Crepe Nazi

While I waited for my friend to call me up so I can meet up with her, I decided to kill time at the Japanese market area on Sawtelle. Unfortunately, the bookstore was closed and most of the places to get food were dessert and sit-down restaurants only. Then I came across this crepe store on the other side of the street.

The place is called Crepe to Go!! and they have all kinds of crepes. The sweet crepes are named after actresses and the salty crepes are named after actors. Since this was technically my dinner, I decided to go for the salty one today. I've tried a sweet one before and I liked it.

What was different than last time was the person working there. I'm guessing it was an Asian guy, but I couldn't see at first. His face was blocked by pieces of paper (menu?). How mysterious. As I walked in, the guy asked, "Which one?" I had to ask him to repeat what he said because it was hard to understand him. He repeated, but sounded kind of pissed off. Gosh, it's just crepe. I ordered Atsumi Kiyoshi with ham. It also comes with nori, mochi, and some other ingredients I don't remember.

I tried to hand him the money but he wouldn't take it from me. Then I saw a sign that says to put it on the counter. In fact, I think it said not to hand it to him. Weird. He's gonna touch it anyways... He told me to wait for 7-10 minutes. Since the place is so small (can't fit more than two people - more like a crepe stand), I waited outside.

A guy walked in after me to order. The crepe guy asked him if he's ready to order, but the young guy hesitated. It was obvious that he had never been there before. Crepe guy told him not to come in until he's ready to order.

Keep in mind that you can't see his face.

An older guy walked in after the young guy. The crepe guy told him the same thing, and the old guy responded,

"I'm ready. I DON'T FUCK AROUND."

It's just crepes, guys!

Looking at the crepe stand from outside, I noticed all the signs and warnings posted. There's so much writing that I didn't bother reading them until after I ordered them. Customers would probably cooperate with the Crepe Nazi a little more if there weren't so many signs in such small font. Who's gonna read all that crap?? Sure enough, there is a sign that says not to enter until ready to order, unless you're a child or an idiot. I guess that means I'm an idiot, but at least I was able to fake it. The Crepe Nazi didn't throw me out.

As I waited, I heard the conversation between the young guy and the old guy. Old guy was explaining to the young guy why the Crepe Nazi is the way he is. Sounded like the Crepe Nazi owns the place so he doesn't give a crap about customer service. "It's just a thing to do for him," said the old guy.

Why such hostility at a crepe stand? It's supposed to be a happy place. My Atsumi Kiyoshi was a bit too salty. Too much ham and not enough mochi. Not good. I would have made a better choice if Crepe Nazi wasn't so scary. It's all your fault.