Good News/Bad News: Crave on 42nd Street

Kalina, 12/10/07

Some five weeks ago, Top Chef contestant Dave Martin went public with his new restaurant Crave on 42nd Street. Despite its undeniably remote location, the people have investigated, fueled by Dave's truffle mac 'n cheese and the afterglow of Top Chef. So how's Dave doing? Well, you know how this goes:

1) Bad News: "In general Crave is a second rate restaurant with a "groovy" celebrity chef who needs to complete his education to incorporate an understanding that the restaurant trade is part of the hospitality industry, that feeling good about the pros and staff is a critical element in success in a restaurant...Fortunately, Starwich is now accessible on Seamless Web. And it's less than a block away from Crave, offering a really, enjoyable, relaxing environment." [Eater Comments]

2) Better News: "Overall, I thought the food was tasty. It's comfort food with the signature Dave flavors -- bold, complex, layered, blah, blah. I thought that some of the food lacked a bit on execution (definitely not the panna cotta). The restaurant has major service issues though. While everybody was friendly, they definitely didn't have their stuff together as it seemed that nobody coordinated with each other, bartender and waitstaff was very unsure what their roles were, etc. Hopefully the service will improve over time. Overall, a decent experience -- hopefully their location won't be a curse." [Chowhound]

3) Somewhat Good News: "We both loved it overall. They are still in 'soft opening', which I think Dave said started only last Monday. We started with the famous Mac n' Cheese. I liked it - very rich and creamy. No, there weren't any huge chunks o' truffle, but I thought the flavors were very well balanced. The pasta wasn't actually macaroni, but a twist of some sort that I liked much better. It had a nice bite to it and stood up well to the rich sauce. We also split the Applewood Bacon Spinach Salad. It was well prepared, though a little sweet for my preferences." [Chowhound]
· Top Chef Season One's Dave Martin Opens Crave on 42nd [~E~]