The Crave restaurant just opened and disappointing

[schwarz]

We tried the Crave as they opened today for lunch. Two Chicago dogs were good but tater tots and fries were very disappointing. Firstly, they are dumped on your tray, no wrapping or container. Sadly, both were warm but far from hot. Apparently there is no deep fryer there, so they are oven baked only, then dumped in a tray under a heat lamp until needed. Fries and tots will never be served hot that way. Buns ok, but not great. Also a 3% fee to use a credit card we noticed after looking at our bill.
They advertise axe throwing but definitely not free at $15 for 30 minutes or $30 per hour. We wish them luck but will not return. Still hoping for Portillos to come to Lady Lake as was planned. Ate at their Clermont location recently and they were excellent.

[kkingston57]

We tried the Crave as they opened today for lunch. Two Chicago dogs were good but tater tots and fries were very disappointing. Firstly, they are dumped on your tray, no wrapping or container. Sadly, both were warm but far from hot. Apparently there is no deep fryer there, so they are oven baked only, then dumped in a tray under a heat lamp until needed. Fries and tots will never be served hot that way. Buns ok, but not great. Also a 3% fee to use a credit card we noticed after looking at our bill.
They advertise axe throwing but definitely not free at $15 for 30 minutes or $30 per hour. We wish them luck but will not return. Still hoping for Portillos to come to Lady Lake as was planned. Ate at their Clermont location recently and they were excellent.

Can't figure out what would be the allure to go ax throwing and have a hot dog. Can toss a hot dog in the microwave and it takes me less than a minute to do it,

[buzzy]

Can't figure out what would be the allure to go ax throwing and have a hot dog. Can toss a hot dog in the microwave and it takes me less than a minute to do it,

But who keeps all those creative toppings at home?

[Stu from NYC]

Can we bring our own his and her ax? Asking for a friend

[fdpaq0580]

Can we bring our own his and her ax? Asking for a friend

DW and I take our axes everywhere. Let you friend know.
😃😁

[Pairadocs]

We tried the Crave as they opened today for lunch. Two Chicago dogs were good but tater tots and fries were very disappointing. Firstly, they are dumped on your tray, no wrapping or container. Sadly, both were warm but far from hot. Apparently there is no deep fryer there, so they are oven baked only, then dumped in a tray under a heat lamp until needed. Fries and tots will never be served hot that way. Buns ok, but not great. Also a 3% fee to use a credit card we noticed after looking at our bill.
They advertise axe throwing but definitely not free at $15 for 30 minutes or $30 per hour. We wish them luck but will not return. Still hoping for Portillos to come to Lady Lake as was planned. Ate at their Clermont location recently and they were excellent.

Thanks for the review. I too was so anxious to have Portillo's close, but ate at the one in Clermont recently and oh my, this was nothing like the Portillo's that was our go to eat in and take out in downtown Chicago, not even close ! Even the famous chocolate cake, to us, now tastes like box mix cake, not butter based, not from delicate cake flour. But, food, especially restaurant food, is such a subjective thing (just ask on here were one can get the best pizza), so I am happy to hear you enjoyed Portillo's. When we tried it they didn't even have their legendary pastas on the menu, and the dogs were not those once served. I do hope they do well here, just hard to accept what they've become since Dick went the franchising direction.

[Stu from NYC]

DW and I take our axes everywhere. Let you friend know.
😃😁

He and her are so excited:BigApplause::BigApplause:

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I liked my chili cheese dog. It wasn't what I was expecting - I thought these would be grilled dogs, not steamed/boiled/however they do it. It was a good size dog too, and the combination of flavors were good. Next time though I think I'd ask for chopped onion in addition to the chili and cheese.

For under $10 it was a decent meal. Definitely better and more filling than a 1.5-oz fishwich and medium fry at McDonald's for almost the same price.

[retiredguy123]

I ate there today. I don't see how they can stay in business. $23 for a plain hot dog, BBQ sandwich, and one draft beer. Stale bread, steamed hot dog, and a draft beer was $7. No table service. Too expensive and the food was not good.