Sweet and Savory Crepes Available at Treehaus
I swore I was done reviewing Treehaus, the upscale deli that has become a go-to place for many in my office. But on my last trip there, I noticed that they were selling crepes in their cafe area. Crepes are hard to find in Midtown and I’m a big fan of thin French pancakes, so I had to check them out.
The crepe menu is small and focused on light ingredients. On the savory side, you have the turkey, cheddar, and green apple with baby arugula; the ham, swiss, and sauteed mushrooms; the spinach, ricotta, sauteed mushrooms, and tomato jam; and the honey, goat cheese, walnuts, and baby spinach. They’ve also got sweet options like the classic butter and cinnamon. It seeming appropriate for fall, I chose the turkey, cheddar, and green apple.
One of the cooler parts of ordering crepes is that you get to see them made. There are two large circular crepe pans, which get a ladle-full of batter that is then smoothed out with a wooden tool. It’s impressive to watch.
Now, when I think of crepes, I automatically think of them as light and not stuffed with too much filling. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of size, but I should have realized that I was in Midtown Manhattan, not Paris. Treehaus’ crepes are large. Not quite Chipotle burrito large, but you get the idea.
Unfortunately, this crepe fell victim to a subpar filling. The turkey, which should have been the star of the dish, tasted like it was pre-cooked, frozen turkey strips, rather than a freshly cooked bird. It wasn’t dry, it just didn’t taste too fresh. It fell below the standard I’m used to seeing from Treehaus. The pancake itself also fell a bit short. It tasted good, but was sort of gummy. Maybe it was undercooked? Is that even possible with a crepe? I don’t know.
That said, I still enjoyed my crepe. The thinly sliced green apple balanced well with the melted cheddar cheese. The baby arugula added just a bit of peppery bite. All in all, it made for a good lunch that wasn’t too filling, but didn’t leave me too hungry later in the day.
Treehaus doesn’t list a price for its crepes, a practice that Lunchers have criticized in the past. Mine rang up at $8.95, which was more than I was expecting, but still pretty fair for the ingredients (minus the sorry excuse for turkey). Still, with Treehaus’s prices, the bag of chips I bought took my lunch north of the ML limit.
When all is said and done, I’d say that Treehaus’s crepes deserve a try simple because they’re crepes and those are pretty rare to find around these parts. But considering the multitude of other options available, they’re not at the top of the list.
Treehaus, 830 3rd Ave (btw 50+51st), (212) 355-9855
Posted by Dan at 11:44 am, November 4th, 2013 under Treehaus.
9 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
9 Comments
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That sounds awesome. I’ll have to check it out.
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I just found your Treehaus noodle post. The dish from Radiance looks nothing like what you had at Treehaus. The Treehaus dish definitely looks more colorful and substantial – then again, we are talking two different things.
I think the Radiance dishes are very flavorful (however, I ask for extra spicy wherever I eat). As per their menu, their chef was the 2011 winner of the ICC competition that was held in Times Square. The food is Cantonese.
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Is Radiance noodle bar related to the Radiance tea house on 3rd Ave? I’d love to try this place out today.
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Yes, it is right under the tea house — same setup as Pampano Taqueria.
They usually have a daily tea to sample on the counter, and sometimes have pre-filled takeout cups for sale. They might always have takeout tea, but I usually show up when they are closing and don’t always see it.
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Awsome, great to know. thanks.
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Ordered the assorted buns(2 pork, 1 chicken and 1 beef), hoisin pork cold noolde and 5 shrimp dumplings. I can’t believe i ate them all but I highly doubt I will order from them any time soon. They were all decent but I’ve definitely had better versions of all dishes they had. I am sticking to Land of Plenty which serves really really GOOD sichuan food.
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I haven’t tried their buns yet since I just started eating down their menu – now I don’t have to, but I might anyway. Did you really eat all of that food?!? If so, you are my hero.
However, love Land of Plenty. I was actually the one to first mention it: http://midtownlunch.com/2012/01/20/land-of-plenty-replaces-mia-dona-with-sichuan/
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Yeah, I ate them all…I guess not bad for an Asian girl,eh?
The buns were a bit soggy by the time I brought back to my office and I HATE soggy buns but the fillings were generous and good..although I always think they need more something…even at their ground level restaurant. Maybe i am too used to extreme spices and don’t know how to appreciate the true Cantonese food.
Yes, i don’t know if it was you who introduce me to Land of Plenty but I feel very fortunate to have that restaurant near my office buidling.
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Dan: Since we are on Treehaus again….I remember you posted about the Treehaus noodle bar not too long ago.
I’ve recently discovered and been going to the Radiance Noodle Bar, which is the takeout stand of their moderately expensive restaurant at ground level. It is down in the Crystal Pavilion on 3rd – which had at one time Pampano/Sophies/Silo/Pump.
They offer made to order Steamed Bun sandwiches – Sesame Chicken, Braised Pork Belly, Spicy Beef.
The Hoisin Pork cold noodle dish is my favorite. They use finely cubed pork belly. Spicy Chicken and Shacha Beef are the other cold noodle options. I’m not sure if they make their own noodles, but I like how they spice their dishes.
There is usually a special dish of the day handwritten on the counter. I think it’s typically a standard Chineese dish.
Everything is under $10. Chicken and pork dishes are $7.95 and beef dishes are $8.25.
Has anyone else been here?