This past weekend, The Wife and I were supposed to meet up with a friend downtown to dine at Saffron. However, after a last minute cancelation we found ourselves with a sitter and no plans. The Wife, always the resourceful one, looked for something fun to do and came up with the relatively new comedy club at the Mall of America as an option. I offered several suggestions for dining including The Nook, Andiamo, and even Red Rossa, however The Wife suggested we try CRAVE at the Mall of America instead.
The Wife made reservations for 6:30 and we arrived with just minutes to spare and found an hour wait for those poor souls who were hungry but refused to eat at such illustrious dining spots as Taco Bell, Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters, and Dick’s and instead were lured in by a vast menu offering everything from pizza to sushi. We were seated right away in the very busy restaurant and were quickly greeted by our server who appeared to have a training shadow for the evening. She took our drink orders, a peach iced tea and a Lime Agave soda, and left us to look over the various menus they had for the evening.
The Wife almost immediately decided on the Crab Crusted Filet Mignon described as “creamy crab gratinee, garlic mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, lobster cream,” for $36.95. While she had been waffling between other items, she said her heart was set on that one. I guess she was just jealous of the excellent filet I had only a few days before at Copper River in Lakeville.
While The Wife gravitated towards steak, I was intrigued by the Kogi Beef Tacos which were listed as, “Beef short rib, kimchee, sriracha mayo, green onions, cilantro,” for $11.95. Being that I love sushi and The Wife is not really a fan, I figured I should get it while I could before having to wait several more months before dining on my own. I ordered the Eel and Octopus nigiri ($8.95/$5.95 respectively) and, at the suggestion of the server, the Mexican Roll (Tuna, escolar, jalapeno, avocado, cilantro, spicy mayo, soy citrus sauce) for $17.95.
We let our server know that we realized it was busy but we had 8 PM tickets to a comedy show and anything she could do to help us make that show would be excellent. Without batting and eye she replied she would take care of it and take care of it she did. Soon after ordering my Kogi Beef Tacos (yes, I realize this is in the in-thing in the street food scene in LA, having experienced it first thing somewhat recently but ‘Meat Beef Tacos’ just sounds stupidly redundant) were out. Missing the kimchi and coming adorned with limp and flavorless cilantro, these appeared to be dead before they even hit my mouth. However, as soon as they did, the soft and chewy taco shell coupled with the tender and incredibly flavorful beef made paying $11.95 for 3 tiny tacos almost worth it. However, the lack of any noticeable Sriracha flavor from the mayo and the surprisingly flavorless, too-old, and dried out limes (something I experienced in all of my drinks that evening as well) really made this one a little too expensive and quite a bit under-performing for me to want to order it again. Yet, if they had taken the time to deliver a completed product with everything in fresh and completed form, I think these would be a show-stopper.
The Crab Crusted Filet and Sushi were out almost as soon as we were done trying the tacos. While I abhor the idea of anything adorning a beautiful cut of meat like tenderloin, The Wife was lost in ecstasy from the first bite. Ordered medium rare and coming a little too close to medium for my liking, the crab was flavorful but really took away from the star of the show, the 8oz filet in the middle of her plate. It’s clear there is a market for menu items which douse filet mignon in sauce and top it with crab but clearly that’s because the general public, The Wife included, can’t seem to appreciate the simplicity of the meat. Her sole complaint of the dish came from the asparagus which were stringy and undercooked. She noted, “they really could have used some help.”
The nigiri didn’t come with any wasabi between the fish and the rice and it was too loosely packed for my liking (I sometimes do like a little extra soy sauce on the fish, especially when the fish doesn’t appear to be seasoned from the chef) however the eel was seasoned appropriately as delivered and provided an excellent flavor which I shared with The Wife hoping to entice her to eat it more often with me. While the eel was great, the octopus was nearly tasteless. Not a fan.
The Mexican Roll was disastrous. It was poorly constructed, rice was sticking out all over the place, and the flavors were totally messed up. Gone were the subtle flavors of the tuna and the fatty and tasty escolar and in their place was only heat. Now, as someone who can’t get enough heat and has tried every spicy thing he can get his hands on, I know when a chef can properly deal with spicy flavors. Being that the sushi chefs couldn’t even bother to present me with a clean cut roll, it’s no surprise to me they couldn’t deliver on one that didn’t just have one flavor–burn. However, based on the others around me eating sushi, some using forks and knives and others literally pouring the soy sauce on their rolls straight from the bottle, it’s clear CRAVE caters to those who wouldn’t know sushi from a hole in their head. Maybe it was a one night thing–they were backed up I was told, but seriously, take some pride in your work CRAVE and deliver a product which is worthy of your guest’s time. That said, I hadn’t tried any sushi since April and it was a mostly-welcome respite from the sushi desert I’d found myself in for the last 6 months.
After our dinners we ordered coffees and desserts. We ordered a slice of “The Original” Coconut Cake with vanilla anglaise, whipped cream for $6.95 and their Caramel Pot De Creme (also $6.95) which came with dark chocolate apricot cookies. The Coconut Cake was excellent and the two raspberries in creme served on the side were just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweet. However, the Pot De Creme, while good, came with four plain dark chocolate cookies with no discernible apricot flavor at all. Not bad, just another little thing which wasn’t delivered.
After tax and tip our bill came to a whopping $150. That’s right: One Hundred and Fifty Dollars. For dinner. For two people without any alcohol. Yes, we ordered an appetizer and filet mignon but this was our most expensive meal ever reviewing. And while the food would have been fine for half that price, it just didn’t cut it for a $150 meal. I could name 10 other restaurants where we’ve spent ~$100 that would have blown CRAVE’s quality out of the water. That said, there were plenty of little things which could be improved (seriously, get fresh limes already especially when you’re serving them with two of my dishes and all of my drinks) which would bring up the quality to a point where one could forgive the extra cost due to the Mall of America rent.
My overall impression of CRAVE at the Mall of America was a resounding, “meh”. If I had been at Applebee’s and paying Applebee’s prices, this would have been a very acceptable meal. However, I was spending $150 on what could pass muster at most mall-crazy chain restaurants for a lot less. If this had been Applebee’s, I could have ignored the lack of freshness in the fruit and vegetables but my expectations jump quite a bit when you’re heading north of $100 for a meal. CRAVE has some work to do to meet its price point, however considering the hour long wait and the packed restaurant, you wouldn’t know it.
Have you ever eaten at any of CRAVE’s locations? If so what did you think? Do you find their menu a little too big and their execution a bit too sloppy for the price point? Whatever you have to say about CRAVE, go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Address:
CRAVE at MoA
368 South Avenue (3rd Fl Near Macy’s)
Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone:
952-854-5000
See all the pictures from CRAVE MoA on Flickr here.
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October 16th, 2012 at 8:14 am
Oh….I would have kept the plan to go to Saffron. Expensive, but IMHO, worth every penny. Last new year’s eve tasting menu dinner was one of the best meals of my life. Have you reviewed Saffron before? Can’t figure out how to search just your site for this. Anyone mentions it, and then I am dying to go back. Just ate there for our Anniversary in September, it did not disappoint!
October 16th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Sal,
You just enter Saffron in the search box and it would be returned if it were a post. Otherwise, it returns comments, etc, etc, where it may have been mentioned.
That said, no, we haven’t been there but I have really wanted to go for quite some time, it’s just that the menu doesn’t really appeal to The Wife and it’s not in the South Metro thus it’s not high on our list.
October 16th, 2012 at 8:32 am
I have been waiting for you to go to CRAVE for years. For once you were nicer than I would have been. Overpriced overrated food all the way.
October 16th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Next time you are at MOA with a bit of money to spend, I highly recommend Masu. Great service, great food, doesn’t feel like you are in a mall, and people eat their sushi with chopsticks as God intended. Not a total sushi restaurant either, so plenty for your wife to eat too.
October 16th, 2012 at 8:57 am
Throw this in with the restaurant names that make me barf like Enjoy, Zest and so on.
Although I enjoyed your lengthy write-up, what it all comes down to for me is that there are at least 30 restaurants I could name off the top of my head where I could get a much better, much more creative and refined meal for far less than $150 (for two) and without paying a premium for “scene” and “brand”. I’ve been part of large parties at the Edina location, and had a handful of other meals there.
Aside from the $13 bento box for lunch if I had to meet someone at the MOA for lunch, I don’t have any interest in going back to Crave (no, I won’t capitalize it).
October 16th, 2012 at 9:17 am
Crave suffers from “We don’t really have to try; just look at the line outside!”
My experiences at Crave, Bill, pretty much echoed yours: The menu is exactly the place I’d love to eat, and while the food was pretty decent, it fell way short relative to the price.
October 16th, 2012 at 10:46 am
I have stayed away from Crave (St. Louis Park) until just recently, and that one visit was only because I was getting prepped for a crown at my dentists and figured I should fortify myself with some sashimi before going under the grinder. The service was great, but, damn, those prices are way out of line for the quality and amount of food – I’ve had better sushi at Benihana’s in Maple Grove for way less $.
I’ll second that comment about the MOA Masu, despite the fact ms. punky bartender ignored me (she was chatting with the other workers, with one other customer in the joint) for a full 5 minutes before coming over to see if I wanted anything. The fish, at least, was good, but they have a severely limited happy hour menu.
In the meantime, I am enjoying my temporary stay in St. Paul and using my proximity to investigate Asian food on University Avenue.
October 16th, 2012 at 11:18 am
Crave is ok for happy hour drink and appetizers, beyond that the sushi is nothing special when there are so many really good places in the TC. Masu is better as noted by two commenters already if you are at the MOA, hell even though I have never been there I suspect Tiger Sushi is better…anyone eaten there?
Saffron, yes, a Bill R. review would be appreciated… i hve not been there since they became foodie darlings in the past 2 years.
October 16th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
One of the Sushi chefs from Ronin prepares the Sushi at the restaurant inside the Eden Prairie Lifetime Fitness. Imho she does a great job. You dont need to be a member to go in and eat.
October 16th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I concur with MSPD that the bento box lunch is a decent lunch. Otherwise, Jake and I were so underwhemed with our dinner experience, so much so, that we haven’t been to any CRAVE since. I get annoyed with places that invest more into their image than the thought put into their food. I’ve been to Tiger Sushi at the MOA and it is ok, but expensive. We also ate a surprisingly “meh” meal at the MASU in NE MPLS, though most seem to give it high remarks.
October 16th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I thought you committed typos on the dessert items, so I looked up their menu online.
No. So a big chain is misspelling common French dessert words. Huh.
October 16th, 2012 at 6:08 pm
I haven’t been to Crave, but people I know who have been there have told me the same things about it — decent enough food, just not for what it costs. I’ve looked at their menu before and have always thought, “You know, I can get this elsewhere for less money and possibly better quality to boot.”
Tiger Sushi is alright. IMO, it’s better than Osaka/Kyoto/Kami but not on the same level as the better quality Minneapolis and St. Paul places. I haven’t tried Masu yet.
October 16th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Took the staff last year for lunch at the downtown location. My recollection was similar, nearly not enough bang for the buck. No desire to go back.
October 16th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
I can’t believe what they are charging for Unagi. Origami actually charges LESS for their Unagi and people constantly bitch about their prices (they charge $3.00 for one piece, $8 for 3 pieces of sashimi, and they won’t fuck up the rice). I can’t believe what they charge for their sushi, in general. There are far too many places in the metro that serve good to excellent sushi for less. Hell, I can get an entire platter of sushi served on a pirate ship at Bagu for $35 that serves at least 3 people. Unfortunately, it seems that they can take advantage of people who don’t know any better. And there is no excuse for nigiri to come out without wasabi under the fish. Shameful. Anyway, I’ve eaten at the Crave in SLP, and I liked my steak salad. I thought it was a pretty good deal for the price, but I’m not in a hurry to go back.
October 17th, 2012 at 8:40 am
When I saw that you had gone to Crave, my first thought was, “I sure hope he didn’t go there because I canceled on Saffron.” Instead of us eating lamb brains for $6, you were paying $9 for eel and $37 for a small filet. Ouch. We need to get to Saffron…
Anyway, I am pretty sure I could have written that review for you before you even ate there, knowing your preferences for both flavor and value, neither of which fit the business plan at Crave, which is more about 1)atmosphere 2)buzz 3)service and then food somewhere towards to bottom of the list. Even the drink offerings are half-assed. It is also the only restaurant I have ever eaten at that once served Surly and now does not. To that point, I am not sure which would be worse, Surly quitting them, or Crave being stupid enough to quit serving Surly. I have always presumed that Crave quit Surly because Surly would not let them serve that product at the branch in Florida, but I really don’t have any idea.
The whole Crave concept is has rapidly become the second cousin of the D’Amico enterprise. While the D’Amico product is ridiculously redundant across all of their restaurants in regards to service and quality, I can pretty much always expect to get a great meal and great service (except for Parma which quite sucks) even though I sort of feel like a number who has been put through the process after I eat.
Crave is similar with the exception of food quality, as mentioned by many above. You just don’t feel like you get what you paid for (and this is for all Craves, not just the one at the mall where every restaurant is overpriced except for Steak Escape which is an awesome value). Service is usually pretty decent and there is always a scary selection of creepy cougar women lined up at the bar from 6:30-9:00 every night except Sunday, further proving the food is a joke.
Now they (Crave owners) are operating a pretend version of Figlio at West End, which is fucking perfect. All style and appearance, average overpriced food. As a matter of fact, if you substitute “Redstone” or “Figlio” or “Whatever they are calling the $10,000,000 restaurant Crave is opening in the old Shinder’s on Hennepin” for Crave above, you’d pretty much write the same review.
Let’s get to Saffron soon…Lamb Brains!!!
October 17th, 2012 at 9:09 am
That’s the nightly meeting of the Hooters Waitress Retirees Club. I understand the Rack struck a partnership with the Hooters corporate office and was able to offer employees a discounted associate membership in lieu of a 401K.
October 17th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Crave is boring. Not bad… Definately not great… just boring.
Maybe if they tried to have some special solid identity, then they wouldn’t be boring… but as it stands, boring boring boring.
(Oh, and stupid name… Crave… Enjoy… Zest… those names drive me away when I think they are probably supposed to bring me running. Maybe they should be honest and name these places “Mediocre” “Boring” “Disinterest” or simply “Meh!”)
October 17th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Lefty got me giggling about the Cougar comment, since they come out in spades at the West End development…the Mother Ship for the Midwest Federation of Cougars – Minnetonka Division.
October 23rd, 2012 at 11:29 am
Never been to Crave, never will.
If you reconnect with your Saffron plans, order the salted caramel trifle for desert. I’m not much of a sweets person, but that was dynamite. Also, right now they’ve got a good charred rapini with bagna cauda and crispy garlic that you’ll like if, like me, you like bitter greens. Excellent lamb and quince tagine on the autumn menu too. One more recommendation: slow cooked green beans, and the hummus turk (w/paprika butter and za’atar).
Ok, that was two recommendations. I’ll throw in recommendations for the Parisian gnocchi and roasted chicken with eggplant lovash for an uneven five.
October 24th, 2012 at 8:23 am
Wow….Constance….welcome to Lazy Lightning. Great first comments!
December 26th, 2012 at 8:20 am
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