Change - What is it Good For?

Tonight a friend and I had dinner at one of my favorite casual eating places in the city, Elephant and Castle. It's somewhere between 6th and 7th Avenues around 11th St. (where Greenwich Street cuts in and all these weird corners show up), and one of our favorite things about the restaurant is that we rely completely on our memory of landmarks to get ourselves there! It's this great relaxed Irish pub-like atmosphere (with the emphasis being on food table service; there's no bar in there). You can stay as long as you want, no one rushes you out, the servers are as nice and can be, and it's just a great homey place.

The other perk: their crepes. My friend and I have gone back regularly when the craving has hit for these unbelievable crepes stuffed with chestnuts and apricot jam. There's something unique about the texture and flavor. With the coming of the fall, I was SO craving their crepe. So, off to Elephant and Castle we went. We noticed a few changes on the menu - they took out the avocado from my favorite shrimp, avocado, and bacon sandwich; they added some nice omelets; they took out a pasta dish. But, the biggest change of all?!?! THE CREPE WAS NOT ON THE MENU. We played the game of denial while we ate our entrees, avoiding discussing the omission, dreading the point when the waiter would ask us about dessert, and we'd have to face the hard truth about about favorite dessert... The Parisienne (as we learned its name was), the waiter told us, is no longer served. It was a mournful moment. He suggested the Normandy, filled with thin slices of apples. It had texture, it was good, but it was no Parisienne. I'm not sure where this leaves me. I mean, I could get an apple or banana or nutella crepe anywhere. But the chestnut? Some things should not be tampered with.