Crepes 'n' Crisps to Offer Belgian Street Foods in Upper Chester

Opening this week Credit: Courtesy Crepes N' Crisps FB

Mohamed Sadek, who has run the popular Urban Kitchen (9751 Chester Ave., 216-264-0124) in the Upper Chester district for six years, is branching out. This Friday, he will open Crepes ‘n’ Crisps (10001 Chester Ave.), a fast-casual shop specializing in Belgian street foods. The location is just steps away from Urban Kitchen, in the space formerly home to iPoke.

“I took a trip to Belgium last year and really like the concept of Belgian fries and Liege waffles and introduced crepes on top of it,” Sadek explains.

The star of the show would have to be the fries, a choice of four different varieties that get topped and sauced to one’s heart’s content. Guests choose between traditional thick-cut, skin-on Belgian style, extra-crispy American-style, sweet potato waffle fries and spiral-sliced “tornado” spuds. The fries are cooked not in peanut oil or lard or vegetable oil but good old-fashioned beef tallow.

“We are going back to the early McDonald’s days when they fried in beef tallow,” says Sadek. “We wanted to go with the best flavor we could find and we found that to be beef tallow.”

The fries are topped with all matter of cheeses, veggies, sauces and even meats like bacon, steak and chicken.

Traditional Leige waffles can be enjoyed simply with butter and powdered sugar, dipped in chocolate, or slathered with Nutella and topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. A savory “chicken and waffles” version comes with chicken tenders, creme fraiche and maple syrup.

The crepes, too, get the sweet or savory treatment, with options ranging from the classic Suzette to a Buffalo chicken version. Customers can build their own from a lengthy list of cheese, veggies, spreads and proteins.

Sadek might be most excited about the coffee, espresso drinks made from specially sourced beans. There is also a selection of tea, chai and real milk shakes.

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