The people: Founded by brothers Kam and Keyvan Talebi, the first Crave restaurant opened in Edina, Minnesota in 2007. The chain-let has grown to 10 restaurants—four in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and one each in Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Omaha, Coral Gables, Austin, and now Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. In 2011, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal named Crave as the fastest-growing private company in the Twin Cities; the same year, Nation’s Restaurant News selected it as one of its Hot Concepts! Award winners.
The place: It’s big. There’s an open kitchen in the back, a bar in the front, and lots of seating all around—some of it even spills into the mall hallway. Attractive red and orange light fixtures add interest to otherwise nothing-special decor. As for the atmosphere, beware that on a packed
Saturday night, the place can get chaotic, complete with shrieking toddlers and loud music. My lunchtime visit was 100 percent more relaxing, with none of that headache-inducing vibe.
The food: Just about every trend to crisscross America in the last decade appears on Crave’s humongous menu of nearly 100 items. Among them: Fried calamari, crab-artichoke dip, edamame, Marcona almonds, beet salad, grass-fed burgers, coconut-curry mussels, duck confit flatbread, pork belly sliders, to name a few. There’s also a whole page of sushi options, an extensive wine list, craft cocktails and miniature desserts (you can sample all five for $19.95).
In my mind, however, Crave bites off more than it can chew, as there were misfires in practically everything I tried (save for the gigantic lemon garlic wings). And all that meh comes at a price: Dinner for two, with one appetizer, two entrees, drinks and a tip, was $115.
The “signature” lamb meatballs were overwhelmingly spicy, with a trifecta of hot stuff: fiery ground meat, poblano cream sauce and peppery black pepper fettuccine. The caprese flatbread was pretty to look at, but the base glistened with too much oil. Similarly, the roll supporting the bison burger was soaked with moisture, detracting from an otherwise okay burger. A salmon salad was listless and dull. And although the Hoshii Boat sushi sailed to the table atop a toy-sized boat, it was not the freshest-tasting catch. As for endings, the two foamy and overly sweet miniature desserts I tried were not worth finishing, despite their size.
The bottom line: With sharper focus and better execution, there might be more to crave at Crave.
Westfield Montgomery Mall, 7101 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda, 301-469-9600, www.cravebethesda.com
Photos: Lemon garlic wings, lamb meatballs and sushi boat. Caprese flatbread, bison burger, brown butter cake and salty caramel mousse. Credit Carole Sugarman
