Krave Café & Caterers
15 East Clinton Street
Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey
(973) 383-2600

By The Artful Diner
Special to nj.com
September 11, 2006

It is exceedingly difficult not to like Krave, Rich and Kate Hashway's unpretentious but totally prepossessing little café. Located just north of Newton's quiet business district, the eatery resides in a tiny, slightly fatigued strip mall, sharing humble space with an appliance store and pizzeria. It doesn't look like much from the outside; once across the threshold, however, it is pretty much love at first sight.

The interior boasts hardwood floors, wooden shutters adorning large plate glass windows, a low ceiling with Casablanca fans, and plum and olive green walls decked out in colorful works of modern art and classic black and white photographs. And several of the tables for two occupying the narrow hallway leading to the restrooms at the rear are separated by tasteful hanging screens. There is even a diminutive bar/counter (the restaurant is BYOB), which is perfect for those who may be dining solo. Simple yet sophisticated.

I'd been gleaning excellent reports from NJ.Com's Restaurant Forum for quite some time and was looking forward to giving this place a try. And I'm happy to report that, for the most part, the eatery lives up to its positive press. The price is right, the service snappy and personable; and, while there were a few disappointments, I would gladly stop in for a return engagement.

Starters here acquit themselves quite well, and salads are at the forefront. The spinach-couscous salad ($7.00), for example, is highly recommended. Set on a bed of fresh spinach, firm yet tender Israeli couscous is embellished with dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, creamy chunks of Boursin cheese, tomatoes, and finished with a zesty lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. The baby summer greens ($6.00), on the other hand, are adorned with caramelized pecans, Mandarin oranges, goat cheese, and a very nice citrus-honey vinaigrette. And those in search of a touch of the exotic would do well to give the Asian cellophane noodles ($7.00) a try. The noodles are blended with Napa cabbage, julienne carrots, asparagus, roasted red peppers, crushed peanuts, and consummated with an enticing ginger-soy vinaigrette.

Among the other appetizers, the vegetable Napoleon ($6.00) is a good bet. Generous slices of grilled carrots, red & green peppers, zucchini, and a balsamic-marinated portobello mushroom cap are layered between tiers of puff pastry, slathered with pesto ricotta, and dotted with roasted tomato oil. Very good, indeed, My only minor grumble is that the presentation is a bit on the dry side. I also like the Mediterranean dipping trio ($7.00), which is comprised of ramekins of sun-dried tomato hummus, olive tapenade, and a smooth amalgam of feta cheese and pine nuts surrounded by an armada of crostini and flatbreads. Both the tapenade and the feta/pine nut combo are up to the mark; the hummus, on the other hand, could use a bit more flavor and substantial jolt of garlic.

If you pay a call at lunch, you will find the various sandwiches and pastas a treat. The Mediterranean chicken wrap ($7.00), for instance, comes dressed in a garlic-herb tunic and is stuffed to the gills with luscious chunks of tandoori grilled chicken, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, and sliced red onion, all luxuriating in a superb cucumber raita. But if beef is more your style, try either the Gruyére steak baguette ($8.00) -- grilled sirloin in the company of Burgundy glazed onions, sautéed wild mushrooms, Gruyére cheese, and zippy horseradish mayo on a multigrain baguette -- or the grilled chipotle burger ($8.00) with roasted red pepper mayo on ciabatta.

Pastas are also nicely done here, and fans may choose from such worthy offerings as lobster orecchiette (small, $12.00/large, $19.00), vegetarian pad Thai ($9.00/$16.00), Southwestern chicken gemelli ($8.00/$15.00), Asian ginger shrimp ($12.00/$18.00), and smoked mozzarella ravioli ($9.00/$15.00).

Lunch at Krave is a distinct pleasure. Dinner, however, isn't quite as satisfying. Service continues to be up to the mark, as do the various preludes and postludes; but the entrées (served after 4:30 p.m.) aren't all that they might be.

Portions are plenteous, particularly the accompaniments, which always tends to raise a red flag. Fish dishes in general -- and the special Cajun-grilled mahi-mahi topped with mango salsa ($24.00) in particular -- are set on a significant seabed of tasteless yellow rice and cuddled up to by an equally sizeable mound of sautéed vegetables. The vegetables themselves are obviously pristine of countenance; but, like the rice, they could use a major jolt of seasoning... ditto the fish itself, which, while supposedly rife with Cajun spices, tasted remarkably tame. And, while the filet appeared to be very nicely grilled, the interior was absolutely raw and had to be sent back to the kitchen for another go 'round. This was my wife's entrée, and the restaurant comped her dessert, which I thought was an appropriate gesture.

My Caribbean jerk pork loin ($23.00) suffered from similar difficulties. The pork was obviously of excellent quality; but it wasn't terribly flavorful, somewhat chewy of texture, and was aided and abetted not at all by the accompanying raspberry sauce. The wasabi mashed potatoes were quite good, but they were edged out of the running by that same innocuous vegetable medley.

Desserts, on the other hand, are superb. While these sweet creations exhibit an understated elegance, they also never lose sight of their comforting bistro roots. The Key lime tart ($6.00), for example, is absolutely the best representative of the genre that it has ever been my pleasure to ingest. The color, taste, and consistency are all just right, and a splash of black currant coulis makes a perfect traveling companion.

And the chocolate "silk" ($7.00) is just that: a smooth-as-silk baked chocolate pudding topped with a dollop of coffee ice cream. Decadent and delicious and, once again, the consistency is just right. And the grilled pound cake ($7.00) is no slouch either. It arrives crowned with vanilla bean ice cream and embellishment of plump ripe blueberries. But if you really want to blow the diet big time, have a go at the liquid gold chocolate rum fondue for two ($11.00) served up with more of that incredible pound cake and chunks of fresh fruit.

As I mentioned at the outset, it's difficult not to like Krave. Lunches here are top-notch and desserts are worth the price of admission. Once the entrées undergo a bit of fine-tuning, this cozy little eatery should have it all.

Cuisine: Eclectic
Hours: Mon, 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.; Tues - Thurs, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.; Fri, 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Sat, 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.; CLOSED SUNDAY
Credit Cards: AX, MC, V
Attire: Casual
Reservations: Recommended
Parking: Onsite
Alcohol: BYOB
Price: Inexpensive/Moderate
Handicapped Accessible: Yes; restrooms a few steps up

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