On a beautiful Friday afternoon after having lunch with a friend, we decided to be adventurous and head over to satisfy our sweet tooth and curiosity about Paris Super Crepes. All I knew about it before going was that they serve Thai-style ice cream, an unfamiliar concept to me, and that crepes were involved.
Nestled on Sixth Street between Springfield and Green, Paris Super Crepes is primed for foot traffic. There are some metered parking spots out front but a parking garage also sits nearby. Of course, one can always park farther away and enjoy a stroll through campus before ordering one of the many decadent menu items they offer.
The decor is unique and inviting. The backlit colorful menu signs are descriptive and easy to read. In addition to those, there are others for the wifi password, Instagram photo contests, and more. There is a high top bench with stools, a few tables, and a couple of comfortable looking couches with pillows. When we placed our orders, we were handed a loyalty punch card with the first purchase marked on it.
If there is a line, be prepared to wait, as each item is made to order — but it’s worth it. The best part about waiting is watching each item being crafted. There’s no scooped ice cream here; everything is smashed together on a frozen slab, including the liquid ice cream base. If your item says “strawberry cheesecake” in the description, they are actually placing a small piece of cheesecake and some strawberries on the slab, pulverizing it with their special ice-cream-making spatulas, and then spreading it all out supremely thinly. It makes you wonder how they will get it into a bowl or a crepe. Answer: they take the spatulas and curl the ice cream into scrolls, which they then stuff into a chocolate “taco” shell, a cup, or a crepe.
Everything is done in excess, which is part of the fun, although you may need an antacid or two afterwards. Candy, cookies, syrup, whipped cream, and other enticing sweets are loaded into each dessert creation.
We watched our orders being made with noses pressed against the glass before we sat down and attempted to tackle these things. You will want water or something else refreshing to drink with these desserts. While I didn’t spot a pitcher of water sitting out, they do sell refrigerated bottles of water and soda.
I decided to go all out and get a super crepe and ordered the Chocolate Lover. At $7.50 before tax, I hoped it would be a large enough serving to know if it was shareable for any future visits. Good news: the portions are definitely shareable, which brings down the cost a bit if you’re budget-conscious (or watching your calorie intake).
The Chocolate Lover comes with Nutella, chocolate truffle bites, chocolate syrup, pistachio, almond, pocky (chocolate-covered cookie sticks), whipped yogurt, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate pearls. They expertly layer all of these things inside a large, thin crepe that they fold several times to serve as a cone. In addition to it coming with a cardboard holder at the bottom, they also serve the finished crepe-cone in a frame designed to hold it so you can eat it with a spoon to start. The Chocolate Lover delivered on all the chocolate things, with a kick of something tart inside — my best guess is the whipped yogurt.
The crepe was tasty and well made, but it was difficult to discern its subtle flavor underneath the mountain of ice cream and treats. The chocolate truffle bites were deeply dark, very soft, hit the right balance of bitter and sweet.
My friend ordered the Coffee Addict, which was “just” coffee ice cream, but each ice cream cup includes three toppings and one drizzle for $5.95. Toppings can be fruit, candy, macarons, or chocolate truffles. Whipped cream is also put on just about everything.
My friend’s coffee ice cream was strong, so be sure to enjoy the taste of coffee if you order this one. Her toppings were graham crackers, chocolate chips, and the Mochi bites. I really enjoyed the robust flavor of the coffee ice cream and would probably swap it out for the chocolate ice cream inside the Chocolate Lover to achieve more contrasting flavors.
Paris Super Crepes also serves drinks just as unique as their desserts: lightbulb and sparking. Upon asking what the Strawberry Mojito sparking drink had in it, they told me it is a yogurt base with Sprite and fruit. The Lightbulb drinks are offered in flavors such as Yogurt Grapefruit, Taro Milk, and Chai Thai, and are served in a large lightbulb-shaped container. They cost $4.95 each.
Milkshakes are $4; flavors include matcha, vanilla, wild berry, Oreo, and strawberry banana. They are big on matcha here and offer it as a topping in just about anything you might order.
I was surprised to see that in addition to the sweets and drinks, they also serve salty snacks, which is a good balance for all the sugar they offer. Snacks are the least expensive items on the menu, and one can get a corn dog, tater tots, lattice chips, Taiwanese sausage, or Takoyaki, which I discovered are octopus balls. A corn dog is $2.25 but chicken tenders or the Takoyaki are $4.50.
Neither my friend nor I could fully finish our desserts, although we did our best. Everything is flavorful, rich, creative, and well made. Definitely give this place a try and bring an appetite.
Paris Super Crepes
601 S 6th St
Champaign
Su-Th noon to 11 p.m.
F + Sa noon to midnight
All photos by Zoe Valentine