All Hallows: Saint-Malo

La Crêperie des Lutins, Saint-Malo, Bretagne

Maybe it's Bretagne's Celtic heritage, but La Crêperie des Lutins ("the elves' creperie") seemed to have a strong American Halloween motif going. There's the pumpkin sign hanging above the door, with an elf dressed as a pirate. We know that it's a pirate costume because, of course, Saint-Malo had no pirates, just corsairs. Inside the restaurant was a mural of fairies, elves and other forest spirits, and small figurines of pointy-hatted witches were sprinkled throughout the place.

In spite of all this kitsch, it was a good place to eat, with bowls of locally made cider and crispy galettes (savory crêpes stuffed with ingredients such as cheese, ham, onions and mushrooms; basically omelettes wrapped in wafer-thin buckwheat pancakes instead of eggs). This was pretty much the menu of 90% of the restaurants inside the walls of Intra-Muros, Saint-Malo's old town. But visitors to Bretagne expect crêpes, cider, oysters, and kouign-amann pastries, so places do what they can to differentiate themselves from the neighbors.

Even some of Intra-Muros' non-crêperies get into the whimsical spirit. Au Coup de Canon (roughly, "the cannon shot") serves very traditional bistrot fare such as escargots, foie gras and côte de veau, but was decorated with antiques, vintage paintings of warships under sail, and had papered its ceilings in 19th and 20th century newsprints. If you are picturing a divey, family-run American comfort joint that serves burgers and breakfast along the Delta, you are not too far off. But they prepared one of the best meals I've had in France so far. It's a reminder that over here, getting the food right is a restaurant's first priority. After that, if you want to dress your place up in goblins, pirates or hipster Mr. Monopoly kitsch, knock yourself out.