For more than a decade, Vermonters have been indulging in some of the best paper-thin sweet and savory stuffed crêpes the northeast has to offer. The Skinny Pancake, the restaurant that produces said crêpes, got its start in Burlington and has since expanded to eight locations across The Green Mountain State. This November, the crêperie will open up number nine—its first outside of Vermont—right here in Albany.
“For years now we’ve been looking at the Capital Region—Troy and Albany mostly,” says The Skinny Pancake’s Michael Cyr. “Albany has a lot going for it—a growing community, a population center proximate to our home base in Vermont, a great foodshed in the Hudson Valley. The particular space in Downtown Albany is also part of a larger downtown revitalization that was exciting to become a part of.”
Capital Region crêpe-lovers got a first taste of The Skinny Pancake’s delicacies earlier this fall at PearlPalooza, an annual music festival on North Pearl Street (the restaurant is located on the corner of North Pearl Street and Steuben Avenue), as well as at a Food Truck Friday event at Colonie Central High School and pop-ups at local breweries Fort Orange Brewing and SingleCut North & Side Stage Tap Room. “It’s been great to hear how many folks are already familiar with us from trips to Burlington or events in the area we’ve done,” Cyr says. “But for those who don’t know us already, it’s always exciting to introduce people to our style of the crêpe—sometimes they have no idea what to expect and it’s fun to watch their reactions after their first bite.”
That style of crêpe can best be described as thin—there’s a reason it’s called the “Skinny” Pancake—and versatile. At Skinny Pancake, crêpes aren’t just a breakfast food: They’re a lunch, dinner and dessert food. Menu offerings include everything from a breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs, black bean medley and cheddar rolled in a scallion crêpe) and the Johnny Crêpe (Vermont Maple pulled park, caramelized onions and cheddar in a cornmeal crêpe), to the Lovemaker (strawberries and hazelnut spread in a sweet crêpe) and Hot Apple Crumble (local apple compote and toasted streusel wrapped in a crêpe). There’s non-crêpe options too, including burgers, sandwiches, salads and poutine. “For the most part, we try to offer relatively consistent menus across locations,” Cyr says. “However, we also try not to be a ‘chain’ restaurant in that every location is exactly the same. So while the core of our menu will be the same, our ingredients will vary a bit based on local sourcing. If there’s a great local supplier we want to support, we’ll work their product into our food and beverage offerings.” Oh yeah—you can wash down your crêpe with a cold beer, cider or craft cocktail, too.
The restaurant is scheduled to open in mid-November, if everything goes according to plan (the staff is currently working through some supply chain issues). Stay tuned to The Skinny Pancake’s Facebook page for updates.
