While our previous dinner at Tavernonna was quite filling, the next morning we did want to still grab a breakfast to tide us over on the drive halfway across the state to Columbia. Looking at the various area options, we decided to check out Chez Elle, located in a surprisingly quite part of the Westside neighborhood that’s somewhat hemmed in by I-670, I-35, and a bluff, for a light breakfast of coffee and crepes.
Despite being a fairly informal breakfast joint (indeed, I’d primarily describe Chez Elle more as a “coffee shop that also sells crepes”), Chez Elle has a particularly nice building; at one point in its history it was a theater (the Summit Theatre), and if you look around you can see many of the remnants of the ticket off, seating area, etc. More importantly, however, is that it has an excellent little outdoor patio with several tables for enjoying your coffee and crepes outside like a nice little French cafe.
While it primarily seems to be a coffee shop, Chez Elle has a very nice menu of crepes, of both the sweet and savory varieties. They’ve got the classics, like the “Paris” (Nutella and Banana) or the Fromage (cheese and bacon), to some more interesting variations like Philly Cheeseteak (I think you can guess this one), the Tropicale (Coconut cream, almond brittle, custard, and tropical fruit), or some nicely nontraditional ingredients like the Chorizo Monsieur (filled with potatoes, topped with scrambled eggs, and served up with a chorizo cheese sauce). Indeed, the last of these sounded good, so it was my order.
A few minutes later, sitting outside on the nice patio with a cup of coffee, they brought out my crepe: filled with a nice spicy potato mixture, having a nice savory buckwheat-style crepe, some nicely scrambled eggs, and a cup of the chorizo cheese sauce on the side, this was enjoyable; as I ate I’d spear a bit of crepe with potato and egg, and then dunk in the sauce.
Overall, a pleasant breakfast spot with some really good crepe options in a pleasant neighborhood just outside of downtown, I wouldn’t mind coming back on future visits.
