French Cafe Gourmand offers custom crepes, croques

This is the Land of Breakfast and Lunch. Naples adores two-meal restaurants that boast breakfasts with imaginative omelets and overstuffed sandwiches, so why not bring a French entry into the fold? 

Claiming roots from one of food's classiest countries, Cafe Gourmand describes itself online as a crepes restaurant. There's plenty more, but the 99th Avenue North dining spot, relaxing in beiges and creams with dark bistro tables, prefers to keep it simply French. 

Its silky, light version of crepes, made with organic ingredients, run the gamut from simple (dusted with sugar and butter, $3.50) to mammoth (the Campagnarde, with bacon, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, potatoes and onions, $10) or exotic (the Auvergne, with prosciutto, Swiss cheese and a creamy gogonzola sauce, $12). And then there is dessert: Among them are pomme Cannelle ($6.60)  — crepes with caramelized apples , cinnamon and vanilla ice cream ($6.50) and the Suzettes ($8.50P), oozing orange butter sauce with Grand Marnier. For the kids; a Nutella crepe ($5).

If you can't get over crepes as a cheese event, the restaurant also has a three-cheese one — Swiss, goat and gorgonzola  — for $11.50.  But make sure you're going to the gym the next day.

It was hard to resist the Oceane, filled liberally with smoked salmon and shards of onion, topped with a light dill sauce. It, like the other crepes, came with a romaine-and-tomato salad blended with a tangy balsamic vinegar dressing. At $11.50, it was a good lunch without leaving you feel so stuffed you should waddle home.

My dining partner has spent more than his time downing quick bites while he was running from meeting to meeting in France, and he's a fan of croques. He went immediately for the croque-monsieur ($8), the Gallic take on a ham-and-cheese sandwich. But the French have a way of making everything just a little more enticing, as the pressed, near-panini versions in Paris or the hefty baguette varieties in rural France do. This one was hearty, with about a three-quarter-inch bundle of thin-sliced ham between thin toasts, both of them topped with Swiss.

That made it fork food, but there were no complaints from across the table. In fact, I couldn't even get him to offer me a bite. Cafe Gourmand uses a creamier variety of Swiss cheese than we're used to seeing, but he felt that added to what he judged the best croque he's had. You can get the Parisian favorite croque-madame (add fried egg), as well for $8.50.

The restaurant has other sandwiches, from $11 to $13, including a BLT or a tuna which sounds like its salade Niçoise ($12.50)  on a baguette, minus the green beans. For the purist, there's simple quiche Lorraine ($9). There are six kinds of salads, including a chef ($12) and the Paysanne ($11), with bacon, potatoes, egg and onions blended into the greens and tomatoes, sort of a meat lover's Niçoise ($11). 

We were looking forward to a dessert. And although our server assured us its pastries came from France (the Opera, layers of chocolate ganache, pastry and coffee butter cream), we opted for the apple tartin, that upended French apple tart ($7.50). It took a while to come, and when it did, unfortunately, it was lukewarm. We would have waited, with a warning that this would take a bit, to have it heated more to warm up that caramelized undertone that was so rich. 

The coffee ($2) was good, but not knock-on-the-door-and-let-itself-in strong, like most European varieties. That may be a plus or a minus, depending on what you're hoping for, but you can get a jolt by ordering espresso at the same price. Wines, except for the Italian pinot grigio, have French appellations and are $6 a glass. 

If you want a stuffed-silly lunch that requires a take-home box, this isn't it. And we'd suggest they allow one music source at a time into the dining room; from where we sat, we were listening to both the easy-listening French ambient music and rock music emanating back in the kitchen. 

But if you want a French breakfast or lunch where you can gaze at the Eiffel Tower  — granted, behind a glass frame —  and listen to French patter at the counter that takes you back to the last time you saw Paris, Cafe Gourmand can certainly be au bon endroit (the right place).

If you go

Cafe Gourmand

Where: 9853 U.S. 41 N., North Naples

When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays

Offerings: breakfast croissants of various flavorings and fillings, $2.50-$5.50;  scrambled eggs or bagels with cream cheese and/or smoked salmon, $7.50-$9.50; omelets all day, $6.50 with $1 each for add-ons;, salads from caesar to Niçoise, $9.50-$12.50; sandwiches, $11-$13; croques and quiche Lorraine, $8 to $9; crepes, $9.50-$12 for savory, $3.50-$8.50 for sweet; coffee; French wine and beer available

 Information: cafegourmand.net or  (239) 260-7109

Rating: 3 1/2 forks