The Place:  Magdalena's Creperie
http://www.magdalenascreperie.com/

Where: Downtown Fairhaven

1200 10th Street Suite 103
Bellingham, WA 98225

When:  9am-4pm Mon.-Fri. and 8am-4pm Sat. and Sun.


So, today was my birthday (yep I'm an Aries) and I decided to treat myself to some crepes as my friend and I hopped on the bus and went to Fairhaven to see all the different shops. We ended up passing by Magdalena's Creperie and I thought well its my birthday and I've never had crepes before but I've always wanted to try them because everyone says that they are so good. So my friend and I went in and ordered some crepes. Well it was a pretty small place so I expected that it would just be a place where you just walk in and order. I was wrong. I'm always unsure of what to do when that happens and felt a bit like and idiot. But I just explained that this was our first time there and the waitress handed us some menus and told us we were free to look them over and if we wanted to stay we could sit down afterwards. (I thought that was a very tactful way of letting us know how things were done there) Since it was my birthday I wanted to get something sweet so my eyes immediately went to the 'Sweet Crepes' section of their menu (they also had a small section of desserts separately but I wanted to stick to crepes). Before I get to what I ordered though let me back up a little and tell you about the place. Also I have to say I have never had crepes before so I have nothing so far to compare these to.

When I walked into Magdalena's I was greeted by about 10 or so tables all with adorable yet chic wicker chairs and there was, I believe, a song in french playing mildly in the background. They whole atmosphere of the place seemed so cohesive and really seemed to say 'this is what I am'. There were photographs lining the wall displaying some of their different dishes so deliciously that was really all the decoration it needed. The whole restaurant seemed welcoming and screamed French (of course it may have been just because of the association with crepes since the owner is in fact Polish) while the dark walls and vivid photos added an element of modern chicness (is that even a word?). Another thing that made it even more awesome is that they use local food and produce and all of their meats, vegetables, soups, and baked goods are all prepared or baked daily from scratch.

After perusing the menu for a bit I knew which one I wanted, or mostly wanted as the case was because I was torn between trying a more seemingly traditional fruit one and the one I was thinking of ordering. In the end I decided to go with what first caught my eye the most which was #35 and my friend got the #38. I have to say that I really enjoyed my first crepe experience although after taking a quick glance at the savory side of the menu I wish that I had gotten one of those too but we had already eaten a small meal earlier.

My friend and I both tried some of each others' and they both were really good with slightly different textures (I apologize in advance for the slightly blurry pictures, I tried to take them well and this is how they came out).

Fresh fruits, powdered sugar topped with white chocolate $9.00

My friend's crepe was strawberry and mango filled and her crepe was a bit sponge-y like a thin pancake which is how most people think of crepes. Mango by itself kinda leaves a bit of an after taste in my mouth that I really don't like but the sweetness of the strawberries covered that taste completely so I felt they were really well balanced together and they were still pretty firm since they were fresh which worked texture wise with the sponginess of the crepe. The white chocolate on top of the crepe was also surprisingly light and was pretty clear like thin honey rather than white like I expected and added a nice extra sweetness.

Nutella, banana, powdered sugar topped with dark chocolate crepe $6.50

Mine I thought was even better. The nutella and chocolate was balanced really well and wasn't as heavy as I thought it was going to be. The bananas were pretty ripe so the texture of them was kinda mushy however, it worked out with the texture of my crepe. Now the texture of my crepe is a little hard for me to explain but I will do my best. It was slightly not exactly crunchy but more just lightly crispy with a slightly rough kinda texture. It was still soft but even though most people compare them to pancakes this one actually reminded me more of the texture of a waffle, but just made really thin and not thick and fluffy with pockets.


 All and all I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this place and the sweet crepes were really pretty good. Plus its a local company that uses fresh ingredients and you can tell that they really take pride in what they do and make. I will definitely have to make the time to come down here again with my fiance and grab some savory crepes. I do have to say that after getting our order our server seemed a bit distant for the rest of our meal. So I'm sure that everyone living in Fairhaven already knows this is a great place to eat and that there have probably already been reviews at this place but here was my experience here and I hope you will go there and try it if you live in Bellingham its only a short bus or car ride away. The prices are a little high for what I was expecting for the crepes but they were a lot bigger than I was expecting them to be and with the great taste well worthy the price.

Recap: Good sweet crepes with great balance of flavors and texture. Good portions for an decent price with a great atmosphere and its a local business that supports local. The server was friendly but seemed a little stand offish towards the end.

Update: I went back to Magdalena's recently and tried some of their savory crepes. I had a baked one that was delicious and kinda tasted like a baked lasagna since it was covered with gooey cheese. However my two friends who went with me also got savory crepes one of which were baked and I wasn't too impressed with theirs. They seemed to be lacking a certain crispness I was hoping for from the crepes and the chopped ham that was in them wasn't very appetizing at all to me. Mine was pulled pork which was so tender though so I say give them a try because you might enjoy them but try them more for the filling and not for the crepe. Also mine seemed pretty loaded but theirs seemed a little sparse in anything but the ham. My fried really enjoyed our pre-meal salads that came with our baked crepes which was a mixture of very fresh greens and had a light dressing with a bit of bite provided by some dijon mustard.