We took a drive to Philadelphia to eat at a restaurant called Beau Monde. It’s a creperie meaning everything you order is stuffed into a crepe. It sounded interesting.

The lady at the door wasn’t kidding when she told us at 8:30 that we’d have a 30-45 minute wait. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised this being a city establishment and it being Saturday night. Needless to say, 45 minutes later we were sitting down with a menu in hand.

Before I get to the food, the atmosphere is, um, a tad loud. Aw, who am I kidding—we could barely hear the girl who was explaining what we should expect. We had to speak much louder than we normally do when out to eat. All in all the experience was disappointing. The food came very quickly. I ordered the smoked salmon with leeks. Although there wasn’t as much salmon in my crepe as I’d hoped, the dish was quite flavorful though more than a little salty. It filled me up. My wife order a chicken dish which she also enjoyed. Both of us would have enjoyed a starter salad, but at $6, a small bowl of mixed greens wasn’t what we had in mind.

Dessert was what you’d expect it to be, delicious. We shared a cherry compote with vanilla ice cream. At $11, it was a $1 more than my entree. It’s funny how I’m more forgiving for sweet things.

All in all, an evening out with two of our favorite friends is never dull and their presence made the trek to Beau Monde worthwhile. All of us felt the cost was a bit much considering what we got. I’d say try it out for yourselves keeping in mind it’s loud and rather dark. Oh, and you can expect to pay around $85 for four entrees, two desserts and one beer. So, if all of you drink—versus just one of us in our party—you’re going to spend a lot more.

All-in-all, I’d give it:

• 1 star for atmosphere
• 2 stars for value
• 3 stars for taste

I think the next time we get to Philadelphia will try out Buddakan.