CRAVE Brings American-Fusion Cuisine to the Village of Merrick Park

(CRAVE hosted three days of soft-openings. I received an invitation to try a complimentary dinner during the restaurant's first test run. Alcohol was out of pocket. Myself and three guests were allowed to try one appetizer for the table and one entree each. Dessert was randomly selected by the kitchen.)

After over a year of anticipation, CRAVE at The Village of Merrick Park is now open. The Coral Gables location will be the Minnesota-based chain’s second Florida location (the first being in Orlando). General Manager Chipp Lewis describes the restaurant's selection as “Fusion American; twists on simple dishes.”

The idea of yet another American-fusion chain may immediately bring you to a snore, but hold the yawns and snickers for now; I’m actually going to vouch for the place, in thanks mostly to the Kogi beef tacos (which we’ll get to later on). CRAVE encompasses 9,000 square feet of indoor-outdoor space that channels a little bit of Tarpon Bend and Seasons 52, with an urban twist; industrial piping, metallic wall art and colorful custom made-hand blown chandeliers add to their “upscale but casual” feel.

The kitchen is head by Chef Eli Wollenzien and and Sushi Chef Tony Lam. Despite being a three-state chain, CRAVE puts a heavy emphasis on local ingredients and boosts over 20-gluten free options. “Our food focuses on locally driven, fresh ingredients,” explains Lewis, “there’s no microwave in here either. If we mess-up a dish, we start it over from scratch.” This attention to detail won CRAVE a Wine Spector Award of Excellence. “Only about 10% of our wines are national brands,” say Lewis, “The menu and the wine selection really offers something for everyone.”

And about those menu items; I was actually very pleasantly surprised.

Our table selected the Kogi Beef Tacos appetizer ($10.95), which is served with kimichi and salsa verde. The only problem with the three-portion serving was that we wanted more. This Korean-inspired dish was everyone’s personal favorite; it was juicy, tender and offered the perfect amount of spice. It could have easily been eaten as an individual dish.

I ordered the Roasted Half Chicken ($19.95), which was the least exciting of the three entrees that night. The chicken was moist, fell right off the bone and was impeccably seasoned. Though the tomato basil side salad was delightful, but the mashed potatoes and broccollini fell flat. After awhile it all seemed to mush together.

My guests ordered the Roasted Chicken and Penne ($16.95) and The Blackened Grouper ($26.95). The penne was mixed in a very light but flavorful sauce and carried a kick thanks its roasted red peppers, olives and feta, which features a very light but flavorful sauce. The dish carries a kick thanks to the roasted red peppers, salty olives and feta cheese. The Blackened Grouper ($26.95) also carried a rich texture and and was served with a lovely canjun-style sauce. The serving size was quite small, but the waitress informed us that a larger portion of grouper would be served once the venue officially opened.

CRAVE also offers a wide variety of custom cocktails; we tried three. The CRAVE Martini ($10) is their signature, offering a sweet, pineapple-based twist to the often straightforward martini. The Root Beer Barrel ($9) is made up of a number of ingredients - organic root liqueur, orchard cherry, Monin Vanilla, and lemon - but ends up tasting exactly like root beer, only substantially sweeter. The Ginger Pear ($11) - made of Grey Goose Le Poire, Cointreau, ginger simple syrup, and white cranberry - went down like a cold glass of water. It was incredibly refreshing, with a tang of the ginger kicking in after the subtle sweetness of the pear.

Our dessert consisted of three CRAVE Miniatures ($2.95 each); Strawberry Shortcake, Tiramisu and Salted Caramel Mousse. CRAVE carries on with the now tired shot-glass-dessert trend and was perhaps my biggest disappointed of the night. Despite being airy and perfectly portioned, the only flavor that stood out was the salted caramel mousse.

CRAVE opens at 11 a.m., offering lunch and dinner. Guests can enjoy happy our from Sunday to Friday (3 p.m. - 6 p.m.) and an addition reverse happy hour from Sunday to Wednesday (10 p.m. - 12 a.m.). For more information, visit craveamerica.com.