Crave It? offers up a 'less than' lunch, but crazy good cupcakes.

Today I stopped for lunch at Crave It? Bakery and Cafe, a little café/bakeshop tucked away in a shopping center across from Staples on Wade Hampton Blvd in Greenville.   Friends have told me about this place, where on Tuesday, you get a free cupcake with any purchase.  They had me at cupcake.

The café is nice and spacious.  The decor reminds me a little bit of a tween's room, but I'm good with that. The owner/chef/baker welcomed me as I walked in the door.  A very minimalist selection of muffins, cupcakes and other assorted baked goods tempted me in the case.  There were also three-tiered cakes spread about as displays touting the baker’s wicked cake skills.  The radio was tuned to the local Christian music station, which I am not opposed to, but it is not the norm for a lunch venue in Greenville.  I asked about Wi-Fi, but they had none.  Being that I wanted to work during lunch, I was forced to bounce back and forth between web on my cell and my laptop, so my plan to stay until school pick-up time was tossed aside for a more sensible plan to stop at Starbucks to finish my work. 

From Crave’s "new" Meat and Three menu I ordered Salmon Patties, Fried Okra (my arteries cringe) and Cranberry and Barley Salad (to pretend I'm being healthy). It took a little longer than expected to get my food considering I was the first lunch order of the day and one of only two guests at the time, but the food was steaming hot when the waitress brought it to the table. 

The Salmon Patties were really thin and crunchy, but pretty greasy.  I was hoping for at least a heighty crispy southern style patty. I don't know if the salmon was fresh or canned. I didn't ask. The okra was great.  I could eat fried okra all day long.  And the salad was cold and fresh, with tart and sweet dried cranberries. Nothing about lunch knocked my socks off.

The cupcake (shocker!) was the highlight of my meal.  I picked the French Toast Cupcake from a selection of about ten or twelve options.  It was fantastic.  The cake was dense and spiced with cinnamon and possibly a little nutmeg.  The icing was of the heavy butter variety, not whipped up with Crisco.  And the entire thing was drizzled with Maple Syrup.  Just like eating French toast.  Very nice.

I’d probably go back to meet a friend for lunch or something and try one of their wraps, but definitely not the best "meat and three" lunch in Greenville. And I could pass on the atmosphere.  I might, however, order cupcakes to go!