LINCOLN SQUARE — The Fourth of July is so 10 days ago.
Today it's France's turn in the revolutionary commemoration spotlight as the nation celebrates Bastille Day in honor of the storming of the Bastille and the eventual overthrow of King Louis XVI.
So put down your fireworks Chicagoans and pick up a fork. It's time to eat some crepes.
Celebrate Bastille Day in the Frenchiest way — eat a crepe. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
For the Frenchiest experience — and in the revolution's spirit of égalité — crepes are best consumed not at some chichi restaurant but as street food. That's right, even the snootiest of Parisians eats crepes from a cart.
Crepes in the Park at Welles Park is about as close as it gets in Chicago to the real deal. Owned by Ifrain and Debbie Cruz, the stand is now in its third year at the park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.
Crepes in the Park is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
A steady stream of customers from the park's day camps and baseball leagues kept crepe maker Matt Phillips hopping behind the griddle on a recent weekday afternoon.
"The best technique is a hot griddle and a hot spatula," said Phillips as he swirled the batter with a crepe trowel, a skill he said it took him two weeks to master. "The faster you move, the better they turn out."
The stand serves build-your-own savory crepes for $6 and sweet for $4, with the latter proving most popular with the youngsters.
Pick any three ingredients and build your own sweet or savory crepe. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Banana Nutella and Oreo marshmallow Nutella are particular favorites, according to crepe maker Barbara Kalinowski.
"We go through a lot of Nutella," she said. "The kids are very consistent. We get some who come up say, 'I want my regular.'"
Phillips is partial to the chicken fajita and chicken mole but is still drooling over a ricotta-honey-walnut crepe he whipped up.
"It was like a cannoli almost," he said.
Kalinowski recommends anything with spinach and on the sweet side advises customers to give her concoction of peaches, marshmallows and caramel a try.
"That was to die for," she said.
Pro tip: marshmallows. Kalinowski said customers tend to shy away from them, but both she and Phillips agreed that the ingredient's addition was "always good."
If only Marie-Antoinette had said, "Let them eat crepes."
Crepes in the Park is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week through October.
