So Much More than Dessert: Le Moose Crêpe Café

Step by step, Nicki prepares the Chicken Pesto crêpe with grilled marinated white breast chicken, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, red bell peppers, and homemade basil pesto.

Peeking into the Kitchen Part I: The Crêpe Escape
In the warm Thailand nights, it was almost impossible for young Nicki to close her eyes and fall asleep. The sweet smells of paper-thin crêpes, freshly fried donuts, and velvety chocolate chiffon cakes kept calling her down to the kitchen where her mother was baking away. Tiptoeing down to the kitchen, Nicki would peek around the corner and watch until mom would call to her tiny assistant baker to lend a hand. Giddily dousing donuts in powdered sugar, she would pause to study how her mother artfully poured the creamy yellow crêpe batter over the hot surface of the griddle. With a flick of the wrist, the batter moved round and round until a large, thin pancake took shape. Crêpes were just the beginning...


Peeking into the Kitchen Part II: Indian and Thai Cuisines

Pad Thai made with chewy-thin sen jan moon noodles,
a load of proteins (shrimp, chicken, tofu, egg), crisp bean 
sprouts,a balanced sweet and sour sauce, and finished with 
a dusting of house roasted peanuts.

When Nicki's mother wasn't making spongy sweet jelly rolls or savory curry puff snacks, her mother-in-law would visit to teach her the tenets of Indian cuisine. Unable to resist the lure of the kitchen, Nicki would watch as the learned matrons produced curries like palak paneer with spinach and non-melting cubes of paneer cheese, or masala with chunks of chicken bathed in a creamy turmeric-tinged sauce. Having grown up with the intense flavors of India and Thailand, Nicki packed these food memories in her suitcase and flew to California for grad school at CSU East Bay.
While earning her master's degree, she satiated her culinary curiosity as a café server and kitchen apprentice, learning the nitty-gritty of running a restaurant. Shortly after tossing her mortarboard in the air, her years of International culinary know-how manifested as...a moose?!


Le Moose and Le Mousse

Have you ever craved some Italian fare, like grilled chicken with mozzarella cheese and basil pesto sauce, but your dinner guest lusted after spicy curries in a rainbow of colors like red, green, or yellow? Have you ever felt torn between the vegetarian goodness of grilled eggplant and the hog heaven of ham and cheese? Has your sweet tooth ever ached for dessert nirvana?

Rice paper hugs fresh mango, crisp Fuji and green apple,
lettuce & carrots to make Moose Rolls. 
Finish with a dip in spicy Thai peanut sauce.

To satisfy everyone's bellies, there's a furry moose that knows what to do, and he's armed with a crêpe griddle and plenty of chocolate hazelnut spread. Not to be confused with le mousse, the French dish that can be either sweet or savory, the homophonous Le Moose conjures forth images of French cuisine in an unexpected way. And who wouldn't be surprised to find a happy meeting of Thai, Indian, American, and European tastes under one roof? Your dinner dilemma is hereby cheerfully resolved! The Chicken Pesto Crêpe will suit your Italian tastes, while the mild Panang Curry Fried Rice will curry favor with your Thai sensibilities. Prefer Indian curry over Thai? Chicken Masala it is. Can't decide between something Italian or Southeast Asian? Perhaps the Drunken Spaghetti will inspire you with its fusion of fried pasta, tomatoes and carrots, bell peppers and zucchini, and piquant sauce. Climb both sides of the food pyramid with the veggie-friendly Greek Crêpe and the meaty/cheesy combos of the Hawaiian Crêpe with ham, pineapple, and mozzarella cheese. 

After those portions, FeedMe hopes you saved room for dessert. Fit for a family or a flock of friends, the Gargantuan crêpe is Nicki's own secret crêpe recipe smeared with rich Nutella, ringed with fresh slices of strawberry and banana, topped with three scoops of ice cream dreams, and gilded with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and toasted pecan bits.  While Nicki has spent her life peeking into kitchens, you won't have to look far to peek into her kitchen; she prepares the crêpes right before you in the royal purple-hued dining room. FeedMe recommends you get your caboose to Le Moose for good friends, good food, and good fun!

 The GARGANTUAN dessert crêpe! Three scoops of Foster Farms ice cream sit atop a hazelnut Nutella-filled crêpe, surrounded by fresh strawberries and bananas, then smothered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and toasted pecan bits. The only question is, to share, or not to share?

Store Details
Le Moose Crêpe Café
5014 Mowry Avenue
Fremont, CA 94538

Phone
(510) 745-7288

Hours
Monday-Friday, 11:00 am-3:00 pm, 5:00 pm-9:00 pm
Saturday-Sunday, 11:00 am-3:00 pm, 4:00 pm-9:00 pm

Website
http://lemoosecafe.com/index.htm

Nicki uses her favorite food memories to create dishes 
inspired by Thai, Indian, andAmerican cuisines. 
(Left to Right: The Gargantuan dessert crêpe; Moose Rolls; Chicken Pesto crêpe).

Whetting Your Appetite: Hungry for Life

I remember the good times.

I remember the time I trudged through the slushy snow to get a creamy scoop of house made strawberry ice cream on a twenty five degree Fahrenheit day in Detroit.

In Sydney, I remember the Turkish ekmek bread dough being tossed skillfully into the air, watching it transform in the oven hearth, and then experiencing the luscious juxtaposition of the warm bread dipped in cool baba ghannouj.

I'll never forget the heavenly richness of my first Parisian pastry, un pistache, that I wished would last forever.

Now that I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Fremont, I fantasize about all of the delicious concoctions that await me...
The quintessential sourdough that just doesn't taste the same without Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, the wanderlust food trucks, the sun kissed California produce, and those blissful cows from the TV ads.

And what about the people behind the food? The farmers, purveyors, artisans, insane chef geniuses, and restaurateurs that bring food alchemy to life? Can't forget about them.

Since calling Fremont, California my new home, though, I haven't heard many compliments about the food scene here.
"Fremont? Oh, there's nothing good to eat here."
"Passing through here is like a backwater for restaurants."
"Food desert, anyone? I have to go to San Fran or Berkeley if I want to get my eat on."
Harsh!

But these less than pleasant words got me thinking: Is there really nothing good here? Nothing noteworthy, cool, or interesting? Can treasures be found outside the bustling metropolises?

I believe the answer is YES. Part of this reason is the great food memories that I carry with me. So many great things lived in less than spectacular facades, but they were great nonetheless.
 
But For all of the vivid food memories I have, I also have food regrets that fuel my answer.

I regret not poking my head into the middle eastern market that I passed by everyday for four years on my way to school.
I regret not striking up a conversation with the friendly crêpe maker, instead telling him that I'll have the bananas with nutella.
I regret not going with you to the pumpkin patch, because I was too busy, or it was too cold, or it was too far a drive, or whatever reason I found not to go.

What memories did I miss out on?

No, not like missing out on a culinary tour in the Italian countryside, or a mind-blowing tasting menu at a three Michelin star restaurant. I'm talking about passing by things that are going on right under your nose and right in your own neighborhood.

What gems are to be discovered here in Fremont? Come with me, and let's discover them together.

Do you call somewhere else "home"? Then join me for some inspiration, and maybe today you can make a new food memory where ever you may be.



 
Good Friends, Good Food, Good Fun


-FeedMe Fremont