Crave

Growing up in the Chicago area in the 1960s and 1970s, every suburb had its “coffee shop”—places with big menus, casual just-past-diner atmosphere, fast service, and modest prices. They all opened for breakfast and lunch, some stayed lit for dinner. They were almost exclusively owned by Greeks.

Today coffee shop means Starbucks, diner means Mickey’s, and upscale casual means TGIFriday’s. But when I dine at Crave in the Galleria, what comes to mind is those coffee shops.

Our tastes have upscaled in four decades. We expect fireplaces, real stone, floor to ceiling windows, and sushi. But fundamentally, Crave is an Edina coffee shop, circa 2008. It serves everything—wood-oven pizza, salads, pasta, sandwiches, ahi tuna, Middle Eastern spreads, and sushi. No restaurant in its right mind would cross so many culinary boundaries, except those coffee shops of old. Meats are natural and free-range, produce and dairy is organic, and Crave buys local when possible. Kaching.

When we set out to review Crave a year ago, Peter Lilienthal did not like it enough to recommend it, so we passed. And I agree with him to the extent that I would not recommend anyone cross town to eat at Crave. Nor would anyone drive from Evanston to Morton Grove to eat at its coffee shop in 1972.

Crave is a near-perfect restaurant for the Galleria—it has food designed for affluent, aware, food-focused diners who are looking for anything from a quick spicy tuna roll between Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn Kids to a multi-course meal for empty nesters living in nearby condos.

Is the food noteworthy, destination-status? No. But nor is it desultory or regrettable. The signature pesto shrimp appetizer was really just pistachio pesto on a slightly undercooked shrimp over crostini. Why it’s the most popular app, I don’t get. Grilled hanger steak was flavorful with char, though cooked a little past ordered, the peppery mushroom sauce a nice complement. A pleasingly pink pork tenderloin came with bacony chard and a wonderful potato and gorgonzola gratin.

Thin-crust pizzas looked very appetizing and I hear the sushi is credible. Service was prompt and capable; the room is busy and on the loud side, but not annoyingly so.

Though the foodies sneer when Crave comes up, they’re missing the point. It’s trying to be a clubhouse for Edina shoppers, and that it does very well, indeed. To hang a place up for not being Alma when it isn’t even trying is not fair in the least.