Out to Eat: CRAVE offers delectable desserts
When I first went to CRAVE freshman year on a winter weekend with my friend Ahmad, he left with a tale about the best burger he had ever tasted.
As a faux vegetarian, I settled for a salmon dinner, which was perfectly fine as far as fishy meals go. However, the meal to remember came in the form of a $7 raspberry sorbet.
Those three scoops of pink raspberry sorbet with a sprinkle of mint leaves and an infusion of raspberry sauce came together to form one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted.
The quantity is worth the price, but I wanted more than the three sad raspberries that sat atop the scoops of sorbet.
As you work your way through the icy sweetness, contrasted by the crunch of the berries laid out on top of the scoops, the sauce at the bottom amplifies the sweet nature of the dessert. In every bite, more hints of raspberry infused within the sorbet appear, while different variations of mint seasoning make each bite unique.
The sorbet surprises the taste buds with chunks of raspberry, which contrast with the mint to create a refreshing yet sweet aftertaste.
A year after I first tried CRAVE, I returned during the worst time in my life — sophomore year. Like any depressed student, I yearned for ice cream and chocolate. The search took me back to the banks of the Big Sioux and the outdoor seating that CRAVE offers. Wicker chairs and cold marble tables sit overlooking the river.
This time, I tried the s’mores brownie and cookies and cream cake — costing $8 and $12, respectively. The brownie fulfilled my desire to drown the sorrows of fall semester in ice cream. The waiter served a classic brownie with a flower of torched marshmallow-whip on the side. The pièce de résistance was the large dollop of vanilla ice cream, which completed the dessert.
The cookies and cream cake didn’t disappoint either. The dessert was a sponge cake that filled out a large oval plate. The top was decorated in cookie crumble with a chocolate sauce drizzle that soon disappeared as my friends and I attacked the cake.
Now as a junior I returned to the familiar street underneath the Caitlin Hotel in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls. The idyllic alcove was packed with families, couples and old friends.
I prepared to finish the last dessert on my list, which was the $8 key lime pie. I expected a pie, but this dessert looked more like a cheesecake with a crown of whipped cream placed on top of it. Three slices of lime were evenly spread out under the crown of cream.
This “pie” struck the balance between having a rich, creamy center and a light crust — neither of which were overwhelming. However, they played second fiddle to the crown of the dessert: the whipped cream and the lime zest.
There are still more desserts to conquer on the menu: the tiramisu, the coconut cake and the Dubai chocolate torte. From the sorbet’s refreshing tang to the alleged pie’s crown, each dessert told its own story and appealed to separate tastes. Behind each still-unexplored dessert lies a new tale waiting to be experienced with each bite.
