Chef-owners Debbie and her husband Marco lavish their well-honed culinary skills with a no-nonsense approach that focuses on flavors, combinations and presentation. This is not a place to visit to see and be seen, packed away as it is among the handsome Carrol Gadens brownstones. It's a destination that, as the Michelin Red Guide says to identify the best eateries, ""merits the voyage."" Unless you live in Carrol Gardens, of course. \r
Imaginative dishes, individually prepared, focused on taste and disdainful of frou-frou ""pairings"" are the thing here. Debbie and Marco's gastro-experimentation works: Japanese black sweet potato with a reduction of apple sauce and slivers of Chinese sausage... a cloud-light combination of Brie, caramelized onions and feather-light pastry... sushi-grade tuna, seared on the outside and running from pink to burgundy at its core and deftly seasoned to tantalize the palate, not overwhelm it... wild salmon sweetened with oranges... \r
Perhaps this is the secret of Crave's success: the food, beautifully presented, features an almost-perfect balance of seasonings --from the usual to the exotic via the unexpected. Go for great culinary accomplishments.
Pros: Imaginative quality dishes, wines and beers. Warm service.
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