Inclusivity is an important part of the Wallflower Modern Diner (2420 Main Street). Lisa Skelton, who owns the five-year-old Mount Pleasant eatery, says the reason the menu has always featured a mix of omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options is that she doesn’t want anyone to feel left out.

“A lot of restaurants just have a bit of an exclusive approach, or just have one identity and it’s really well refined,” she told the Georgia Straight during a recent interview. “I wanted the Wallflower’s identity to be about everybody coming together at the same dinner table.”

Skelton was born and raised in Richmond and got her start in the restaurant industry as a hostess at Boston Pizza. When she moved to the West End after high school, she began working as a server at the Boathouse restaurant on English Bay.

“I really knew nothing about food at that point, so I wasn’t a particularly good server. I got lots of shifts on the deck selling fish and chips, and had to hustle and work,” she recalled.

Eventually, Skelton ventured into the kitchen at the Boathouse and discovered she had an interest in cooking and running a restaurant. When she decided to open the Wallflower in 2009, Skelton collaborated with the restaurant’s opening chef, Sean Wright, with whom she’d worked at the Boathouse. Together, they created a menu of comfort-food favourites that catered to everyone.

“Gluten, at that point, was still a mystery allergy. Everyone understood what a peanut allergy was and what to do about it. They knew what it meant to be vegan, but not a lot of people understood what it really meant if you were gluten-free,” Skelton said. “You couldn’t just wipe the crumbs off the cutting board and prepare a meal there.”

In 2013, Skelton opened a second restaurant with another former Boathouse coworker, Erica Kosciuk. Burgundy, which closed after a year, also offered options for every diner, as well as weekend brunch.

“One of my favourite things to cook is brunch,” Skelton said, noting that when she cooks at home, crepes are her go-to dish. She added that most of her home-cooked meals have basic recipes that can be adapted in different ways.

“The mushroom crepe was something I had been playing around with for years, and it’s another one where I can take it sweet for breakfast with a little bit of fruit and acid, or on a totally different note, I’ve done it with asparagus and prosciutto, and it absolutely works,” she explained. “Change out the whipping cream for some sour cream, and you pretty much have the exact same thing meant for a totally different meal. It’s one of my long-time recipes.”

The sautéed mushrooms give these thin crepes a heartiness and earthiness perfect for cool fall mornings, while the stone-fruit topping is tart and replaces sugary syrups. Skelton advised that, as when to cooking pancakes, you shouldn’t be be discouraged if the first few don’t come out looking perfect.

“The first one won’t ever work out as good as the rest of them—just accept that now,” she said. “Understand that this is what it takes to get the pan right, and after that you’re good to go. Also, there should always be one for the cook.”

Lisa Skelton’s mushroom crepes

Ingredients

12 button mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter
½ cup (125 mL) water
½ cup (125 mL) milk
2 eggs
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
Warm stone-fruit topping (see recipe below)
½ cup (125 mL) prepared whipped cream

Method

1. In a 12-inch nonstick pan, cook mushrooms in butter for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft and brown.
    
2. Combine water, milk, eggs, flour, and salt in a blender and pulse for 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and blend until mixture is completely smooth.
    
3. Over medium heat, pour a thin layer of the batter into the same pan. Tilt the pan in a circular motion until a thin layer covers the surface. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until crepe is firm and cooked through. Using a spatula, carefully flip the crepe and immediately roll into a tube using your hands. Set aside on a large plate or baking sheet and keep warm. Repeat until batter is finished.
    
4. To serve, divide crepes between two plates. Top with warm fruit topping and whipped cream.

Warm stone-fruit topping

2 stone fruits in season (such as plums, peaches, or apricots), pitted and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar
2 Tbsp (30 mL) butter

1. In a small nonstick pan over medium heat, cook fruit, sugar, and butter, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and fruit is warm.

Yield: 6 crepes (about 2 main-size servings).

Recipe has not been tested by the Georgia Straight.