As I drove through the streets of Denver attempting to find a restaurant to set my sharp pen on, I decided I wanted to go to a place that was not only off the beaten path, but perhaps also out of the realm of go-to restaurants. I found the perfect little cafe in Boba & Crepes, a small establishment nestled in a shopping center off of Mississippi Avenue.
As its title aptly implies, the cafe specializes in two items: Boba and crepes. For those who don’t know what boba is, it’s a smoothie or tea that has small, chewy tapioca balls in the bottom that one sucks up through a large straw along with the drink. Any time I try to explain this unique Asian drink it ends up sounding bizarre, and I suppose it is. However, it is also just absolutely delicious.
I figured that I liked boba as well as crepes, and while I had never thought of putting the two together, it sounded like kind of a good idea. So, I walked into the small blue café and saw manga comics filling a bookshelf in the corner and sweet Asian pop songs cooing quietly in the background. I was delighted to find that the place serves only two items—I’ll let you guess what they might be. I had a serious sweet tooth that afternoon, so I decided to order a warm vanilla milk tea boba and the fruit supreme crepe.
The place is actually very peaceful and pretty empty, but also a bit run down. The boba tea came out first, and it was delicious. I’ve never had a boba I didn’t like, and this one was no exception. The tea was scrumptious and sweet, and the boba was soft and chewy from being in the warm drink. This would be a perfect beverage for a cold winter’s day, and I would definitely return to try some of the other numerous flavors offered, including many variations of milk tea and a wide variety of fruit-flavored shakes.
The crepe came out next, and it was not how I expected it might be. The actual thin pancake was wrapped into a large pocket, like a pita, with whipped cream, chocolate and various types of fruit inside. It was really large and I honestly didn’t know how to approach it. I took a meager bite, only to find that the crepe had the consistency and taste of very thin Styrofoam. The fruit and whipped cream were actually very good, but the crepe… I ended up just eating out of it with a spoon.
With both the crepe and boba nearly finished, I realized that ordering both was probably a very bad idea. They were each very sweet on their own, and together they were sweet to the point of being distasteful. I ended up with a sugar buzz and serious stomach ache.
If you’re ever driving down Mississippi and would like an excellent boba, I would definitely recommend Boba Crepes. If you’re looking for some pretty good whipped cream and fruit, I would mention the place. If you’re looking for a good crepe, I would recommend just going to iHop.
