Creperie brings French breakfast to Japanese restaurant

For her newest culinary concept, Joan Samson is going back to her brunch roots.

Since December, when the owner of Japonica Diner noticed a lull in business at her Japanese restaurant she co-owns with husband Ed Hodson, Samson has been flipping and serving crepes under the new Merriweather Creperie. Originally intended to be a pop-up restaurant around the holidays, Samson confirmed the crepes are here to stay.

“It is basically two restaurants in one,” she said. “On Fridays and Saturdays, you can actually get a California roll and a crepe.”

Her longtime love of cooking breakfast dates back to her first restaurant in San Francisco, followed by a creperie and then a popular brunch spot called Starling Diner that was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

Japonica opened at Bayview Corner last April, just as Samson appeared on another food-related TV show – “Morimoto’s Sushi Master.” Samson attended Japanese Culinary School in Los Angeles in 2003, an intensive experience that helped sharpen her knife skills and fueled her desire to open a sushi restaurant on South Whidbey. Before Japonica, she briefly ran Mommafish, a largely to-go operation in downtown Langley that has since closed.

With the onset of colder weather, many customers were seeking a heartier alternative to raw fish. The crepes also brought in a bevy of new ones that had never set foot in Japonica before.

“We’ve gotten more reviews about this than we have with Japonica, which is hilarious,” Samson said. “It’s me going back to my roots and being able to expand the repertoire.”

The thin pancakes are on the griddle beginning at 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Breakfast flour crepes are served until 11:30 a.m., while the savory buckwheat ones aren’t available until after 11:30. Sweet crepes, made with flour batter, are served all day.

Early birds can scoop up what may be one of the best breakfast deals on South Whidbey – a scrambled egg and cheddar crepe, plus a cup of coffee, for $9.95.

Samson designed much of the menu with affordability in mind, aiming to keep each menu item under $20.

“We wanted to provide something that was affordable and people could eat out once a week and not break the bank,” she said.

Her favorite crepe contains roasted chicken with sauteed mushrooms in a brandy cream sauce. The current bestseller is a sweet one, mixed berries and whipped cream.

Other diners might prefer the chicken carbonara crepe, or the one with ube jam. Flour crepes can be swapped for buckwheat ones, which Samson said is what is traditionally served in Northern France. Buckwheat is known for its nuttier flavor and being gluten-free.

Kids might enjoy a “crepedilla,” which is a melted cheddar cheese crepe reminiscent of a quesadilla.

“This is much more family-friendly and it’s more kid-friendly and more senior-friendly,” Samson said of Merriweather.

For those who miss the Japanese cuisine, Japonica is open for lunch on Fridays and Saturdays. Dinners will return in April. The creperie will continue with breakfast and lunch.

For more information, visit merriweathercreperie.com.