Bon Appetit Cafe & Creperie Opens in Fairfield

[UPDATE: This restaurant is closed] I didn’t much pay attention to the new blue awning located next to Billy’s Bakery on Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield until I was asked to cover a new restaurant opening.  An Easton resident, I spend a good bit of my time there and I have always been disappointed by the lack of quality restaurants in that part of town.  Until now.  

I was running late for my lunch with Stephanie and fellow CTBites contributor Sarah Green, parked on the side street next to Billy’s and ran down the blue awning-covered stairs to the back of the building where Bon AppetitCafe & Creperie had just recently opened. One has no idea what’s in store until one sits down to read the menu.  I was thrilled to learn that the food had been ordered without me. I truly would not have been able to decide on my own!

I know French food. I know good, authentic French cuisine. Having grown up spending my summers in the South of France I am truly fussy about my French food. I will tell you before I say any more that my experience at Bon Appetit truly did not disappoint. I will tell you that everything was cooked to perfection.

We started out with Soupe a L’Oignon that was accompanied with a Croque Madame and a Ratatouille Buckwheat Crêpe. The traditional soup, rich satisfying and comforting arrived piping hot and did not disappoint with the beef, onion and cheese flavors blending perfectly. As we let it cool we went on to sample the Croque Madame, a traditional open-faced sandwich consisting of ham and melted Swiss on toasted bread topped with a Béchamel sauce and poached egg. Stephanie was the first to cut in to the sandwich revealing a perfectly cooked egg and the toasted bread that remained crisp through to the last bite.  A small green salad accompanied the sandwich which was perfectly dressed in a light Dijon vinaigrette.  I wasn’t sure what to think of the ratatouille crêpe but was sold at first bite. 

The ratatouille, a blend of zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers was seasoned and cooked to perfection. This makes a delicious and healthy option for those who wish for such. Luckily I left my “I’ll be good attitude” outside.

We next cut into the Perigord Crêpe that had just arrived at our table. The mixture of duck leg confit, goat cheese, fig jam, and caramelized walnuts was truly decadent. The rich, sweet and savory flavors danced in our mouths. We decided, although our stomachs were quite satisfied with all that we had fed them, that we could not experience Bon Appetit without sampling something on the sweeter side. And so, we ended our meal with a bang with La Salidou, a crêpe filled with cooked apple, topped with caramel salted butter, homemade vanilla ice cream and Chantilly. Words cannot adequately describe the perfect assemblage of flavors… the sweet, slightly salted, the warm, the cold… I placed my hands on my full stomach and thought “C’est formidable!”

Bon Appetit can also be found in Wilton. Read our Wilton review here. 

Bon Appetit Cafe & Creperie 1879 Black Rock Tpke, Fairfield. 203