Restaurants Alexandria Virginia

BY JOHN ARUNDEL
Managing Editor

It sounds like a late 18th century expression drawn from the French Rebellion and retooled for the 21st century, but there is little doubt the culinary passion chef Kyong Yi and her sister Misun share for those savory thin pancakes which they elevate to an art form at Fontaine Caffe and Creperie.

The French-styled creperie on a quiet side street in Old Town serves up a menu that's 99 percent crepes; filled with every succulent ingredient imaginable, from sauteed shrimp to roasted tomatoes, from vanilla bean ice cream to oozing Nutella paste or Grand Marnier. "My passion is for food, not crepes," Kyong Yi admits. "I picked a creperie because that's what would work in such a romantic town."

On a recent fall afternoon, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average in a gut-wrenching free fall and a Category 7 financial storm whipping across the economy, the formula appears to be working. The little creperie is bustling. In fact, every table is full. On a day like this, food becomes solace to the soul.

"They've created an incredibly relaxed environment," said Bill Wadsworth, the owner of a limousine company in Arlington. "It's one of the best things that's happened to the Old Town dining scene in a long time."

Wadsworth said he visits La Fontaine weekly, often dropping in with his 89-year-old mother. On this day, his lunch partner is Kajsa Englund of Stockholm, Sweden, who has just tucked into a crepe filled with Norwegian Salmon. "Having salmon this good makes me feel right at home," says Englund, a management trainee at The Hay Adams Hotel.

Kyung and Misun were born in Seoul, Korea but migrated to Oklahoma City so their parents could take jobs assembling computer chips at a Lucent plant. "Our parents taught us the value of hard work and perserverence," said Misun, 39, who's three years younger than her sister. "In the Korean culture, it's different. You respect your elders; Kyung wasn't my best friend, she was my surrogate mother. Now we're best friends."

The sisters attended Oklahoma State, where Kyung studied Business and Misun majored in Education and Russian language studies. Misun spent three years in the Peace Corps living in a rustic fishing village in Russia's Far East, along the Sea of Japan. "It gave me a real appreciation for my life here in the United States," Misun said. "Obviously, not everybody lives the way we do."

While her sister was in the Peace Corps, Kyung opened up a European-styled cafe in Stillwater, OK., which she sold to attend a two-year program on French cooking at the California Culinary Institute. After graduating, the two moved East, settling on Old Town for its charm and unique prospects for a French-styled creperie.

When the British Tea Collection shuttered on S. Royal Street after 15 years, the sisters rented the space last year and set about creating a small, cozy European cafe. "We have a lot of regulars who've worked overseas and they say this is the kind of place that takes them back to their favorite street cafe in Vienna or Paris," Misun said. "We did a lot of work to make it look very Parisian."

Last year Kiyung traveled to the Brittany region of France - otherwise known as the crepe capital of the Free World - and consulted with crepe makers throughout the region. The Bretons, she learned, use cast-iron crepe-makers, which give the crepes a better texture than standard-issue crepe pans. "I wanted to make sure I was doing it authentically, to bring a little touch of Brittany to Old Town," she said.

To keep menus fresh for her regulars - or about 85 percent of their business - the sisters try and mix it up a bit, with French pates, cheese plates and savory tartlets. On some nights they might add fresh salmon, stream trout or pork chops to the menu.

To celebrate fall as apple-picking season, Fontaine has added low-alcohol French sparkling cider and Apple beer from Belgium to its bar menu. In October, German beers are half-price on Tuesdays through Fridays from 5-7 pm.
For the Cafe Society set, Fontaine installed $6,000 La Spaziale espresso and cappucino maker which arguably makes one of the silkiest cups of java in town.

Fontaine Caffe & Creperie
119 South Royal Street
703.535.8151
www.fontainecaffe.com