Around the corner from the hustle and bustle of Court Street, the atmosphere of Craft is welcoming to all Restaurant Week attendees. Upon entering, my photographer, Anastasia, and I were given the choice of where we wanted to sit — outdoor patio, inside seating near the open garage door-style wall or deeper into the restaurant with a vibe more like eating at a fancy bar. We chose a nice two-person table indoors.

With an interior offering several TVs on the walls, overhead red, white and blue string lights and a couple shelves with a dozen different board games, you won’t be bored waiting for your meal. This Restaurant Week, Craft is offering a $12 lunch menu and a $20 dinner menu, with the only difference being an alcoholic beverage served with dinner or a $5 gift card for nondrinkers. We chose to go for dinner as a nice treat after class.

The dinner menu offers a Pick Two from nine different sliders, paired with a side choice of tater tots, chips, house fries or a garden salad for an additional $1.50. Following the main course is a decision between two ice cream sundaes: the Unicorn or the Cookies n Cream. For diners over 21, you can help yourself to a choice of Raiz Cabernet Sauvignon red wine, Domino Pinot Grigio white wine or the Craft All Day IPA from the Beer Tree Brew Co., which has a slightly fruity sweetness to it.

I was really excited to see that Craft included a few of their vegetarian options on this week’s menu. Right away, I knew I wanted one grilled shroom slider and one black bean slider with the side of tater tots. The sliders were small as expected, but having two was actually very filling, and that was only the first course. Anastasia ordered the Craft slider and the Blue Monday slider, also paired with the tots. We both chose the Raiz Cabernet Sauvignon to go with our meals and followed up with trying each of the two sundae options.

I’m no stranger to Craft’s black bean burger, so it’s safe to say I was practically watering at the mouth waiting for our food. The patty is made from black beans, garbanzo beans and brown rice, with a few leaves of arugula and diced avocado on top. This gives the burger a nice, soft texture, without becoming too chewy. The chipotle aioli dressing gave the slider a nice kick to it, considering bean patties don’t have much spice to them. My grilled shroom slider went well with my first slider. The patty was a grilled portobello mushroom, topped generously with grilled red onion and a few leaves of arugula, finished off with a balsamic glaze. The mushroom was very juicy but not too flavorful, so the balsamic glaze and onions really brought it all together. This slider was pretty messy, just from the juice of the mushroom, but I didn’t mind grabbing an extra napkin or two.

Anastasia claimed she was full after a handful of tater tots and her first slider, but she loved the flavor of the Craft slider so much that she wanted to try the Blue Monday, too. We knew pretty early on that we’d be leaving Craft with very full, very happy tummies, so she powered through, complimenting the sliders for being both juicy and flavorful.

Anastasia and I agreed that our red wine was a little warm, leaving a bit of a tingle in our throats — not Anastasia’s favorite, but I like my wine on the dry side, so I was happy with it. We finished the evening off with our desserts. Both sundaes were made with vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream, but the Unicorn sundae was the more aesthetically interesting of the two. With strawberry syrup and rainbow sprinkles, the whipped cream even had some red and blue food coloring swirled in, topped off with a sugar cone meant to look like a unicorn’s horn. The flavor was similar to a strawberry shortcake and reminded me of childhood summers. The Cookies n Cream sundae is a classic, topped with whipped cream, Oreo crumbles and half of an ice cream sandwich stuck into the side. Fortunately, the desserts came in disposable bowls, so we were able to bring our sundaes with us on the walk home.

Anastasia Fiiguera/Staff PhotographerUnicorn sundae and Cookies n Cream sundae
Craft was a delectable choice for my first Restaurant Week splurge of senior year, and I’m thankful for diverse options for all types of eaters. The post-ordering wait is worth it, knowing that Craft aims to create the perfect meal for each of its customers. If you’re looking for a relaxed dining experience with a comfortable yet entertaining atmosphere, then Craft is a must.