Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Crave

Erin visited on Sunday, April 13th with Mom

Mall entrance to Crave

My mom and I wanted to grab some lunch before heading over to Southdale to do a little shopping on Sunday. Neither of us had tried Crave yet, so we decided to go there and wander around the Galleria for awhile before heading over to Southdale.

I had heard that it can get pretty busy at times, so I made a reservation on Open Table for 12:30pm, but it wasn't that full when we got there so this might not be necessary.

Inside of Crave

The menu at Crave is very large - they really do have something for everyone, which is key in a mall restaurant. Both my mom and I decided to go with the Sunday brunch menu, which was different than what is shown on their website. (As a side note, what is with the trend of annoying music on restaurant websites? I hate it. I hate music on all websites. I hope that trend dies a quick death VERY soon.) There are many more options for brunch on the menu - such as a Minnesota Omelet with duck confit and some other things in it, quiche, and a few other things that I can't remember. They do have eggs benedict here but I decided to get something else for once.

I was deciding between a few things - the salmon omelet, Minnesota omelet, and the quiche - I asked our very friendly waiter for a suggestion, and he recommended the Salmon omelet. He said that the Minnesota omelet sounds better than it actually is, so keep that in mind if you go! My mom also got fresh squeezed orange juice - this was very good, but obviously it had a lot of pulp in it being fresh squeezed.

fresh squeezed orange juice

My omelet was very good - it said it had dill Havarti cheese in it, but I could barely taste that which was disappointing. It was a lighter omelet, and the salmon tasted delicious. I was pleasantly surprised that the omelet came with a side of potatoes and toast - that wasn't specified on the menu and sides were listed separately so I wasn't sure. The potatoes were cut almost too small - I would have liked the cubes to be just a little larger to have more potato and less .... edges, I guess? They were well seasoned and had peppers mixed in too. The bread was nutty and delicious.

Salmon omlet

My mom had the fried egg on foccacia with bacon and cheese - that looked REALLY good. I had a tiny bite of her bacon and it was great!

fried egg, bacon, cheese, on foccacia

Crave also has a full sushi menu - I glanced at it and it seemed pretty expensive, but I'm not sure how much you get. It was a really pretty restaurant for being inside of a mall - they had really cool light fixtures and nice decor. They also had an okay patio - if you are into sitting outside overlooking a parking lot and Southdale.

cool light fixture
(Light fixture)

Patio
(Patio)

Even though Ben didn't go here with me, I will use his rating scale:
  • Service: Excellent - our server was very friendly and attentive.
  • Food: My omelet was slightly bland but still good, my mom's sandwich seemed great. Very extensive menu.
  • Drinks: The OJ was good... they have a full bar and a large wine list.
  • Ambiance: Very nice for a mall restaurant. Even nice for a non-mall restaurant too, I guess.
  • Price: Both of our meals were approximately $10 so it was right in line with what I expected from a place inside of the Galleria.
  • Convenience: Lots of parking, near major highways.

Deets

Crave
3520 West 70th Street (in the Galleria)
Edina, MN

Recommended if you happen to be in the area. I wouldn't make a special trip or anything.