Review: New (Home-made) Ice cream/Gelato/Crepe shop on 17 Ave SW

[Isaiah]

Shop: Crepes & Cravings
Address: 1013 17th Ave SW (1/2 block east of Classic Jack's)

Tuesday afternoon, sun is hot, and I'm in the mood for some ice cream. Buddy and I are on 17th Ave and happen to walk by this new ice cream shop so we step in to try it out. We meet the owner, Brian, who is very friendly and seems like just an overall stellar guy. With him was a younger guy who looked like he could be his son. We chatted with him for a few minutes and got the 'scoop' on the new place. Turns out they just opened last Saturday so it's their opening week!

Ambiance: 10/10
The owner completely renovated the space so it looks and feels fresh and clean. It's not very big but is everything you could want from an ice cream shop. In fact, the smaller shop actually gives you that cozy feeling that makes you want to engage the staff/proprietors who are very friendly. There is also a bench just outside the shop and I believe there were a few seats inside as well to sit and enjoy your treat.

Food: 10/10
Home-made is the name of the game in a city where many shops actually ship their stuff in from McKay's or elsewhere. Brian takes pride in his creations which is evident in the taste. He serves up both gelato and regular ice cream offering a variety of flavours of each. We each had two flavours of gelato which were the perfect texture, rich in taste, and more than satisfied our cravings. They also offer Fresh Crepes which we'll be going back to try.

Service: 10/10
Very attentive and friendly and they seemed genuinely happy to have us in there. We were offered samples and got some 1-on-1 attention which was a bonus.

Location: 10/10
Perfectly located just 1/2 a block east of Classic Jacks between 9 St and 9A St. directly across from Farm restaurant on the south side of 17th Ave. A little easy to miss since he doesn't yet have all his signage up but keep your eyes open and you'll see it.

Value: 10/10
It came to $13 for 2 scoops of ice cream each in waffle cones ($6.50 ea.) which seems pretty fair for the heart of the city's entertainment district - especially considering the home-made quality. Some may consider this expensive but those are probably the guys that don't tip at restaurants.

Summary: 10/10
Great ice cream and service with a smile. I'm a strong proponent of small business and these guys seem to be doing everything right so get out and support them this summer if you're downtown craving a cold treat on a hot day.

Disclaimer: Isaiah is in no way affiliated with this establishment although he has been known to have the occasional craving.

[TomcoPDR]

Great review and write-up. So are gelato suppose to be less fat or more? Or it is just a yogurt ice cream type of deal?

[max_boost]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

This place has changed hands 3-4 times in the past while so hopefully this new formula works. Menu looks cool so will have to hit it up!

[flipstah]

Will definitely check this place out. Thanks, Isaiah!

[kenny]

10 out of 10 on absolutely every aspect. There is nothing that would make this place better at all?

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by kenny
10 out of 10 on absolutely every aspect. There is nothing that would make this place better at all?

My experience was terrific; I can't think of anything that would have made it better. Being an ice cream shop, it's obviously easier to provide perfect service than it would be at a restaurant where you sit for an hour and a number of things can go wrong.

Here's their website: http://www.crepesandcravings.com/

[Jlude]

I like their website

[Disoblige]

Oh whaaaat.

Their first location is in TD Square downtown:

Location One - TD Square Food Court - 2nd Floor TD Square (304 8th Ave SW Calgary AB)..

Not sure if I remember but I think I ate there before a few years ago. Not sure if it was anything special.

I got all excited for a moment too

[Disoblige]

The place is alright. Nice people and owner, and the savory crepes we had were not bad. Totally not something amazing (as I've had amazing crepes in Vancouver and San Francisco), but the Thai chicken was something I may get again. Good flavor, especially because of the satay sauce and peanuts.

Hopefully, the 2 staff members who were hired will get the hang of the job and do well! The service was slow, but hey you can't blame the young guy working there because you can tell he is trying hard. The girl is also new at making crepes too but I'm sure she will get better.

On the ice cream side of things, I did not see anything special for the gelato/ice cream, and there wasn't near 40 flavors as stated. The flavors weren't bad, but it wasn't anything amazing either.

Good location, hope the owner does well.

[Xtrema]

Ambiance: 5/10
They tried. But seems to be still in reno mode. There are construction stuff everywhere. The place is a mess. It's basically a take out place. Only has 3 stools to sit.

Food 8/10 for Gelato, 6/10 for crepes.
Gelato is pretty good. It's richer than I expected.

Crepes wise, it's just ok. The minute I saw the batter get poured, I knew it's not going to be good. It's thick and chewy more like a pancake than crepes.

Had a Thai Chicken wrap, ingredients are good and the peanut sauce is good. Heavy on the sweet and peanut, light on the spice.


Service: 9/10
They are nice and they tried but you can tell there are operation problems to iron out. The wrap station is too small and the 2 keep getting into each other's way. I wanted to order a shake but with the queue and all, I knew there isn't a chance the can get to that in reasonable time.


Location: 10/10
Almost at the heart of 17 Ave, so pretty central.


Value: 8/10
Reasonable for where they are located and the fact that ice cream business in Calgary is more of a 3-4 months deal.

Summary: 8/10
Will try again in a few months, hopefully they get their groove. They need to improve their crepes a bit if that is going to be their core product. Sola down at the east end does a better crepes.