Craving La Crave

Even though Henry and I are an old married couple of eight months now, I'm happy to report that the romance is still very much alive. One of the things that we have carried over from our courtin' days--which I recommend highly to you all--is Friday date night. This is a tradition that goes back to the beginning of us. Every Friday night (for the most part) Henry would take me to a restaurant of his choosing. Even now, my co-workers will ask me on Friday where we are going for dinner. Most of the time, I answer, "I don't know. Henry didn't tell me yet." And honestly, this makes things more exciting for me. And I would say that about 99 percent of the time, he has chosen something good.

We would spend our evening enjoying great food and lively conversation. Over time, we have developed our list of favorite restaurants, but we like to try new things. We're rather adventurous with our food, and it's this sense of romance and adventure that has brought us to our most recent discovery: La Crave Restaurant.

(I will pause here to apologize to my nonlocal readers. What follows is an unabashed commercial for a wonderful local restaurant. I am going to beg my local readers to try this restaurant because Henry and I love it, and we don't want it to die. And you never know--you may find yourself vacationing in Grand Rapids someday because it is, of course, a tried and true vacation hot spot. Or maybe you'll end up here on business. So read on, because if you do, you will most certainly want to visit La Crave.)

Back to La Crave. For those of you familiar with Grand Rapids geography, it is located in a strip mall on 28th Street just west of the entrance to Woodland Mall on the north side of the street. La Crave features Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine, and a visit there makes you think you've entered one of the tales of the Arabian nights. Thick, colorful tablecloths with Arabic patterns cover the tables, and the walls are decorated with paintings featuring scenes from the Middle East. You'll find yourself expecting camels, a genie in a bottle, or belly dancers to appear at your table at any moment. When we were there last Friday, Henry and I were casting our gorgeous Jordanian waitress, Ruba, in a biblical role like Ruth or maybe Esther.

But the best part is the food . For those of you unfamiliar with the cuisine of the Mediterranean, the menu features lots of fresh vegetables, chicken, beef, lamb, and rice with lots of interesting spices and lots of garlic. You'll learn a whole new food vocabulary of things like Fattuch, Tabbouli, Baba Ghanouge, Hommous, Shawarma, and Falafel. And for all of my Muslim readers (because I'm sure I have Muslim readers), the food is Halal, which means it is prepared in a way that allows Muslims to eat it (I think kind of like kosher is to Jews).

Since February, when Henry and I first discovered this magic kingdom of garlic delight, I have been there three times, and each time has been just as delicious as the last. One of my visits was with the women co-workers on my team, and most of them have been back, have sent a loved one, or are planning another visit very soon. It's that good! In the interest of small businesses everywhere, of ethnic diversity, and of the best hands-down hommous I have ever had, please go. The prices are reasonable, and they even have silliness like cheeseburgers on the menu so you can take your kids or that picky eater who is afraid to try new things.

You can visit the Website here. If you want to give it a try and there's no one courageous enough to go with you, you can contact Henry and/or me. One or both of us will be happy to accompany you to one of our favorite new restaurants. Give it a try. I promise you will not be sorry!