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Touch of the big city gives Lowcountry something to 'Crave'

Tom Spain
The Post and Courier

Crave

Big Apple DNA can be traced in Crave, the newest restaurant to occupy the former Just Fresh space near the Isle of Palms Connector in the Shoppes at Seaside.

Owners Cara and Chris Dolan have created a slick and urban-chic space by painting the walls the color of claret, running a mahogany bar 30 feet in length, topping the bar with skyscrapers of wine racks and terracing the wall space as a visual wine cellar. Looming at the edges of this energized watering hole is a curved wall that buffers the sounds to the booths beyond.

The artwork — Jackson Pollock-like — with rippling circles of jewel-like colors is mirrored by the sounds of water sculptures mounted on the walls. High-backed booths provide privacy and tables are angled for good sight-lines. The ceiling is hung with halogen lights that provide their own unique illumination to the restaurant.

The space glows at twilight and really shines at night. Somehow, in the bright of day, the colors and the austerity feel sparse and cold. Design that is spare and modern frequently needs shadows to be in its best light. That seems to be the case at Crave.

And what a name! Nothing like finding a word that as verb describes both hunger and thirst. Both will be satisfied at Crave.

Chef Landen Ganstrom (formerly at 11 Center St., Folly Beach) calls the cuisine at Crave "American fusion." It is an apt description for the cooking of our melting pot nation that has always drawn upon its immigrant populations in matters of taste.

There was a time when fusion meant more "con"-fusion at the table but in the hands of Ganstrom what can be disparate notes of culinary discordance strike a harmonic balance.

She-Crab Soup ($8) gets a jolt of chili oil to spark the flavors of crab and cream. Grilled Shrimp ($10) are skewered on sugar cane (shades of Vietnam), served with grilled pineapple (Polynesia) and glazed with a Caribbean barbecue sauce that spoke with an Asian accent. Pesto crusts a Rib Eye ($22), while macadamia, mango and chutney bed down with Mahi-Mahi ($18). Short Ribs, lacquered with a Kentucky bourbon-based barbecue sauce, share the plate with jasmine rice.

Carpaccio of beef has inspired a Carpaccio of Smoked Portobello ($8) at Crave. The mushrooms had been sliced to microscopic thinness, drizzled with a reduced balsamic glaze and served chilled with a flurry of spring greens. Earthy, tender and different. Kudos to the kitchen.

Local Grouper ($14) is prepared tempura style and gets a dose of the Southwest with smoked ancho chili cream sauce and is partnered with a side of fries.

Every dish seems to have received thoughtful attention to its composition. All managed to have an element that intrigues. Dover Sole ($22) got my attention.

All too often the microstomus pacificus is served as Dover sole. Assured by our server that this was the European variety, I ordered it. Traditional Dover sole is served tableside, prepared in a toasted butter sauce with lemon. It's filleted with all the pomp and circumstance worthy of its zip code, its skeleton removed with a flourish and the flesh plated for the diner. Crave takes a different tack — a la Francese, dipped in an egg batter and served with a beurre blanc (white butter sauce) pebbled with nonpareil capers. In a word, delicious and cleverly served with its fried skeleton serving as a visual sail. The spinach accompaniment could have been blanched a minute more, and the tobacco-colored onion strings were bitter, but the fish was a point.

Sea Scallops ($20) were girdled with bacon, seared and served on a rough mash of root vegetables. The bacon overpowered the tender sweetness of these sea jewels but the cooking was just right. The mash seemed out of season but was tasty, though its "truffle studded" element was apparent to the eye but not the tongue.

Our server was what we really crave: informed, friendly, knowledgeable of ingredients, preparations and personal preferences. Possessing a good sense of timing; checking back early in the meal (should corrections be required), checking out wine glasses for refills. And the wine was a decent pour.

Desserts struck us as out of season: pears with Gorgonzola, walnuts and cranberries say fall; tiramisu says over-done; cheesecake, not for dessert.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup lovers will find kindred flavors in Peanut Butter and Chocolate Fondue ($12) plating brownies, fresh fruit and warm peanut butter and chocolate sauces served for two; Red Velvet Cake ($6) satisfies the Southern sweet tooth. Their Panna Cotta ($7) is best served on its own gelled merits, not as a parfait drizzled with raspberry syrup.

Crave will have you desiring a second helping of its friendly staff, energized bar, creative menu, good price/value equation and imagination in the kitchen.

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