Photo via Melange Creperie’s Facebook Page.

On a recent Monday, Sean Carroll was slinging crepes at Melange Creperie outside Mango’s Cafe in the Montrose. Eight patrons were lined up in front of me, all of them trying to choose between the week’s offerings scrawled on a chalkboard hung at the front of the stand. Carroll, known as Buffalo Sean, was wearing a straw hat to guard against the Houston sun. The line moved quickly, as Carroll seems to have perfected the art of efficient crepe making since opening Melange Creperie 1.5 years ago.

The crepes tend towards the inventive, with some trusty staples—ham and cheese, Nutella banana—thrown in. I resisted the call of Nutella, and opted for one of the week’s savory specials, the Makua Yow crepe. I happily devoured this delightful Thai basil eggplant creation topped with garlic chili sauce, though I did find myself wishing for more salt.

The selections vary each week, depending on what’s available at the farmer’s market. “We try to be local, as long as the price point is there, and we definitely try to be seasonal,” Carroll said, adding that the Makua Yow crepe came about because basil was the only thing left in his garden.

Carroll, a 31-year-old native of Buffalo, New York (hence the nickname) moved to Houston 13 years ago to go to U of H and never left. During the downturn, he lost three jobs—at an art gallery, a website and a museum—in quick succession and decided he needed to strike out on his own.

While honeymooning in Paris, Carroll sampled many crepes and was inspired by the artistic nature of crepe making. “There’s kind of a cool performance art to it,” he explained. An idle conversation led to the idea of opening Melangie, and Carroll taught himself how to make crepes by watching videos on YouTube.

Less of a food trailer and more of a food stand, Melange Creperie was one of the first mobile gourmet food spots to open in Houston, after Oh My Pocket Pies and Fusion Taco, Carroll said. It has developed something of a following in the Montrose, which Carroll deems one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Houston (overall, he added, you don’t see enough foot traffic in Houston).

“We have a lot of people who are walkups, people who live nearby and ride their bikes over,” Carroll said. On the weekends, the stand sees a lot of families and “people with their hungover friends.”

While many may say food trucks are just a fad, the same thing was said about the drive-through in the ’50s, and that fundamentally changed how Americans dine.

“If food trucks can change the way people eat and get them out of the street, that’s just great,” said Carroll said, who plans to open a second location in the Heights “soon.” The food truck business has “razor thin” margins, and he has heard of people with wildly popular trucks who have to take out loans just to stay afloat.

“It’s hit or miss. As long as the weather’s good we pay the bills. That’s the best I can hope for.”

(Melange Creperie, corner of Westheimer and Taft, Fridays & Mondays 7-1, Saturdays & Sundays 10-2. Facebook. Twitter: @MelangeCreperie. Banana Nutella crepe: $5. Ham, egg & cheese crepe: 6. Makua Yow (Thai basil eggplant) crepe: $6.)—SONIA SMITH

My Makua Yow crepe.

Tagged: Crepes, Houston, Melange Creperie, Trailer Thursday