DinnerCrave
[rating:4]
Crave is a trendy, urban bistro located in the Main Street Neighborhood. They serve grown up comfort food created by the former executive Chef of the Four Season’s Hotel. It’s a popular little spot, which can make it really busy during dinner time. The line ups are long and can take up to an hour to be seated. But we’ve always had a good experience here, so we thought it was time to return to see if Crave was still on top of their game.
(Clockwise from left to right: 1. Beet Salad. 2. Short Rib Poutine. 3. Foie Gras Mayo.)
We arrived just before the dinner rush and the friendly wait staff seated us right away. We decided to grab some small plates to share. Tre was eyeing the short rib poutine which was hand cut parmesan truffle fries with short rib jus. For an extra $2, we added the foie gras mayo on the side (since we’ve taken up jogging again, we figured it would only be an extra couple of miles we’d have to huff and puff for). We also ordered the ahi tuna tempura roll: lightly battered sushi roll with ponzu and ginger. I normally avoid ordering sushi at non-Japanese establishments — especially after a particularly bad experience with a hideous sushi roll at Earl’s (I shudder just thinking about it). But I was curious and was hopeful this sushi roll wouldn’t be a disappointment. And to make sure we had something healthy to balance the oh-so-good, deep fried delights we were about to indulge in, we ordered roasted beet salad which consisted of goat cheese, greens and pumpkin oil dressing.
The food arrives, and everything is good — even the ahi tuna tempura roll. The lightly battered, fresh ahi tuna makes this sushi roll light and tasty, and not the potential disaster it could have been. Although tasty, don’t expect the roll to be that of a traditional sushi restaurant or else you’ll be disappointed. The short rib poutine is good: a decent portion of short rib is smothered on top of the parmesan truffle fries. The side mayo had two decent chunks of foie gras (although we were a little curious why it wasn’t actually blended with the mayo instead). The salad was delicious: light and refreshing with sweet bits of beets, thin slivers of peppers, cherry tomatoes and topped with sunflower seeds.
We were happy to see Crave on Main is still on top of their game. Not much has changed. The only downside is it can get quite hot and stuffy inside, since the space is tiny. You have the option to sit up front at the mini bar and have your meals, but it’s quite cramped. Other than that, we highly recommend it.
Perfect For: Comfort food with a modern twist including the best popcorn shrimp ever, and a lemon tart worth running the extra mile for.
The Details
3941 Main St. Vancouver
604.872.3663
craverestaurants.com
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