Crepes. It’s what every Binghamton University student dreams of. And what better place to satisfy these cravings than The Shop? Located on 219 Washington St., The Shop is a chic restaurant that offers a variety of crepes, burgers and salads alongside a fully stocked bar. For Restaurant Week, they offered a $25 dinner menu with three courses: a starting drink, a main course and a dessert.

I went to The Shop for the first time for this assignment, which is a tragedy as a senior who’s leaving Binghamton in a few months. The first thing I noticed as I walked in was the calming ambience of the area with dim lighting, paintings hung on an exposed brick wall and a charming fig tree in the back. My photographer, Kim, and I sat down at an elevated table next to the brick wall and were greeted by friendly and attentive wait staff.

For our first course, I went with a Shirley Temple and Kim went for an Upward Brewing Company Draft IPA. A Shirley Temple is a classic drink and there’s no way to really mess it up, but what I appreciated about The Shop’s Shirley Temple was that it had the right amount of sweetness to it. I’m also a sucker for maraschino cherries, so the addition of those to the top of the drink satisfied me. Kim is an IPA girl, which I don’t have a palate for, but I trust her when she says it was smooth, hoppy but refined. She suggested it as a good starter IPA for people looking to get into them. I took a sip of it and it was too fragrant for me personally.

Prosciutto truffle crepe.

I had to order a crepe for my main course, so I went for the only one on their Restaurant Week menu: the prosciutto truffle crepe. This was my first time ever trying prosciutto, but this was a great way to be introduced to the meat. It was very thin and seemed to add to the spinach and havarti and swiss cheese instead of being the main aspect of the crepe. All the ingredients blended well together. The white truffle oil was a splendid add-on, but I am personally not the biggest fan of truffle. However, it didn’t take anything away from my wonderful experience with the meal.

Kim opted for the feta fig walnut salad, which she described as “exquisite.” She was not short of any praises for this salad, saying it was a good, filling portion and complimenting the dried figs and roasted walnuts, stating that they added a decadence to the salad with a good balance of crunch and softness. The dressing was the kicker to her, saying it was the perfect amount for the salad. It didn’t overpower any of the other ingredients. People can be hesitant of ordering a salad for a main course because they think it won’t be filling, but trust Kim on this. This salad was perfect for a meal.

New York-style cheesecake.

To finish off our experience, Kim and I both ordered the New York-style cheesecake, which was finished off with house-made cocoa and strawberry sauce. Dollops of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream were also added to the sides. The cheesecake was soft and had a good crust to it, but Kim and I agreed that the cocoa and strawberry sauces it was topped with were overpowering. It had an almost overwhelming sweetness to it. Still, it was still a great way to finish off a meal. The Shop is a hidden gem on Washington Street, offering a unique atmosphere to Downtown Binghamton. I highly recommend visiting them for Restaurant Week.