Appetizers:

• Crab Stuffed Shrimp (lunch/dinner)
• Grilled Artichoke (lunch/dinner)
• Scallop Crudo (lunch/dinner)

 Soups/Salads:

• Beef & Beet Salad (lunch/dinner)
• Caprese Salad (lunch/dinner)
• Grilled Chicken Caprese Salad (lunch)
• Grilled Shrimp & Fruit Salad (lunch)
• BBQ Chicken Salad (lunch)

Tacos:

• Pork Carnitias Tacos (lunch)
• Mojo Chicken Tacos (lunch)

Pizza/Flatbread:

• Spicy Asian Chicken Flatbread (lunch/dinner)

Entrees:

• Grilled Halibut with Cilantro Pesto (dinner)
• Grilled Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa (lunch/dinner)
• Spice Rubbed Chicken (lunch/dinner)

Desserts:

• Fruit Tart (lunch/dinner)
• Berry’s Crème Mini (lunch/dinner)
• Key Lime Mini (lunch/dinner)

Happy Hour:

• HH Sweet Potato Tots & Shoestrings
• HH Grilled Artichoke
• HH Mini Scallop Crudo

Also, be sure to keep your eye out for some changes in our regular menu items! Below are just a few examples: 

• Edamame Cream Cheese Wontons – Serving 8 instead of 7, with a more flavordul filling with the addition of pickled ginger and sriracha.
• Ceaser Salad – Romaine is no longer grilled. New is chopped and tossed in the traditional fashion.
• Turkey BLT – No longer served on whole-wheat toast. Now served on a Telera roll with lettuce, tomoato, mayo, and thick cut bacon.
• Chicken Stir Fry – Now served with soba noodles, not rice cakes.

We have also eliminated some items from the Fall Menu to incorporate new seasonal items we know you’ll enjoy! So whether you’re taking a break from shopping at Galleria or Mall of America, before a show Downtown, or after a movie at the West End Theater, we look forward to hearing your feedback about our Spring Menu!

- Yana

The new Spring Menu will launch in Minnesota on May 29th, and in Coral Gables, Orlando, Omaha, and Cincinnati on June 5th! Check back  to the blog for more details and information on the upcoming new menu items!

- Yana

We kicked off the month by co-hosting a private VIP reception at White House Black Market with Emmy-award winning journalist Maria Celeste Arraras.The private brunch was for Maria Celeste and VIP clients of the clothing boutique. Our stellar chef prepared delicate bites for the event, including our Lobster Ravioli and a Shrimp and Cucumber hor d’oeuvres. The reception welcomed about 50 ladies for a meet and greet and photo-op with the Al Rojo Vivo host. The women gushed about the newest collection from White House Black Market and the variety of delicious nibbles that made the evening complete! 

Following that event, CRAVE hosted the Rotary Club of Coral Gables for an intimate fundraising dinner. CRAVE was happy to provide the four-course dinner with wine pairings from our award-winning wine collection. In between each course, one of our managers would explain a little about the wine the guests were about to savor. The Rotary Club of Coral Gables was so delighted with the event that they’ve signed on as our CRAVE Cares partner for June!

CRAVE was also the sponsor for another private VIP event with our friends over at local boutique Koko & Palenki!The Rolando Santana Trunk Show was held at the boutique, which is located across the veranda from CRAVE’s beautiful outdoor patio. We provided a variety of our crostini’s: salmon, prosciutto, and a vegetarian option. The evening was filled with ladies mingling, nibbling, and purchasing some of the designers famed skin-tight gowns!

CRAVE also visited Gulliver Prep for the Alumni fundraiser, where we provided our Curried Mahi with sauteed spinach over a bed of rice. The dish was a BANG with guests coming back for more all throughout the 3 hour event.

Additionally, CRAVE was a sponsor at the 2555 Ponce De Leon office building luncheon. CRAVE was met with praise from the officers and partners of some of the largests companies in Coral Gables, from Telemundo/NBC, Ole Communications, Hinshaw Law, and many more!

The CRAVE Coral Gables team also welcomed a new team member, Michelle Sabel, who joined our team as our new Group Sales Manager!

Next time you visit CRAVE Restaurant in Coral Gables, remember to sign up for our Loyalty Program so you can enjoy perks and hidden surprises each time you visit!

Until next time Coral Gables CRAVEr’s! 

- Jeff

• Follow us on Instagram @CRAVEamerica – yes we follow back.
• Take a picture at any of our 8 CRAVE locations or the CRAVE Cafe & Deli.
• Use the hashtag #CRAVEamerica in your photo.
• Monthly contests: Each month the best photo will receive a $50 CRAVE Gift Card!
• Keep an eye as we post our “Instagram Pic(k) of the Week” on Facebook so you can enjoy the photo props and brag to your friends!

We can’t wait to view photos of our delicious drinks, appetizers, entrees, sushi, and desserts with your creative photographic touch!

- Yana

Word Play, a fairly new organization in the city, is dedicated to helping children find their voice through literacy and creative expression while developing the skills, knowledge, and character necessary for them to succeed. It’s a phenomenal organization, and I was very excited to be able to do my part in raising awareness and funds for this cause.

The most memorable moments from yesterday’s race was the moment of silence and bag pipes which were played in honor of those who were lost in last month’s Boston Marathon. While listening, I looked up and there was the most beautiful rainbow over the start line- it was pretty amazing, to say the least! Another memorable moment was “running into” Katie Moroski, who is a Word Play supporter and was also there to run for the cause. We exchanged words of encouragement and continued on our way up the last hill of the race. What a fun experience, and a BIG congratulations to all the other participants on finishing a fantastic run!

- Emily

This competition will feature some of the best flair bartenders in the world! The event will take place May 6^th and 7^th at Rednecks bar in Omaha. There will be competitions for all skill levels. The Zero Gravity Flair Bartending Championship 2013 will once again be the largest bartending competition in the Midwest.

Vince says he got his interest and start in flair bartending from his roommates who competed in competitions. Ever since then he has kept perfecting his skills. Good Luck Vince!

Can’t make it the competition? Not a problem! You can see Vince perform his tricks right here at CRAVE Restaurant in Omaha! We offer an extensive signature drink and wine menu including: martinis, crafted cocktails, CRAVE creations, classic drinks, sake, fresh sparkling sodas and much more!

If you are a wine lover, Wednesday nights are the perfect nights to come out for a drink! Our Uncorked Wednesdays feature ½ price bottles and $5 dollar select glasses! However, you don’t have to wait until Wednesdays to get a great drink! Our Happy Hour also features $5 drink specials on a number of drinks including martinis, wines, and cocktails. Also, don’t forget our ½ Price Apps and Taps right now where you can grab a delicious appetizer such as our Crispy Chicken Sliders that are the perfect complement to any drink!

Happy Hour Times: Monday-Friday 3-6pm, Monday-Saturday 9-Close, Sunday 8pm-Close.

Until next time, CRAVEr’s!

- Amy

With summer just around the corner (I know, spring is barely even here yet), CRAVE’s Culinary Team is already hard at work crafting your new favorite dishes for our Summer Menu! So, we thought we’d give you a behind-the-scenes look at one of our tastings.

The process can usually last a few weeks, even months, to find the right ingredients and create a good balance between dishes that are sweet and savory, light and hearty, and traditional and modern. In order to do this, CRAVE’s Corporate Executive Chef, Bill King, relies heavily on the changing seasons to influence his new dishes. Seasonality influences which products offer the best flavors while allowing us to provide them at a reasonable price, especially when trying to source them from local farms and suppliers.

Spoiler Alert: Keep your eyes peeled for more fresh fish, like Halibut and Sea Bass, and dishes featuring sweet fruits like mango and pineapple.

Menu Tastings: Not the glamorous occasion you may have seen on TV. There’s no pageantry or fancy presentation, just our talented chefs doing what they do best, and it begins with Chef Bill King preparing the newest dishes.

Since our Summer Menu is almost finalized, we were able to shoot all of the dishes for inclusion in our “Cookbook” (not for sale at this time), which will be provided to all of our chefs with details about how each dish should be prepared, plated, and presented.

Once we have that, the vultures descend! Typically, members of our operations, management, and marketing team are present to provide their feedback on the dish, give our culinary team an “outsider’s perspective”, and to discuss how the dish will be listed on our menu and in marketing materials.

We look forward to the new summer menu and can’t wait to share more details with all you CRAVEr’s!

The group arrived by mini-bus and was greeted by CRAVE’s Executive Chef, Bill King. They were escorted into one of the private dining rooms where Chef Bill gave everyone an overview of what goes on at CRAVE.

From there, the kids toured the prep area, kitchen, freezers, refrigeration, met the cooks, and viewed the sushi bar. Chef Bill shared with the students what it means to be a chef and the amount of worked that is involved. Many of the students, who themselves have worked in the commercial kitchen at Kids Cafe, got excited about possibly choosing culinary arts as a field of study. The Kids Cafe is a nutrition and self-esteem program for high risk and homeless youth living in St. Louis Park.

The students were able to ask Chef Bill questions and wanted to know everything from what is the hardest part about being a chef to what he cooks at home!  After the Q and A, the kiddos ordered a variety of menu items to sample; pizza, hamburgers, and tacos were the big sellers.

After lunch, the group returned to the sushi bar and watched as the chefs prepared a scrumptious dessert sushi called Quingio: Fruit maki consisting of soy paper, apple, mango, grapes, cream cheese, topped with strawberries and coconut, finished with blueberry sauce. Students also got to enjoy a table full of CRAVE’s signature desserts back in the private dining room.

It was an informative, engaging, and delicious afternoon for the kids and we had a great time hosting them. For more photos of the field trip, visit their Facebook Album HERE! Perspectives is our CRAVE Cares partner for the month of May, and we are looking forward to our continued partnership. Dine off our Chef’s Seasonal Menu and a portion of the proceeds will go toward this wonderful organization!

Rusty (photographed above) likes to come to our patio after his walk. Not only are we pet friendly, but also animal friendly with the ducks waddling onto our patio every day!

While you and your four legged friend enjoy the weather, don’t forget to take advantage of our specials on food and drinks!  What could be better than enjoying tasty food and hand crafted cocktails with your friends and pets at CRAVE? Enjoying the same food and cocktails for HALF PRICE!

Join us for half price appetizers and drinks every day for Happy Hour at CRAVE. Monday-Friday from 3-7pm and Sunday-Wednesday from 10pm-Close.