3 out of 5 stars

Coffee and Crepes is a little coffee joint (plus crepes!) in the sprawling Crossroads shopping center. On the day of our visit I decided to try a popular item, the Raspberry Chicken crepe, which contains chicken, spinach, ricotta, diced tomato, and melted cheddar. It’s topped with a drizzle of raspberry preserves and a sprinkling of walnuts. It comes with a nice spring mix salad on the side with a vinegarette dressing.

I appreciated the whole wheat option but I was left with the feeling that I would have loved my crepe a lot more had I gone straight to dessert – the banana nutella crepe sounded amazing.

Perhaps my mistake was asking the employees which crepe was the best and then ordering the one they told me was the most popular rather than the one they said was the best. Of course they were split – I heard votes for the fajita crepe and the turkey bacon tomato. I mean basically this is a glorified quesadilla, this is what you forget about until you’ve just paid $7 for it. Hubby, my designated coffee taster, ordered a cappuccino and declared it average. I applaud the use of fair-trade local roaster Larry’s Beans, but the coffee taster does not lie.

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5 out of 5 stars

An oasis in a sea of horrible airport food. Yes, that’s my opening line. After traveling a bit for business lately I actually decided to research in advance where I would eat. Luckily French Meadow was not too far out of my way. So when was the last time you went to a self service counter at an airport eatery and were greeted with a nice pleasantry like “How are you doing today?” Something so small does make a difference after being crammed in uncomfy seats for two hours and getting ready to do so again. Service here was great.

I ordered a lovely roast beef and havarti sandwhich which was warmed up for me in the little oven and I also couldn’t resist getting some amazing tomato bisque and a to-die-for cheesecake brownie. The brownie I saved for later as a pick me up after I got to the final destination (which helped me forget the yucky room service dinner). This wasn’t super cheap, I recall something like $15 for the lot including drink. But it was sooo worth it. If I wasn’t hungry I’d still make a point out of going there to get a baked good from their large case.

French Meadow Bakery and Cafe
The Mall, near entrance to Terminal E
Minneapolis Airport
Minneapolis, MN 55111
(612) 355-4641

5 out of 5 stars

It’s always awesome to find a place like this when we visit a new town, we wish we had an independent shop near us instead of starblech. Smedly’s has a unique menu – on one visit our group tried the yerba mate and a raspberry soda, and I also sampled a Berger cookie, Baltimore’s version of the black and white. On another visit we had some simple Greek yogurt with muesli. 5 stars for integrity of a comfy environment, including back patio, chalkboard walls and free wifi, as well as the amazing selection of fun foods.

Smedly’s
600 S Wolfe St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 563-7545