Manny’s Sweet Treats brings crepes (and more) to Hartford’s Parkville Market
Manny’s Sweet Treats is the newest stall in Hartford’s Parkville Market.
“I go a bit crazy with my crepes and waffles. I go bananas,” said owner Hector Carvalho.
Carvalho named Manny’s after his father, who owns a churrasqueria in Mineola, New York, next door to the flagship Manny’s, which opened in 2016. Carvalho’s father’s passion is meat, but Carvalho’s passion is sweets. Parkville’s Manny’s is the first Connecticut location of the chain of crepe eateries, which also has a site in Rockville Center, New York.
“When I was a kid I had such a sweet tooth. This takes that to the next level. I opened the first Manny’s next door to my dad’s so people could eat a meal there and then get dessert at my place,” Carvalho said.
He is hoping for that same type of synergy at Parkville Market because the majority of stalls in the market specialize in meals rather than desserts.
“They can eat meals over there and get desserts here,” he said. “I especially noticed there aren’t any places near here that specialize in crepes. Waffles and pancakes, yes, but not crepes. I love crepes. I could eat them every day.”
Carvalho, who immigrated to New York from Panama at age 10, has experimented with recipes all his life. He majored in chemical engineering at Stony Brook University, but his heart is in another kind of mixing.
Carvalho’s sweet tooth is put on display in a video screen at the booth, which shows the decadent crepe, waffle and pancake creations: crepes in strawberry-banana-Nutella; mango cream-strawberry; and “Liquid Gold” dulce de leche-Snickers; and “Oreo Affair” pancakes topped with chocolate drizzle and vanilla.
A four “mini waffle sampler” has flavors of s’mores, Oreos, Funfetti and Fruity Pebbles. A blue pancake filled with chocolate chips and topped with M&Ms, Kit Kats and chocolate drizzle is called The Wolverine. A pink pancake filled with Fruity Pebbles and topped with edible glitter and caramel drizzle is called the James Charles, after the YouTube makeup tutorial influencer.
“Kids asked me to make the James Charles. They wanted it to be pink. But if you make something pink, you have to make something that’s blue, too. That’s how Wolverine came,” he said. “But not just kids order it. Adults order it, too.”
Sweet crepes cost $12.49. Other flavors include berry sauce, apple cobbler, cinnamon drizzle, cookie butter, s’mores, cherry cream and strawberries.
Waffles are $11.49. Flavors include s’mores, Oreo, Funfetti, Fruity Pebbles, rainbow cookie, choco peanut butter and churro cinnamon drizzle. The strawberry-banana-Nutella and mini-waffle sampler are $14.99.
Pancakes range from $10.49 for plain, $11.99 for cinnamon toast and Reese’s cereal-peanut butter and $14.99 for strawberry-banana, Wolverine, James Charles, “Oreo Affair” and “Banana Temptations.”
Burrito crepes, in which a tortilla is filled rather than a crepe, are $12.99 with flavors of cheesecake-Nutella-Oreo, red velvet and chocolate cake. Despite the fillings, Carvalho said those are for people who want a bit less sugar.
“Crepes are sweet. Tortillas are less sweet,” he said.
For those who don’t want sweets at all, Carvalho has an array of savory crepes.
“We are launching those exclusively here in Hartford,” he said. For $12.99, there is grilled chicken-mozzarella, tomato-mozzarella-basil, spinach-goat cheese-mushroom-basil and pepperoni-mozzarella. The pepperoni-mushroom-mozzarella is $13.45. The rest are $14.99: mushroom-gruyere-tomato, chicken-gruyere-tomato-spinach, chicken-mozzarella-avocado-spinach, chicken-gruyere-mushroom-avocado and goat cheese-avocado-tomato.
The shop also has brownies, cinnamon rolls and ice cream sandwiches.
Manny’s Sweet Treats sells bottles of rope candy with fun labels on the bottles: Chill Pill, Hey! I Love You, I Just Miss You.
On Sept. 9,the day of Manny’s grand opening, Parkville Market will have a “Samba Under the Stars” party from 7 to 10 p.m., to celebrate Brazilian Independence Day. featuring live music by Jose Paulo.
Manny’s Sweet Treats is open Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. Parkville Market is at 1400 Park St. in Hartford. parkvillemarket.com.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
