Banana Cafe – French or Foe?

Last weekend, we had lunch at Banana Cafe at 1211 Duval Street, for the first time. After waiting in a line (as nobody bothered to take names, we simply had to loiter at the door and hover uncomfortably) for about 15 minutes, I noticed a table had cleared and gathered my group to go sit down.

I need to start with this – crepes, when done properly, are really some of the most enjoyable food products made. So versatile! They can be breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert. So, when I saw the array of choices, I was thrilled. I decided on the three cheese crepe, filled with gorgonzola, Swiss and goat cheeses. It sounded divine. Alas, when it came, it was a remarkably well made crepe – crispy and delicious – filled with cold cheese. Nothing melting and gooey. Nothing warm and satisfying. Just cheese thrown in, as if it were tossed on top of a salad. Disappointing for sure. Someone I was with had fruit, which looked pretty good. Eggs also looked good. But there were two outstanding foods at this meal: one was the ratatouille crepe topped with a fried egg. It was warm, cozy and satisfying, all of the things my sad cheese crepe was not. It was well seasoned and you could actually differentiate vegetables within the concoction. Delicious!

The second star of the show was the key lime crepe. Yes, we had dessert for lunch and I am not the least bit ashamed. The key lime crepe was filled with a delicious filling that reminded me of unbaked pie filling. It was citrusy, tart and a bit gooey. The whole thing was topped with gobs of whipped cream – delicious, real whipped cream. (You may come to know that one of my great pet peeves is fake whipped cream – some type of cheap substitute that is passed along as if we wouldn’t know the difference. As if!)

If you go, expect your iced coffee to take 20 minutes to arrive and avoid the cheese crepe. Go for the ratatouille or something else that should obviously be served hot.