Batter Up: Crepe Carts Delight Downtown Dinners

(Thursday, November 23, 2006) - Erik Fabregat was at work CD Solution downtown when a collection of aromas lured him out to the sidewalk. He followed his nose to a nearby outdoor grill where strips of ham, turkey and peppers were sizzling. Fabregat, 23, of Northwest Dade, had discovered the CrêpeMaker cart, brainchild of Maria Suñe Chris Hoffman chef and owner , He's now a regular. "It caught on me like wildfire," Fabregat said. It's different from the typical greasy fare and it's a heck of a lot more tasty and healthier." Since 1993, South Miami resident Hoffman has been sautéing bits of meat and vegetables, wrapping them in a light crepe and serving them to local students and business people downtown. It's a lunchtime alternative to the corner hotdog cart. Crepes are thin pancakes that are filled with almost any food. Hoffman's entrée crepes are filled cheeses, ham, turkey, tuna, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, hearts of palm, black beans, mushrooms, peppers, herbs and spices. His dessert crepes are made with fresh fruit, cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, Grand Marnier and honey. "How can anyone eat a fast food hamburger and even compare it to these crepes? Asked Ron Litz, who lives and works in the heart of downtown and eats lunch four times a week at the Crepe Maker. "It's just entirely different from that stuff—it's delicious and good for you." The Idea to be a crepe chef dawned on Hoffman and his wife, Maria Suñe, while vacationing in Paris three years ago and eating crepes made at wooden stands along the streets. "My wife had the bright idea of bringing the concept to Miami and she has a good instinct about those things, so I went with it," said Hoffman, 32. Although the couple liked the French crepes, Hoffman and Suñe thought the recipes were too simple. They didn't do anything very exotic, like we like to do, so we decided to make our crepes creative, neat," said Suñe, 37, a South Dade real estate agent. "And still healthy, low-fat and fresh.'

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