T-Swirl brings Japanese crepe action, flavors to Pittsburgh
For a sweet or savory crepe that looks frou-frou in a very non-French way, head to T-Swirl Crepe in Squirrel Hill.
Unlike a flat crepe that is served on a plate, this Japanese-style one is rolled into a cone and looks like a piece of art with its eye-catching array of colors and textures.
Made with rice flour, eggs, butter, milk and a little bit of sugar, the batter is spread thinly on a flat round crepe grill, flipped once and topped with sauce or custard or aioli. Sweet crepes are dotted with fruits while the savory types are finished with vegetables and seafood or meat, all placed with precision. The crepe is first folded in half and then rolled into a cone before it is placed into a perforated paper holder. For dine-in customers, it is served in a conical stand.
Each crepe is made to order. You can either sit at one of the few tables at the front of the long storefront restaurant on Murray Avenue and watch a video about TSwirl crepes or watch your order being created on the counter behind the glass pane by taking a seat on the wooden bench across from the kitchen.
Owner Tom Chen, 32, who started off by working at his father’s restaurant, Asia Tea House in Oakland, says he had wanted to open a T-Swirl in
Pittsburgh ever since he visited one in New York City a couple of years ago. So he got in touch with the corporate office in Flushing, N.Y., about opening a franchise in Squirrel Hill, and his desire became a reality this past December.
T-Swirl offers sweet and savory options and they come with extra toppings for an additional charge. The hand-held crepe is crispy on the top edge and soft and chewy as you work your way through it.
Thai chicken ($8.75) comes with sliced chicken, mesclun greens, asparagus, cucumber, carrot and cilantro and gets a good dose of heat from the Thai dressing and wasabi tofu sauce. Tofu sauce (made with tofu and mustard) resurfaces without the wasabi in the Angus short ribs ($9.75), where the meat is combined with iceberg lettuce, carrots, red onion, red peppers and green beans, and drizzled with chipotle aioli. Shrimp-avocado and the crab crepes also lean toward the spicy side while smoked salmon is creamy and mild.
Sweet crepes include the Nutella-banana ($ 5.50), which is packed with the chocolate spread to the point that even Nutella fanatics might have to take a pause before finishing it. A matcha chocolate truffle comes with whipped yogurt and chocolate sauce ($7.75 regular, $6 mini) and the Lychee Romantic is served with a rose custard cream.
No forks or spoons are typically provided and you don’t need them — your fingers and mouth can do the trick just fine. There also is no need to open your mouth burger-size wide. You can nibble away at the crepe by turning it clockwise as you peel off the paper wrapper counter-clockwise.
If you find that to be too complicated, just request a plate and/or a plastic fork. But remember the Japanese crepe is part of the street foodscape and is meant to be treated that way, so don’t fuss about etiquette.