Cravings Market Restaurant


I’ve had my eye on Cravings Market for a while. Probably since it opened quite a few years ago. Since I was in the mood for vegetarian and hubby steak, I choose a place which could accommodate both our desires. When we left our place, it was lightly snowing. More on that later.

The restaurant has an interesting format. It’s laid out like a market with stations catering to different types of cuisine. For example, salad, stir fry main course and dessert. Each diner is issued a card. Walk up to the station, order, present the card. Servers will bring it to the table. Go right to the hostess stand to pay, no need to ask for the bill at the table. They also do take out.

I had the three salad sampler with mixed vegetables, quinoa, roasted beet and mandarin with a skewer of shrimp. Hubby had the prime rib special with roasted potatoes, carrots, zucchini, yorkies and gravy. For dessert, I had tiramisu and Rosso’s decaf. The coffee was heavenly. Hubby had chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious and freshly made. Their chefs can customize your selection and cook to order. There was enough variety for even the pickiest of eaters. Even though they don’t have a kids menu, my kids could easily eat from the regular menu. Beware though, the portions are very generous.

The service was very good. I do recommend this restaurant for special occasions. It is family friendly, so there might be an element of noise if kids are there.

We stepped out to a heavy spring snowstorm. We would learn later, that many cars had gone into the ditch on highways around town. We had about 25 cm of accumulation that didn’t melt right away. We made it home safely with careful driving.

Cravings Market Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Asian Style Spicy Coleslaw With Steak

Ah, the parade of the leftovers. Today it is leftover cabbage, from the awesome meal hubby made last week. What to do, what to do…

Asian Style Spicy Coleslaw with Steak

Adapted from originally from Food and Wine magazine via kalynskitchen.

This recipe makes 10 servings, but can be easily cut in half.

Dressing:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 T fresh lime juice
3 T Asian fish sauce
3 T water
3 T sugar
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 t Sriracha sauce

Salad:
2 pounds green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
3 medium carrots, grated
1  red pepper, thinly sliced
3 T chopped cilantro
15 mint leaves (I used about 1/4 cup chopped mint)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
salt and freshly ground pepper

Steak:
2 T soy sauce
2 T Chinese cooking wine
1 t Worchestershire sauce
2 steaks, inside round/sirloin/ribeye

Whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, water, sweetener, garlic and Sriracha. In large bowl, toss together sliced napa and red cabbage, carrots, peppers, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.  Toss all steak seasonings and meat in a dish. Cover. Marinate the steak for at least a couple of hours. Bring steak to room temperature and sear both sides.  Cook until desired doneness, but rare is best. Rest for 10 minutes. Slice and toss into salad. Toss salad with the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Serve right away. If you plan to eat some later, don’t add the dressing until just before serving.

Veggie mix
Veggie mix

Steak added
Steak added

Asian style coleslaw with steak
Asian style coleslaw with steak

Yaletown Brewing

Yaletown Brewing is a large, family friendly pub. They seem to be very accommodating with the ramps for strollers and the amount of room around the tables. With four adults and two kids in tow, they were up to the challenge. We were seated on the patio under the warmth of the heater. The umbrellas were put out when it started to rain.

We shared a tasty appetizer of South Pacific Spicy Fried Squid. I had the Salmon Nicoise salad. The salmon was done to a turn as were the vegetables. The super salty anchovies added some zing. But there was just a tad too much oil on the bottom of the plate. Good placed for a bite, especially if you are hungry.

Salmon Nicoise Wild Sockeye Salmon over cubed Yukon Gold potatoes and crisp garden green beans, hard boiled egg, Greek olives, anchovy fillets, tender tomato confit and warm vinaigrette
Salmon Nicoise
Wild Sockeye Salmon over cubed Yukon Gold potatoes and crisp garden green beans, hard boiled egg, Greek olives, anchovy fillets, tender tomato confit and warm vinaigrette

Yaletown Brewing on Urbanspoon

Green Leaf Salad Bar

I was on a search for something healthy to tide me over between lunch and dinner. Voila, I found the Green Leaf Salad Bar. This little place serves a variety of Mediterranean food. The salad bar looked fresh and tasty. I helped myself to a good sized portion of mixed greens, peas, chickpeas, pineapple, strawberries, orange, kiwi, red cabbage, beets, mixed vegetables, raspberry vinaigrette, and olive oil. The prices are good value too, $1.59/100g. Sometimes, simple is the best.

Salad, my way
Salad, my way

Green Leaf Salad Bar on Urbanspoon

Simple pleasures

My next thing might be making my own salad dressing. I do tire of the store bought variety, many I find too acidic. Raiding the fridge, I threw together, arugula, mixed greens, sliced white mushrooms, grated parmesan, bacon bits, fresh basil, EVO and salt and pepper. I had forgotten how the simplest of dressings brings out the flavor of the other ingredients. I should do this more often.