a variety of standard and gluten-free crepes, in 2008. (Jen Milbrett/For The Examiner) |
Restaurant offers up delicious, healthy buckwheat crepes
The next time you’re trying to decide the where and what for brunch, you can always dine on naked crepes at Fontaine Caffe & Creperie in Old Town Alexandria.
Wait, what?
Hold on — naked crepes are what chef Kyong Yi calls her new gluten-free delicacies.
“Fontaine’s buckwheat crepes are made with all-natural ingredients and use very little oil,” Yi said. “Many are very healthy alternatives to average fast food. It’s matter of preference and lifestyle.”
To create the gluten-free crepes, Yi uses buckwheat flour, which lacks the gluten protein, instead of traditional white flour. So, why take out the gluten? According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, more than 2 million people in the United States have celiac disease, meaning they are unable to eat foods or use products that contain gluten. So, many restaurants are starting to offer gluten-free dishes. Though it may take a little time to get used to, buckwheat flour is just as good as its white flour counterpart.
Buckwheat flour has an earthy, nutty flavor to it, and is an excellent source for vitamin B, as well as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese.
Yi started using buckwheat flour in March. But fear not, you can still order any crepe — savory or sweet — with white flour.
Yi’s credo is to “always taste what you are serving and never take food for granted.”
And don’t forget to pair your crepes with French cider; the two are traditionally coupled.
In a kitchen the size of a small closet, Yi creates decadent masterpieces. And she gets inspiration for her dishes from various outlets. A 2005 trip to Hamburg and Berlin inspired the chef to concoct The Berliner, a grilled bratwurst crepe with sautéed onions and curry sauce topped with french fries ($10.95). “Both Berlin and Hamburg claim they came out with the currywurst, which is a very late-night, after-the-bar type of food. It’s a German hot dog with tomato-based sauce with curry [that] they serve with fries,” Yi said. “I got the inspiration [for The Berliner] from my Hamburg and Berlin trip in 2005 [when] I had the German currywurst in St. Pauli, Hamburg.”
The petite restaurant is slivered between a row of brick buildings and has been in existence only since February of 2008, but it is already a popular Old Town hot spot. Fontaine offers a to-go menu for those in a hurry, and don’t be afraid to bring the little ones along. There’s a small children’s menu that will satisfy even the pickiest of toddlers.
“I love the restaurant business,” she said. “I love reading cookbooks and reading about different cultures and what they eat.”
And the depth of Yi’s love for the restaurant business can be seen on happy customers’ faces. Come in for a crepe, leave with a great dining experience.
“Granted, food is nourishment, but it’s also more than that,” Yi said. “Food is meant to be enjoyed — [but] I like food to be portioned. Smaller portions leave room for dessert.”
sschwartz@washingtonexaminer.com
