This fall, I spent nearly four months living and studying in Nantes, a vibrant city in the Loire-Atlantique region of Northwest France. I arrived knowing very little about the city or its food culture. Of course, I imagined I'd find lots of wine, endless types of cheese, fresh baguettes, and plenty of golden, buttery pastries on nearly every street corner (which I blissfully did). I also imagined I'd find some crêpes here and there, because what's more French than that?
But I had no idea just how many crêpes I would find (and consume). From day one, I discovered that Nantes' narrow city streets were overflowing with crêperies, little restaurants that serve coffee, tea, (epic) hot chocolate, wine, cider, and, of course, crêpes, both sweet and savory. As I quickly came to learn, the crêperie – and crêpes themselves – were invented in the Brittany region of France, and Nantes was the historical capital of that region until the sixteenth century. For that reason, Nantes is still deeply influenced by the culture of Brittany, especially its culinary traditions.
The first time my abroad friends and I went to my soon-to-be-favorite crêperie in Nantes, we were overwhelmed by all the options. There were dozens of flavors of savory crêpes (known as galettes), which are made from buckwheat flour (blé noir) and could be filled with the classic ham/cheese/fried egg combo or could be completely unique with seared scallops, sautéed mushrooms, or onions.
Once we finally decided what to order, we followed tradition and ate our galettes with small green salads and mugs of hard apple cider, another specialty from Brittany. Every bite tasted better and better. Even though we didn't have a whole lot of room left for dessert, we finished off our meal by sharing a few sweet crêpes (or crêpes de froment), which are made from wheat flour. We chose one filled with melty dark chocolate, one filled with Nutella, and one filled with unbelievable salted caramel (a Nantes specialty). In other words, it was a meal full of all-around great decisions.
This was just the first of many incredible meals shared around crêperie tables all over Nantes, including at my host family's cozy kitchen table, where I talked, laughed, and ate plenty of Nutella-filled crêpes de froment alongside my younger host siblings. Nothing I've experienced can match the utter joy of devouring a hot, crispy galette filled with melted cheese and salty ham. And to wash it down with sips of sweet cider or the chocolatey bliss of a crêpe de froment? Heaven. Like many French foods, galettes and crêpes are meant to be enjoyed leisurely, with friends and family and plenty of good conversation. I certainly had my fill of friends, family, and conversation in Nantes, and I miss it every day. For me, crêpes are a symbol of all the joy and fullness I found there. From now on, I'll never think of crêpes the same way again.