Bushra Bablu ’24 is planning to double major in government and economics. Bushra serves as an Associate Opinions Editor for The Flat Hat Newspaper and the Business Manager for Flat Hat Magazine. Outside of The Flat Hat, Bushra is also involved with One for the World and Women in Business. Email Bushra at bebablu@email.wm.edu.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
My friends and I decided to grub at Craft 31, located in Williamsburg, Va. Craft 31 is an American restaurant known for their gourmet burgers and bottoms up pizza. We made a reservation at 6:45pm and arrived around 6:30pm. Once we arrived, I was amazed by the bright lights contrasting the night sky. It was evening, and the Craft 31 sign was lit up by the twinkling lights carefully placed near it, illuminating the title.
Once we walked in, I analyzed the interior. There were three sections separating customers in the restaurant. One side was fully shaded, the second section was outside with a garage-like exterior with a fireplace in the corner and the third section was completely outside eating. I thought it was genius how Craft 31 carefully designed this layout for their customers. We, the customers, had an option to choose to sit in whichever section we desired.
Once we arrived at our table, we were greeted by our server and we decided to order their house smoked wings, with garlic-parmesan sauce for our appetizer. Next, I ordered my main course, a “California” burger, with turkey, avocado, tomato, provolone, iceberg lettuce, red onion, all on ciabatta. I was very excited for my meal; however, I became hangry. I felt like it took a long time for our food to arrive. I checked the time on my phone, 6:55pm.
Finally, we received our garlic-parmesan wings. I requested to have the garlic-parmesan sauce on the side instead of on the wings because I felt that was the best way to eat them. To my surprise, the sauce was really sweet. It was too sweet for me to finish and then I proceeded to ask if they had any hot sauce that I could use on my wings. I’m glad I asked for the sauce to be on the side rather than smothered in it.
Next, my turkey burger arrived, and I asked for a side of tater tots because I felt that potatoes and burgers paired very well together. The tater tots were very appetizing —they were crunchy and crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. I usually eat tater tots with honey mustard however, I didn’t have that option at Craft 31 and therefore I ate them with ketchup. The “California” burger was also delicious. The flavor was amazing, the turkey patty was tender and juicy, however the burger was tall and difficult to eat. It got kind of messy, and elements from my burger fell apart shortly after I started eating.
I then looked at the dessert section. However, I was really full from the meal and decided to call it off. The desserts were also very basic, with different variations of chocolate cake, ice cream, pies, brownie, cobblers and more! Overall, I would rate my experience and meals at Craft 31 a 7.5 out of 10. I think I would like to try one of their famous pizzas if I get a chance to dine there again.
You need to be grateful that there was enough staff that you got served in a timely matter and that if anyone reads this thinking about going there will overlook you critique of the food as obviously your no expert and comes to their own conclusion!