UK Trip Travel Food: Grasmere Food (Co-op Food, Lucia's Coffee and Bakehouse, and Emma's Dell)

I took a trip to England in the summer of 2019. During this trip, I rented a car in York and drove to the Lake District. I wanted to see a national park outside of the United States to see how parks like this are done elsewhere. I picked a random destination within the Lake District and ended up in a town called Grasmere. 

Co-op Food:

When I arrived, I checked into were I was staying, hiked up a mountain, and then got back just in time to take shelter from a thunderstorm. By the time the storm let up, all the restaurants in Grasmere were closed for the day. That is, except for the small convenience store sized supermarket called Co-op Food. Here, I bought some of their ready-made food options for dinner. This included a Chimichurri Chicken Flatbread, olives, and biscuits. 

Lucia's Coffee + Bakehouse:

I had breakfast the next morning at a place called Lucia's Coffee + Bakehouse. I had a freshly baked Cumberland Sausage Roll, served with homemade ketchup. 

Emma's Dell:

Lunch was had at a restaurant specializing in crepes called Emma's Dell. I had a crepe called the Highland Fling. It was filled with smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, and served with a chive crème fraiche. I had tea to drink. Tea leaves were served loose in a french press.

During the meal, I felt like somebody was trying to watch me eat from the next table...

Here's a picture of a Luxury Dairy Ice Cream truck in the mountains, just because mountains need to be photographed.

 

Crepes A La Cart in Brekenridge, CO

I was told to check out the town of Brekenridge while in Colorado. It turned out to be one of my least favorite places I visited on my trip, but that may have been because of the time of year. Most of the town was shut down between the winter ski season and the summer season. From the signs in the windows of many of the stores, I was about a week early before the town started reopening. While there, I had dinner in one of the few restaurants that were open. This was a food truck called Crepes a la Cart.

I ordered the Crepe Atlantic. This was filled with smoked salmon, spinach, red onions, and hollandaise sauce. The fillings were put into a crepe folded in a triangle shape. The whole thing was then slid into a paper wrapper. The wrapper had a perforated line which allowed the paper to be peeled away neatly as the crepe was being eaten.

The crepe was very tasty. The lox-like smoked salmon was plentiful. There was lots of spinach, and the hollandaise kept everything moist. The crepe itself was very thin and served as a good vehicle to get the fillings up into my mouth.

While I wasn't impressed with the town of Breckenridge, at least I was impressed with the crepe that I ate while there!

Lexi Martini and Tapas in Melbourne, FL

Hidden away in a covered alleyway in Downtown Melbourne, I had dinner at Lexi Martini & Tapas one evening. I passed on the martinis, but did partake in the tapas. Apparently Lexi is connected to a nearby restaurant called Continental Flambe and they share a kitchen. The food was good here, so perhaps I'll eventually try Continental Flambe as well...

Since it was tapas, all of the portions were on the small side and everything was shared.  My pick for the dinner was the curry chicken crepe with rice. I was able to get a picture of this particular dish since I ordered it. Everything else I tasted was partially devoured before it came to me so I'll pass on posting half-eaten foods.

The curry chicken crepe was actually my least favorite dish of the night. I thought the chicken was kind of dry and bland without an actual strong curry flavor. My favorite was the prosciutto, fig, and stilton pizza. Can't go wrong with salty meat and cheese contrasting with the sweet fig flavor on a pizza. The brie stuffed crepe was good, sort of reminding me of a blintz. The lamb sausage was also very tasty, but was too small for the price. The lobster macaroni & cheese also was tasty, but I've never been a big fan of lobster mac & cheese for some reason.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Lexi. Tapas is always fun, and this was no exception...

The Original Pancake House in Boca Raton, FL

I had breakfast/lunch at The Original Pancake House in Boca Raton on a few occasions now. I was under the impression that this is a local South Florida chain, but they are much bigger than that with stores all over the country.

On one visit, I ordered the Greek Omelet filled with spinach and feta. This huge omelet was different from most, with the egg surrounding the fillings being very thick and dough-like. Pancakes were served on the side.


I've had crepes on other visits. I tried both the broccoli & cheddar as well as the spinach & feta. Both were served with hashed browns. Although I had no issues with the fillings, the crepe itself wasn't the best. Both times it was thicker than the normal crepes served in restaurants and was made from a sweet batter. With savory fillings, the sweet batter didn't make the best combination of flavors...


While it is a big breakfast chain and the food isn't the greatest in the world, it's still several steps above Denny's or IHOP. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I would return to The Original Pancake House...

Fresco Creperie & Cafe in Long Beach, NY

I visited Fresco Creperie & Cafe for lunch one afternoon before going on a unicycle ride along the Long Beach Boardwalk.

I had the Smoked Salmon Crepe, filled with lots of fish, mascarpone cheese, and chives. The crepe tasted good and was kept really moist on the inside with the melted mascarpone. A salad was served on the side. I personally thought it was a little on the pricy side compared to other crepes I've had at $9.95, but it was still tasty regardless.

Everyone shared an Orange & Caramel crepe for dessert. This sweet crepe was filled with sliced oranges and topped with caramel and powdered sugar. It was good, but I preferred my savory salmon crepe.

Nice looking foam on this Macchiato...

Green Lemon Cafe in Winter Park, FL

I ate dinner at Green Lemon Cafe in Winter Park. Located in a strip mall anchored by Whole Foods, this little restaurant has a very nice selection of both savory and sweet crepes. Since it was dinner rather than dessert, I had a savory crepe...

Too many of the crepes sounded good, but I decided on the Turkey Brie Crepe. This consisted of a very thin whole wheat crepe filled with sliced Boar's Head turkey, plenty of brie, and sliced apples. The sweet apples, salty turkey, and creamy cheese worked well together making a very nice flavor combination. Also served was a mixed green salad in a balsamic vinaigrette. Overall, I thought my meal was very tasty and have nothing bad to say about the food...

Americana Diner's Athenian Feta Crepes

I ate at the Americana Diner in East Windsor, NJ. Since it was a Greek Diner, I ordered something Greek sounding and got their Athenian Feta Crepes. They were filled with spinach and feta cheese. The crepes were served with some zucchini and tzatziki. They were good!

Chicken Florentine Crepes from Ihop

I ate Chicken Florentine Crepes for dinner. I got them from the Ihop in Sanford, FL and they were surprisingly quite good. They were filled with chicken, spinach, onions, and cheese, topped with hollandaise sauce.