Flipping Out

For Saturday lunch in Austin, we tried a place we saw on Food Network's Throw Down with Bobby Flay. According to the show, the two founders of Flip Happy Crepes could not seem to find a decent crepe after a trip to Paris. So after perfecting their recipe with lots of practice and discarded batches of batter, they obtained a cozy vintage trailer from which they serve warm smiles 5 days/week.




Though the line moved fast, it didn't let up the entire time we were there. It's outdoor seating, which was great this weekend since the weather was perfect. Interestingly enough, from a few conversations I overheard while standing in line, there were a handful of other Ike evacuees in our midst. So it truly was one big flip happy.


The first crepe we bit into was their smoked salmon with herb cream cheese, spinach, and tomato. Since we were so eager to dig in, I didn't showcase the filling as much as I would have liked. But from this foto, you can easily see the warm, buttery, crispy exterior that completely surrounds the filling. All the subtle ingredients complimented one another extremely well. In other words, each ingredient has a mild flavor that's easy to distinguish when eaten alone but could easily be overpowered with the wrong combination. But by their powers combined, they were crepe extraordinaire. The rich cream cheese was balanced out by the doughy crepe and crisp veggies. At the center of this tango on my palette was the salty smoked salmon. It's kind of like that group of 5 nerds in high school. Individually, each was meek and oft overlooked. But together, they formed an incredible team of matheletes. Yeah, it's exactly like that.


Our next crepe was their shredded pork with caramelized onions and Gruyere. Unlike the team of mathelets above, this one was more like two of jocks trying to one-up the other while their girlfriends roll their eyes. Shredded pork and caramelized onions are very pronounced ingredients. I felt the mild flavor the Gruyere was almost lost in the mix but it definitely added a great richness to the crepe. After taking a bite, someone commented, "I suddenly feel happy."


For dessert, we got their cinnamon sugar crepe with toasted coconut and cream cheese frosting. The cinnamon and sugar was mixed into the crepe batter. The filling consisted of sweet coconut flakes and cream cheese frosting. All this was topped off with powdered sugar and crushed almonds. The kind of response that comes from eating this warm triangle is silence. In this one moment, there are no words, no conversation, just smiles and glances of complete understanding that everyone at the table is in the same state of mind as the other.

We wanted to go again the next day on Sunday, but they were closed. We're supposed to go camping in the Austin area soon, maybe we'll just camp outside the Happy Flip Trailer.