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

The Block Kitchen and Lounge

Looking for dinner one night, hubby, MIL and I went to The Block Kitchen and Lounge. It’s located on a section of 4th St. NW somewhat known for its turnover in restaurants. I would say it has the potential to become a nice neighborhood restaurant. We went early on a Sunday night, as expected the place was just about empty.

We ordered appetizers to share. The charcuterie was tasty. There were homemade bread and butter pickles and lap cheung. It also came with date jam,  honeycomb,  grainy mustard, cured meat and bread. We also had the sweet potato perogies. They tasted hearty and delicious.

I had the lobster pot pie which stayed steaming hot throughout my meal. Hubby enjoyed his steak and hubby’s mum, her burger.

Dessert was lovely. I had a rich butterscotch pie and Hubby the s’ mores crème brulee.

The service was a bit slow to start, but we mentioned we were in a hurry as we had a sitter at home. Our serv was appropriately quickened. Our server was nice and friendly.

Menu
Menu

THE “BLOCK” CHARCUTERIE cured meats, artisanal cheeses, pickled vegetables (for two)
THE “BLOCK” CHARCUTERIE
cured meats, artisanal cheeses, pickled vegetables (for two)

SWEET POTATO PEROGIES double smoked bacon, crème fraiche, fried sage, brown butter, gruyère
SWEET POTATO PEROGIES
double smoked bacon, crème fraiche, fried sage, brown butter, gruyère

LOBSTER POT PIE poached lobster, atlantic cod, peas, shellfish gravy, house salad
LOBSTER POT PIE
poached lobster, atlantic cod, peas, shellfish gravy, house salad

BUTTERSCOTCH PIE toffee crumble
BUTTERSCOTCH PIE
toffee crumble

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Briggs Kitchen and Bar

My father-in-law was visiting and we wanted to go to a nice restaurant. We rolled the Urbanspoon dice and Briggs Kitchen and Bar came out on top. It’s located in the old Cannery Row space, which has a nice aged, warehouse look complete with exposed brick and wood. I liked the atmosphere. But, how was the food? With chefs like Xavier Lacaze of Top Chef Canada fame, it should be good.

The menu layout, we found a bit confusing, as the appetizers were in the sharing plates section. Some dishes did not come with sides, and the sides were bundled with the sharing plates. No matter, we decided to order the calamari as an appetizer. It was crispy fried served with a side of thousand island like dressing.

Crispy Humbolt Calamari fennel, tomato aioli, lemon
Crispy Humbolt Calamari
fennel, tomato aioli, lemon

Hubby had the roasted chicken. He really enjoyed it. I snuck  in some of his fries and they were crispy and fried to a turn. Father-in-law ordered the 6oz AAA top sirloin and he thought it was quite good. Since he is not from Alberta, he is getting his fill of our fine Alberta beef at every opportunity.

Grilled Half Chicken  house slaw, kennebec fries
Grilled Half Chicken
house slaw, kennebec fries

I was totally famished from my run an hour earlier, so I decided to replenish with carbs. The lobster ravioli was delish. The only complaint was that the sauce was a perhaps a little too heavy on the butter, but on this day I really didn’t mind. I could have eaten two orders of the green beans, they were so good. It helps that I love garlic.

House Filled Lobster Ravioli lemon zest, lobster butter, sweet peas French Green Beans garlic sesame sauce
House Filled Lobster Ravioli
lemon zest, lobster butter, sweet peas
French Green Beans
garlic sesame sauce

We went to town on dessert. We ordered all three of their desserts. The MLF stands for mille feuille. The wafers were a nice crisp contrast to the creamy coffee custard and the crunch of the caramel coffee. This was my favorite so far.

Winter MLF  coffee cream, caramel toffee
Winter MLF
coffee cream, caramel toffee

The chocolate pot had a texture of a lava cake. Crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle. Pure heaven for chocolate lovers.

Chocolate Pot pecan brittle, vanilla ice cream
Chocolate Pot
pecan brittle, vanilla ice cream

Then I tried the lemon pie. I liked this as just as well as the mille feuille. It was a nice finish to the meal, as the clean citrus flavours cleaned up my palate after the attack of the rich chocolate and coffee.

Lemon Pie meringue, lemon ice cream
Lemon Pie
meringue, lemon ice cream

The service was good; the servers didn’t miss a beat and were very friendly. This is a place that I could come back to.

Briggs Kitchen and Bar on Urbanspoon

Briggs Kitchen and Bar

My father-in-law was visiting and we wanted to go to a nice restaurant. We rolled the Urbanspoon dice and Briggs Kitchen and Bar came out on top. It’s located in the old Cannery Row space, which has a nice aged, warehouse look complete with exposed brick and wood. I liked the atmosphere. But, how was the food? With chefs like Xavier Lacaze of Top Chef Canada fame, it should be good.

The menu layout, we found a bit confusing, as the appetizers were in the sharing plates section. Some dishes did not come with sides, and the sides were bundled with the sharing plates. No matter, we decided to order the calamari as an appetizer. It was crispy fried served with a side of thousand island like dressing.

Crispy Humbolt Calamari fennel, tomato aioli, lemon
Crispy Humbolt Calamari
fennel, tomato aioli, lemon

Hubby had the roasted chicken. He really enjoyed it. I snuck  in some of his fries and they were crispy and fried to a turn. Father-in-law ordered the 6oz AAA top sirloin and he thought it was quite good. Since he is not from Alberta, he is getting his fill of our fine Alberta beef at every opportunity.

Grilled Half Chicken  house slaw, kennebec fries
Grilled Half Chicken
house slaw, kennebec fries

I was totally famished from my run an hour earlier, so I decided to replenish with carbs. The lobster ravioli was delish. The only complaint was that the sauce was a perhaps a little too heavy on the butter, but on this day I really didn’t mind. I could have eaten two orders of the green beans, they were so good. It helps that I love garlic.

House Filled Lobster Ravioli lemon zest, lobster butter, sweet peas French Green Beans garlic sesame sauce
House Filled Lobster Ravioli
lemon zest, lobster butter, sweet peas
French Green Beans
garlic sesame sauce

We went to town on dessert. We ordered all three of their desserts. The MLF stands for mille feuille. The wafers were a nice crisp contrast to the creamy coffee custard and the crunch of the caramel coffee. This was my favorite so far.

Winter MLF  coffee cream, caramel toffee
Winter MLF
coffee cream, caramel toffee

The chocolate pot had a texture of a lava cake. Crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle. Pure heaven for chocolate lovers.

Chocolate Pot pecan brittle, vanilla ice cream
Chocolate Pot
pecan brittle, vanilla ice cream

Then I tried the lemon pie. I liked this as just as well as the mille feuille. It was a nice finish to the meal, as the clean citrus flavours cleaned up my palate after the attack of the rich chocolate and coffee.

Lemon Pie meringue, lemon ice cream
Lemon Pie
meringue, lemon ice cream

The service was good; the servers didn’t miss a beat and were very friendly. This is a place that I could come back to.

Briggs Kitchen and Bar on Urbanspoon