There's a big of a hidden gem in the Marpole area that my parents discovered but I've been slow to try. If you live in the area, you probably know Cravings, but it's quite tucked away and barely any signs directing you towards the restaurant. Two servers and the chef actually purchased the restaurant from the original owner in September 2012. For a healthy starter, we opted for the Caesar Salad. This was a fairly classical rendition of the item, with romaine tossed in a homemade dressing and croutons. I could have used more of the Grana Pandano Parmesan and more bacon never hurt anyone. But if this was an ample portion and tasty. I added more pepper to some punch but otherwise, this was fairly good. Another Salad option was their Roasted Squash Salad which actually had two large pieces of roasted squash. The spinach was topped with some candied pecans and Feta. The dressing was really light with a bit of honey vinaigrette and some balsamic vinegar. For our appetizer, we tried their Chicken Wings with a salt and pepper crust and a bit of Hot Sauce on the side. These were not breaded which I appreciated. They were quite meaty and had a crisp exterior. The hot sauce wasn't overly spicy but had a good heat into it. We opted out of the celery and ranch but you could add it for just an extra $1. For a bit of a comfort food feel, we decided to get the Macaroni & Cheese. The addition of bacon and jalapeño gave the dish some novelty. It could have been cheesier, but I say that about everything. A bit of panko topped the dish prior to baking, giving it a good crunch. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this dish and I really enjoyed the garlicky bread that accompanied the dish. We had a child with us and the go-to is the Grilled Cheese from the Kids Menu. I liked the use of the multigrain bread, making an otherwise nutritionally weak food just a bit better. The fries were really good though. I didn't actually try the sandwich, but considering it's a fairly simple dish, I would expect that it was average. For the adult entrees, we started with a Fig & Chicken Linguine. The fig was barely noticeable, but the chicken was nice and juicy, though there could have been a bit more. The arugula was slightly wilted, after being tossed in with the hot linguine. The white wine butter sauce was really light, barely noticeable, but the goat cheese and cherry tomatoes really stood out as a result. Our third chicken dish of the night, a Chicken & Portobello Wrap. It was essentially the same as the pasta dish, but with the addition of the portobello mushrooms. The arugula was replaced with spinach, but the same goat cheese and balsamic dressing was the same. It was a light entree, which was what I wanted but it seemed a bit like cafeteria food to me. There was nothing there that elevated it. As I mentioned, we had a child with us and the default dessert is always Ice Cream, Chocolate ice cream to be exact. I thought this was a bit expensive, $5.50? And if you wanted a soy ice cream, it was $6.50! Normally, we don't order dessert for the "grownups" but we did this time, two of them in fact. The first was their Vegan Brownie, with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel sauce. This was a much better deal at $6 than that simply scoop of ice cream above. And for me, I splurged on the Lemon Meringue Pie. It was a good version of the classic, with a lemon custard (rather on the sweet side though) and a thick layer of soft meringue. I prefer my custard on the tart side, but the description on the menu did say that it was a sweet lemon curd.
Take Note:
Similar ingredients used throughout the menu
Service in the lounge (versus dining room) can be a bit of a miss
3-course menu available for $26 as well as a full Gluten Free menu
For a healthy starter, we opted for the Caesar Salad. This was a fairly classical rendition of the item, with romaine tossed in a homemade dressing and croutons. I could have used more of the Grana Pandano Parmesan and more bacon never hurt anyone. But if this was an ample portion and tasty. I added more pepper to some punch but otherwise, this was fairly good. 
Another Salad option was their Roasted Squash Salad which actually had two large pieces of roasted squash. The spinach was topped with some candied pecans and Feta. The dressing was really light with a bit of honey vinaigrette and some balsamic vinegar. 
For our appetizer, we tried their Chicken Wings with a salt and pepper crust and a bit of Hot Sauce on the side. These were not breaded which I appreciated. They were quite meaty and had a crisp exterior. The hot sauce wasn't overly spicy but had a good heat into it. We opted out of the celery and ranch but you could add it for just an extra $1. 
For a bit of a comfort food feel, we decided to get the Macaroni & Cheese. The addition of bacon and jalapeño gave the dish some novelty. It could have been cheesier, but I say that about everything. A bit of panko topped the dish prior to baking, giving it a good crunch. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this dish and I really enjoyed the garlicky bread that accompanied the dish. 
We had a child with us and the go-to is the Grilled Cheese from the Kids Menu. I liked the use of the multigrain bread, making an otherwise nutritionally weak food just a bit better. The fries were really good though. I didn't actually try the sandwich, but considering it's a fairly simple dish, I would expect that it was average. 
For the adult entrees, we started with a Fig & Chicken Linguine. The fig was barely noticeable, but the chicken was nice and juicy, though there could have been a bit more. The arugula was slightly wilted, after being tossed in with the hot linguine. The white wine butter sauce was really light, barely noticeable, but the goat cheese and cherry tomatoes really stood out as a result. 
Our third chicken dish of the night, a Chicken & Portobello Wrap. It was essentially the same as the pasta dish, but with the addition of the portobello mushrooms. The arugula was replaced with spinach, but the same goat cheese and balsamic dressing was the same. It was a light entree, which was what I wanted but it seemed a bit like cafeteria food to me. There was nothing there that elevated it. 
As I mentioned, we had a child with us and the default dessert is always Ice Cream, Chocolate ice cream to be exact. I thought this was a bit expensive, $5.50? And if you wanted a soy ice cream, it was $6.50! 
Normally, we don't order dessert for the "grownups" but we did this time, two of them in fact. The first was their Vegan Brownie, with a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel sauce. This was a much better deal at $6 than that simply scoop of ice cream above. 
And for me, I splurged on the Lemon Meringue Pie. It was a good version of the classic, with a lemon custard (rather on the sweet side though) and a thick layer of soft meringue. I prefer my custard on the tart side, but the description on the menu did say that it was a sweet lemon curd. 
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