This week on Local Lunches we went to Crave Subs, a super cool restaurant that's popular with students from both Berkeley High School and University of California, Berkeley. It is located at 2122 Shattuck Avenue, by the corner of Shattuck and Center St. It's close to school, but is just off the beaten path so it's not as packed as some other nearby options. With tons of unique menu options, from sub sandwiches to their loaded fries, almost everything is delicious, and it's even halal. Most things they sell have some kind of superhero, comic, or just funny cartoon name or theme, like the Bart Simpson or Nate Flanders sandwiches.
The first thing we tried from here was their Spiderman Fries, which are a popular menu option. They are delicious loaded curly fries with the works, and are $11.99 for a small and $16.99 for a large. It comes with their curly fries as the base, topped with bite sized fried chicken pieces, buffalo hot sauce, pickled peppers, and a special sauce. The flavors of the sauces and peppers pair perfectly with the chicken. The fries are nice and crispy when they come out, but can get a bit soggy over time, of course.
The Patrick Star sandwich was the best thing we tried by far, a big deli-style sandwich with fried chicken and a delicious BBQ sauce to bring it all together. This is one of the best fried chicken sandwiches we both have had, and it's amazing that students can enjoy that on their lunch time. It comes with crispy fried chicken, BBQ sauce, ranch, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Crave's own special sauce. It was sweet, spicy, salty, and tangy all at the same time. The sauce is similar to BBQ sauce, but has an amazing tangy, umami, almost teriyaki vibe to it that's super unique. The chicken stayed crunchy even under all the sauce, which can sometimes be a problem with chicken sandwiches, especially with this amount of sauce. To get the perfect sandwich, it's all about ratios of ingredients, and though this can be different for everyone, we agree that this is the perfect sandwich. The ratio of chicken to lettuce to sauce and banana peppers is great in every bite. Because of how loaded and girthy it is, eating the Patrick Star can be a challenge, and it's almost impossible to not be messy. If you can get over this, it is definitely one of the most filling and tastiest lunch options near school.
Overall, Crave Subs is a super fun and flavorful lunch spot that's perfect if you're really hungry. The food portions are big, the flavors are bold, and the meals match the name. It’s a place that satisfies your cravings, no matter what you're in the mood for. We give Crave Subs an 8/10 overall rating because of the delicious food, relatively quick service, and incredible atmosphere. The only downsides are that it can get a little crowded during lunch, and the food isn’t the type you should eat daily. It's great for how close to campus it is, and how they have really mastered the sandwich here.