Here's where we're dining guilt-free during the holidays

Crepes are versatile. They are fitting for breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack time – pretty much anytime. While these thin, delicate French pancakes can be filled with a multitude of ingredients, my brain typically associate crepes as a dessert dressed up with fixings like strawberries or bananas, dark chocolate or Nutella, jam, mascarpone, whipped cream, powdered sugar and anything else a sweet tooth desire.

But the savory crepe spectrum is also filled with endless possibilities – vegetables, cheeses, meat, fish and more – that can make for substantive, health-minded eating. And considering the cornucopia of candies, cakes and cookies within arm’s reach this time of year, it feels great to scarf down food that doesn’t bring on the guilt. The Duck Crepe with Fig Jam at Café Intermezzo fits that bill.

I recently discovered this savory crepe at the newly opened Café Intermezzo location at Avalon in Alpharetta . I'd worked up a bit of an appetite after an ice skating session at the outdoor rink at the shopping center, and needed something more than an afternoon caffeine-and-sugar shot from a cortado and biscotti.

The duck crepe holds tender, shredded braised duck, caramelized sweet onions and fig jam swirled together with creamy goat cheese. It’s tucked inside that warm, soft crepe and topped with more succulent duck. It was the ideal treat on a cold December day.

Other savory crepe options at the café include the chicken duxelle, a combination of grilled chicken, sautéed red onions and mushrooms with an herb cream sauce. For the veg crowd, there’s the spinach and artichoke crepe with Edam cheese. All three are available on a crepe made with white batter or, for guilt-free dining, a version with spinach. Look at you, eating your greens!

Café Intermezzo, cafeintermezzo.com.

100 Avalon Blvd., Alpharetta, 404.355.0411.

1065 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, 404.355.0411.

4505 Ashford-Dunwoodu Road, Dunwoody, 770.396.1344.

Concourse B at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

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