I had never heard about Crave and much less that it had opened in Coral Gables two weeks ago. Fortunately for me, my boyfriend had discussed it when I was trying to think of places to go to dinner with my friends. After some research into the menu I realized this was a little state chain with a diversified menu similar to Cheesecake Factory (minus the cheesecake). The menu offers a lot of continental/new American dishes as well as a decked out sushi bar and wine list. One of my friends had visited one of their Minnesota locations and raved about it, so we made a decision to give it a shot. Once at the cafe you notice how massive it is. The outside dining area is larger than most locally run bistros, venture inside and you are slapped in the face with a gigantic space that screams, ?Viva las Vegas! ? The d?cor reminded me a lot of the Bellagio, with Chihuly-esque glass structures hanging from the ceilings and walls.
While we waited for my chums, we tried two appetisers and drinks. I kept it easy and ordered their edamame. The edamame is tossed in a sriracha soy glaze that gives it a nice kick and when I was finished, my lips were burning and tingling. The edamame was superbly cooked and very well seasoned; fortunately for me, my date was too occupied with his food so I did not have to share.
My date had 2 appetisers; he started off with their Sunomono Salad (a posh way of pronouncing cucumber salad). The salad is truly light and refreshing with cucumbers, daikon and carrots tossed in sweet rice vinegar. The display was also simple and colorful with the bright greens, orange and yellow colours popping against the contrast of the white dish. The rice vinegar tasted great and was a good compliment to the thinly shredded daikon and cucumber.
Up next, my date had their Griddled Ceviche. I know what you are thinking, ?Grilled Ceviche, isn?t that a total oxymoron?? And you are totally correct. That's really what charmed us about the dish. The menu has a straightforward description for this dish that states, Shrimp, scallop, kimchee, mango and cilantro. What we got was a bowl filled with shrimp, scallops, chopped mango and minced cilantro with 3 orange segments and 3 slices of avocado. As you may be able to see in the photo, the avocado had some slight brown spots, but nothing that was too unbearable. As some of you may know by this time, I am allergic to shrimp, so I could not try this dish and have to rely solely on what my date?s thoughts on the dish were for this post. He revealed the freshness of the ingredients was not top notch, but none the less it is a good dish with a great fusion of fruits and savory tastes. Whether the name GRILLED Ceviche is 100% befitting is still to be determined, though it was a tasty dish none the less. I will be able to comment, I've realized that my date?s intake of shrimp has skyrocketed exponentially since it?s become clear that I am allergic, coincidence? I think not.
When my buddies joined us, we dove directly into our starters and everybody ordered completely different sorts of cuisines. The menu is all over the place, like Britney Spears when she hasn?t had her daily Lithium dose. My friend Manny went with their sushi, his wife and my date both had pasta and I had a pizza. I?ll begin my talking about my friend?s sushi. He got 2 different rolls, their Sumo Roll and Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll. The sumo roll is a tempura roll with a combination of spicy salmon, mango, cilantro and asparagus with a drip of sweet eel sauce over the top. The Crunchy Spicy Tuna roll comes with Spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, seaweed salad, crunchy flakes, and sweet sauce. My pal was a concentrated sushi eating machine. He probably did at 1 time mention that the sushi did taste nice and the fish was fresh. The indisputable fact that he inhaled his food and failed to look up much during dinner was a positive signal.
My date had their Shrimp and Andouille sausage pasta (another shrimp dish, I smell a conspiracy). The dish includes linguini, saut?ed shrimp, andouille sausage, spinach, broccolini, tomato and fresh parmesan all tossed in a marginally spicy vodka cream. I was unable to taste this dish, but the veggies were all brightly colored and my date did mention the dish had a pleasant kick to it that went well with the sausage and shrimp.
My mate Jen is simply one of the pickiest eaters in The USA. I know as she reads this she's likely announcing aloud, I AM NOT! I continue to love you Jen, but you are fussy do not be irritated by me! Although she was debating over 2 different dishes, at the last minute she. Made a decision to have their Roast Chicken and Penne pasta. The pasta comes with roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, goat cheese, pine nuts, minced basil tossed in a romesco sauce. She enjoyed the red peppers and the undeniable fact that they were still al dente and firm. The Chicken tasted fresh and the pasta was also cooked al dente. The romesco sauce gave it all a great, a touch spicy flavor that tied together all the ingredients nicely. You can imagine our awe when she left all but 5 pieces of pasta behind. If the fussy eater of the bunch ate her entire plate, you know it can't be bad.
I ended up having their Grape and Apple flatbread pizza. I was in a vegetable eater friendly mood that night and this dish appeared reasonably healthy. I really enjoyed this dish, the crust was truly thin, and almost cracker like around the edges (I realize a few of the people do not like this kind of crust, but given the toppings it was a success for me). The pizza came topped with a large amount of blue cheese crumbles, thinly julienned red apples, halved seedless purple grapes and dripped with honey and minced parsley. The menu discussed that the pizza comes with rosemary, but my pizza had no rosemary in it whatsoever. None the less, this giant flatbread was actually mouth-watering and the red apples and grapes went well with the blue cheese. And do not let this dish fool you, it is really awfully filling yet it does not leave you asking the waiter for a wheelbarrow and stretchy pants.
My friends made a decision to try 2 their ?Crave Miniatures ? also known as pudding shots. My buddies went with their Tiramisu and Salted Caramel Mousse shots. The Tiramisu was delicately layered similar to a small trifle and topped with a generous dusting of cocoa and a chocolate decoration to give it some additional pizzazz. My friend Jen breathed her shot and was sufficiently nice to grace her hubby with one small spoon before devouring it. Her husband ate the bulk of the Salty Caramel mousse shot that looked ethereal and light as a mousse should. The display of this shot was less decadent and fancy it looked succulent. I was too stuffed to try either one of the desserts, but both of my friends warranted me they were superb.
Actually , our meal and experience was a favorable one. Our waitress was jovial, helpful and keen to aid us with ideas. The food was good and the diner was surely busy for a Thursday night. If you're searching for a huge place to host a celebration or a trattoria that's a nick above the Cheesecake factory, then give this place a try. The menu does spread itself rather thin with so many various options and cuisines. As with several chain restaurants that have so many options, it doesn't particularly excel or wow, but they execute their dishes well in an above average manner. This is their 2nd outpost in Florida, with their first located in Orlando, and I expect more locations to pop up in South Florida.
- (Guest Blogger at WANT).
T.J. McLeod is a gourmet who love Crave Restaurant and enjoys seeing them expand in Coral Gables and surrounding communities.
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