Crazy Bowls and Wraps

 Needing a casual place to grab some quality food with quick service, we decided to try the Crazy Bowls and Wraps restaurant located in Creve Coeur, Missouri. This restaurant has recently made a fabulous transition with the quality of their food and we were pleasantly surprised with this local chain’s efforts to provide good quality food. It had been a few years since I had been to this restaurant and the positive changes they made definitely reflect the growing demand for more natural foods. It is nice to know we have somewhere right near our house to grab some fresh and organic food and we are definitely now fans of this locally owned Crazy Bowls and Wraps restaurant! (Hannah)

Overall Rating ★★★

Food ★★★

The Crazy Bowls and Wraps menu consists of bowls, wraps, salads, soups, and grillers with a couple sides, drinks, and dessert options. Their menu serves well for both vegan and vegetarian customers as well as meat eaters.  We decided to go for the bowls and ended up ordering the stir-fry veggie bowl and then also created our own bowl.

The stir-fry veggie bowl is one of the vegan options and consisted of mostly quinoa, and a good amount of vegetables on top which consisted of broccoli, red pepper, edamame, cabbage, kale, carrots, and zucchini. We chose the organic gluten free garlic ginger sauce.  I thought the sauce added a nice flavor to the meal but Michelle was not a fan of it. Much of their food is not seasoned so the majority of flavor comes from  the sauces. So it is a good idea to ask to get a couple sauces on the side to see which one you like. Over all I thought this bowl had a good mix of veggies and had a nice flavor.

With the Create Your Own Bowl option you get to choose a vegetable, grain, protein, and sauce.  For our bowl we went with steamed vegetables, organic quinoa, wild salmon, and thai peanut sauce. Other grain options were rice or noodles and the proteins had meat options as well as beans and tofu.  The salmon tasted very fresh and was cooked well and the thai peanut sauce was a hit! 

They had a normal soda machine there, as well as some organic iced tea that you can make on your own. I mixed the green and hibiscus tea together and added lime juice with mint leaves for a nice taste. Most restaurants do not offer stevia as a sweetener option and so we always bring our own packets, but this place does provide stevia in the raw packets.

They also have a nice small bar of complementary sides such as humus, salsa, and buffalo dip that you can add to any meal. Some entrees come with chips on the side which is probably what most of these toppings are used for, but I am sure they would be great on a wrap or salad as well.

Tried and True Favorites:

• Stir Fry Bowl with Thai
• Basil Pesto Bowl
• Organic Iced Tea

 

 

 

 

 

Quality ★★

Although not all of their food is organic they have organic and GMO free options for their grains, vegetables, proteins, sauces, and drinks.  They also have vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free choices which makes for an extremely accommodating menu. Their grain consist of jasmine rice, brown rice, whole wheat noodles and organic quinoa so we will most likely always go for the organic quinoa. 

We were later told that they are transitioning into having more organic options including their edamame and other veggies. It is a good idea to check with the restaurant closest to you and see what they get organic!

For their protein the beef is grass fed, salmon is all wild caught, tofu is GMO free, falafel is sprouted, and chicken breast is hormone free. They also offer mixed beans as a protein choice that is vegan.  The all organic option for the vegetables is the kale and spinach and the garlic ginger sauce is the one all organic sauce choice. 

All of the proteins are much higher quality than most restaurants and we got a good size piece of salmon with our bowl. It is hard to find wild caught salmon out and I will no longer eat fish from most restaurants if they do not know its source or how the fish is raised.  I would say this is a great place to get meat out and have a balanced meal.

We were also told that virgin olive oil is always used and she believes sunflower oil is used for the few menu items that are fried.

As stated earlier, the tea is all organic and they have stevia as a sweetener option which is always preferable over Splenda or Sweet and Low.  Although this restaurant is not all organic, they have made a lot of effort to provide healthier options and their quality definitely outshines most other restaurants. ( Hannah )

Atmosphere ★★★

The atmosphere was uplifting with brightly painted walls and décor.  It is definitely a modern style restaurant and everything in the interior looks well maintained.  The restaurant was all very clean and the tables had all been cleaned off from previous costumers.  It is a casual dining place so there was nothing too fancy about the design, but it was definitely nicer than some of the other restaurants we have tried.

 

 

 

 

 

Service ★★★★★

Crazy Bowls and Wraps is not a restaurant where you sit down and are waited on.  Rather, when you walk in you order at the front and then your food is brought to your table when it is ready.  Then when you are done you put your bowls, plates, and utensils in the bins that they have set up next to the trash cans.  It is very much like Panera/ St. Louis Bread Company. The lady in the front was very friendly and was willing to talk to us and answer any and all questions we had about the food and cooking practices.  It took no more than 10 minutes for our food to come out and it helped that we went to eat in the late afternoon when no one else was there.

Price $

The restaurant has had to slightly raise its prices to account for the higher quality foods they serve.  Certain substitutes also require a small extra charge. I would say the food is a little bit pricey for what you are getting, but it is a very healthy meal so it can definitely be dignified. And you do always have a choice of a regular or large size with the prices averaging around $7.

Location

Crazy Bowls and Wraps is locally owned, but there are many locations in St. Louis as well as some in Illinois and recently California.  There are 12 locations in St. Louis including Creve Coeur, Chesterfield, Ballwin, SLU, Clayton-U. City, Glendale, O’Fallon, South County, and Sunset Hills.  Their website has exact locations and addresses for all of their franchises in all states.

For more information check out their website!  Crazy Bowls