Craves Cafe, San Diego
Our rating: 4.5 / 5 
December 13th, 2007
Turkey sandwich w/ hummus, peppers, bacon & and other goods
Craves Cafe is a new little sandwich shop located in Ocean Beach on the main drag, Newport Ave. Craves offers some really tasty sandwiches made with bread they bake fresh in the store. We chose to get the Vision (pressed sandwich with turkey, bacon, roasted peppers, muenster, and roasted garlic cream) and the Authority (corned beef, mustard cream, tomatoes, gruyere, red onion, and dill pickles). Both sandwiches were mega tasty and we fully recommend visiting Craves for a great sandwich or some tasty perunas if you happen to find yourself in the area.
T: I always get the same thing from this place. It’s called the… vision… I think? They have silly names for the sandwiches, but they are good.
A: i think their silly names are supposed to work cleverly with the name of the restaurant. They have quotes up like “I CRAVE vision” and “I CRAVE courage”…. i don’t mind the silly names personally, but it does take a while to browse the menu!
T: well, I’ve got perfectly good vision, and at least a little bit of courage. What I crave is a turkey sandwich with hummus, cheese, roasted peppers, and bacon which is then pressed and wrapped into a nice little package.
A: and that’s precisely what you get!… every time! 
it is a great sandwich. It’s nice that they are willing to press any of the sandwiches on the menu if you ask them to. hot sandwiches with gooey, melty cheese are soooo far superior to a cold sandwich. one thing i think we should mention about craves is that they bake all of their bread in house (i think), and it’s really good bread! also, all of there “spreads” are different flavored hummuses so you get lots of flavor and not all the fat of mayo and the likes there of.
T: The hummus is one of my favorite parts of their sandwiches. This place is really good. If you’re in the San Diego area, this place is fully recommended by us.
A: if you want a sandwich! that’s pretty much all they’ve got…other than meatballs, and some nice cheeses, and some really tasty perunas.
T: yeah, the perunas (aka tasty roasted potatoes) are definitely worth mentioning. When you order a sandwich you can either get a side of perunas or a side of pastiche (aka cous cous salad). While the pastiches look good, they don’t have the most flavor in the world.
Perunas (aka roasted potatoes)
A: and by that you mean NO flavor, right? they are seriously pretty damn tasteless.
T: fortunately the perunas are really tasty, so you don’t really have to worry about the pastiche too much. So… I’m going to go ahead and rate Craves a 4.69/5. They make some DAMN TASTY SANDWICHES. Some of the best sandwiches I’ve had. You, Mandy?
A: mmm… i don’t know of any mandies. no mandies here. but amanda will give a rating. (i think it’s kind of creepy talking about myself in the third person, so i’m going to stop.) anywho, i think your rating is a wee bit high…. a 4.69 is reserved for really good shit in my book. craves is good. quite good, in fact. but they are a sandwich shop, and while sandwiches rock, they aren’t the best thing ever (imo). i give craves a 4.22/5. i would love to see this place stick around for a while (it just opened last summer), but i fear that they aren’t getting enough foot traffic! if you live in san diego, are in ocean beach and want a sandwich, PLEASE eat at craves! don’t go to submarina or subway (yuck)! anything else to mention t?
T: Nope, that’s pretty much it. Good sandwiches. That’s really the main thing to say. If this were a powerpoint presentation I would have one slide, and it would totally slide in with some sound effects, and it would say: Craves = good sandwiches. And I would stand there feeling nervous. I hate giving presentations.
A: thank god that’s not happening!
December 13th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
ohman! now thats a sandwich! wow i wish i could materialize that vision rght here on my desk!
December 15th, 2007 at 1:15 am
What are the creams they put on their sandwiches? Are they mayonnaises, or flavored reduced creams? How is their baquette? If they bake their own they can’t be too bad, better than hoagie rolls from a grocery store.
December 16th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
aria, food blogs should come with a warning: caution - do not view while stuck at work with no good food in sight.
i eat the same damn nasty ham sandwich on wheat everyday and looking at food blogs just kills me!
bobby, the “creams” as they call them are really just hummuses. i’m doubtful that they have any actual cream in them. they are pretty tasty though. their baguette is actually quite good. really crusty on the outside and nice and chewy on the inside. the bread they use for their paninis is more like a rosemary frocaccia. they also have a really good wheaty grainy bread. and yes. there is no doubt it is better than a hoagie roll from the store or sysco.
what kind of food are you cooking these days at the new job?
December 20th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
my aunt and uncle own this resturaunt!!!
December 20th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
nathan, tell them that we love it and hope they make it! we live in ob and visit them pretty regularly… when we eat out…
January 5th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Nathan…….. what are you doing on this website…snowed in?
April 28th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I beg to differ that Craves is only a sandwich spot! I greatly enjoyed a lavash with goat cheese, gyros, red onion and tomatoes. Scrumptious! And, enough for 2 or 3. I also had a red pepper, gorgonzola soup that was to die for. I was also impressed with the wine selection and the european beers. I saw several salads I’d like to try and I have to taste the lobster bisque! What I was most impressed with was the quality and freshness of the food.