If you exit the Chinatown MBTA station by way of Washington Street, you're likely to find European flavors long before the Asian fare. Five nights a week, the Eiffel Tower glows in Boston — from the side of a truck serving crêpes on Comm Ave.
The Paris Crêperie in Brookline has brought prestige to Boston's street-food scene with the recent launch of a café counterpart on wheels: la Tour Eiffel. Even when it rains, the crêpe-mobile draws lunch crowds and fills bellies with gourmet pancake origami.
La Tour Eiffel takes four favorites from the Brookline crêperie's savory menu, and the chance to build your own is an unexpected bonus. Start with a plain crêpe ($3), adding $2 each for meats (ham, bacon, turkey, chicken) and cheeses ideal for melting (Gruyere, Brie, raclette, and cheddar). Choose veggies in pairs of two for $1 (onions, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, arugula, Kalamata olives, and sun-dried tomatoes).
When options overwhelm, it's safe to trust in pre-designed savory crêpes ($8). The ham and Brie crêpe makes a filling lunch, with fresh spinach and salty ham complementing the rich, creamy cheese. A meat-free option is "Lilli's Love," a chive-infused crêpe filled with cheddar, fresh veggies, and garlic-sautéed mushrooms and onions.
Sweet staples on the truck are the simple butter-with-brown-sugar crêpes ($5), or the classic Nutella crêpes ($5) with optional fruit (strawberries, bananas, or blueberries/$1 each). But when adding fruit in with oozing, warm Nutella, don't let the crêpe's classy presentation fool you into thinking you won't need a napkin. (My leggings didn't survive the no-napkin challenge last time I went for banana.)
To ease the feat of eating warm food by hand on hot summer days, la Tour Eiffel also serves Nutella cold as their frozen hot chocolate, and a "Mango Smashin'" smoothie that works in peaches and strawberries ($4 each).
The easiest way to track the crêpe truck's location is by following @ParisCreperie on Twitter — and the best way to describe these treats in a tweet would simply be #omnomnom.
LA TOUR EIFFEL FOOD is open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, from 7 am–3 pm, at the intersection of Washington and Boylston streets (across from the RMV); Thursdays, 7 am–3 pm, at City Hall Plaza; Fridays, 7 am–10 am, at Boston Public Library; Saturdays, 7–10 am, at Washington Square in Brookline; and Sundays, 7 am–3 pm, at St. Mary's Street and Comm Ave. It is also open Monday–Friday, 4–11 pm, at St. Mary's Street and Comm Ave. Call the truck at 617.308.1682.
