okay, yeah... so the "no chains" thing. i didn't know it was a chain. really, i'd never heard of "le peep" before. it seems that a lot of chains skip right over missouri (i spent the first 33 3/4 years of my life living in and around st. louis) so there seem to be a few restaurants that i've never heard of but other parts of the country are lousy with them. so, my "no chains" rule is being amended. since this is my blog, if i've never heard of the place, it doesn't count in my "no chains" rule. also, if it's a local chain or at least half the country doesn't have one, it doesn't count.
most of the reviews you'll see are going to be from one of my days off (wednesday, thursday & sunday... for now) because working 10 hour days affords little time to eat out or cook. so, last wednesday we decided we wanted a late breakfast. i googled for something local & found le peep about 10 minutes away near quivera & 75th streets in lenexa, kansas. the outside of the building looks like any restaurant you might see that they slap up in like 15 minutes in the parking lot of any suburban strip mall but the inside is quaint. it has the feel of a nicely fixed up barn, painted in a light, sunny colors with white trim, with an inordinate amount of large fake gerbera daisies in vases on every available flat surface. the dining room had about 18 4-person tables & there's also an upstairs area & an outdoor patio. it was exceptionally casual and, as might be expected for a breakfast/lunch/brunch place, about half the customers were what you might call "older" (no less than 3 people entered with the assistance of walkers). the other half was families or younger couples.
i just realized that at every place i've talked about so far, i ordered iced tea. well, i had iced tea at le peep too. john had coffee. to offer further proof that i am not a "foodie", i will admit that i had never had hollandaise sauce before. so, always up for something new, i decided to have a spinach benedict crepe (which is not on the menu on le peep's website. click here to see it.) and john had the country feast (also not on the website menu) which includes 2 eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy and home fries. the spinach benedict crepe is a crepe (weird!) filled with spinach (the surprises never end!), mushrooms, tomatoes & broccoli with hollandaise sauce and a side of home fries. they actually call the potatoes "peasant potatoes" with a registered trademark dealie next to it (but they are home fries). selection: the menu has the standard platters with several different breakfast items, lots of crepes & a bunch of different "benedicts". they also have a full coffee bar & tons of smoothies to choose from. it is very different than the average breakfast that i've seen at any other restaurant that serves breakfast. denny's, le peep is not. taste: okay, now i want hollandaise sauce on everything. the crepe was incredible! i wasn't sure about the broccoli because i don't like it crunchy & i don't think of it as a breakfast vegetable but it was perfectly cooked (soft but not mushy) and complimented the other vegetables nicely. the sauce inside the crepe was creamy & a little cheesy (but not too much). there wasn't an overabundance of one vegetable or another, like sometimes when you get a dish and think "wow, there's so much spinach here, it must have been cheap". the crepe was perfect: thin, browned slightly with a nice buttery taste. the tomatoes added a nice coolness & lightness to the dish. it was filling but not heavy. i loved the potatoes. they were seasoned with an herb i couldn't identify (parsley maybe?) that added a nice flavor. john thought his meal was pretty average. good, but nothing incredibly special. he thought the sausage was disappointingly thin but was very pleased with the amount of cheese they put on his eggs. the gravy was very peppery. perfect for john, i thought it was too much. john said the coffee was exactly right: rich, stout, not watered down. the iced tea was also really good. it was fresh, good amount of tea flavor & they had equal (along with sugar and sweet & low, which is john's sweetener of choice) on the table. ranch: if john could find a way to fit ranch into breakfast, he would... but no ranch this meal.
service: our server, brittany, was very attentive even though her section was full. the hostess also asked us if we needed anything any time she walked by as well. i liked that there was a whole pitcher of water on the table for us & my iced tea came with a small pitcher refill. i did ask what herb was on the taters & she said "i'm not sure, i'll ask" but never came back with an answer.
value: most of the meals are around $8. we spent more than we would normally for a breakfast meal but it was well worth it, especially since we ate late & it doubled as lunch. our bill was $19.68 before tip. the portions were very large & i had enough left over to make another meal.
bathroom: forgot to check this one out.
reheatability: i reheated the crepe & potatoes over low heat with a lid on the pan until heated through. it tasted almost as good as fresh.
i really liked le peep a lot. i think next time we go out for breakfast/brunch, i'd like to try first watch (another chain i'd never heard of til we moved to kansas city. excellent food!) again but le peep would be on my list too. i like having the choice of traditional dishes and things you don't see every day. if the restaurant was closer to our home or my work, i would definitely stop in for a smoothie for breakfast on a regular basis. i would absolutely recommend le peep. with le peep & first watch as choices, i don't think i'll ever want to have a sit-down breakfast anywhere else!
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