Crave on 42nd

So we rounded out the dining fest over Alisa's birthday weekend with a trip to Crave on 42nd, the recently-opened place by Dave Martin, the finalist from Season One of Top Chef known for his bold flavors and frequent bouts of sobbing. He made a black truffle mac n cheese with cognac in one episode that I recall craving myself, so when we saw it was on the menu here, we had to go. Sunday night we hopped a C train down to 42nd and quickly discovered that the $100,000 he lost to Harold, the Season One winner, might have helped Dave score a better location. After squeezing through the crowds at the Port Authority at 8th Avenue, we headed west, greeted in our travels by a rat the size of a kitten who crossed our paths near a construction site. We passed a FedEx facility, a bus depot and a crumbling economy hotel until -- just past 11th Ave., practically to the Circle Line terminal on the Hudson River -- we spotted a modern day high-rise apartment complex (more suited to suburban Virginia than Manhattan) with a few attached storefronts. Therein, we found Crave. The space was so big, the setting so mellow and far from the mobs I've grown accustomed to in NYC, I almost felt like I had left the city, the river almost visible from certain spots in the restaurant. It was Sunday, so only a few other tables were filled. We started with the mac n cheese ($15), which came out in a ramekin hot from the oven, with chopped tomato and green onion on top a beautiful bake of pasta, fontina, truffles and brandy. We both agreed it was the best we'd had, not greasy, not too gooey, but perfectly balanced. It alone was worth the trip. For entrees I got the $20 Hangar steak and fries and Alisa ordered a goat cheese, mushroom and white truffle pizza ($15). My steak was fine, unexciting but well cooked and I can't fault Crave for that, since I passed up a menu filled with interesting options (lamb marinated in cider and hoisin sauce, for example). Alisa's pizza, on the other hand, was great. She could only eat half, but I finished off the rest later after we got home. I had mentioned to the maitre'd that it was Alisa's birthday and for dessert, they appeared with a candle resting inside of a complimentary sour cream panna cotta with blood orange coulis, that was fantastic. It's nothing either of us ever would have thought to order, but it was delish. The waitstaff was as attentive as any I'd ever seen and overall, a great experience. Not highbrow or super-fancy, but satisfying, interesting and, with a $54 total check, a great value. We'll definitely be back.