Crazy Bowls & Wraps

First time at CBW and definitely won’t be my last. Very friendly staff and amazing food. Loved the atmosphere and food choices available as well. The fresh tea was definitely a plus! Would recommend this place to others in a heartbeat. Great for a quick and healthy meal.

Love this crazy bowls. Get the spicy Thai wrapper or as a bowl it’s tasty. Add a black bean egg roll perfect to go with your meal. And of course the salsa bar for great flavor. Food is great, order carefully they seem to nickel and dime for a lot of stuff, also get your chips on a bowl not a bag, way better deal. Great place for a good quick healthyish meal.

I don’t know what made me order the Mediterranean falafel wrap, but, I’m so glad I did. My co-​worker and I said that we’d eat it for every meal. So delicious.

You’ll definitely have a wonderful time eating at CBW. This place has a wonderful selection of both conventional and progressive foods. With selections like a tossed kale and quinoa salad along my girlfriend’s favorite «Fajita Bowl», this is certainly a place that everyone can enjoy. I absolutely loved the friendly atmosphere provided especially by one of the cashiers. He was a long haired gentlemen who always kept a smile on his face. Props to him for being so passionate about this company and thoroughly showing us around when it was our first time at this location! They also have a wonderful selection of teas, that I’m not too familiar with. I’m not much of a tea drinker, but they have a wide selection for those who are! They also provide a dressing bar for building the condiments for your meal or side of chips. The seating is much like culvers where you take a number and they deliver your food to your table once it’s ready. Love the food, but it could be a little cheaper! I pay upwards of $ 8 or $ 9 for my meal, and I could easily get the same meal elsewhere for $ 6 or $ 7.

Service here feels like they might be understaffed. The board that you are supposed to order from, I found confusing. It seemed like I payed for a nice meal, but got steamed, frozen vegetables with my salmon.
I liked the salmon, but as long as you don’t over cook it, that is hard to mess up. Their sauce that I put on the salmon was good, but I think I am grasping for straws here.

I love the buffalo chicken wrap with quinoa.
I don’t really have anything bad to say about a place that has all kinds of great food!

I know it’s fast food but it’s reasonably healthy, the Thai Bowl I had was flavorful with crisp vegetables and the rice was cooked right. Can’t always say that.

Love the concept, but not so thrilled that I was charged 50 cents extra to add tofu when the menu clearly says add protein of choice at no charge. You can’t tell me tofu costs more than chicken !!

I want to start off by saying, I like CBW and have had good dining experiences in Ballwin and Creve Coeur. My husband and I ate here on ⁶⁄₂₄ at around 6:15 PM and this place was filthy. If the health department had done an impromptu inspection, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t get an «A.» The floors were covered in food — tables had not been washed in some time. There were perhaps three tables of customers besides us and this CBW appeared to be adequately staffed with many folks in the back. Even if they had recently experienced a dinner rush, we had finished our meals and were getting ready to leave before someone emerged to at least spray the tables (though I observed her knocking the food dirt onto the floor, so I’m not sure I would call this cleaning). The cashier did not ask what type of protein I wanted on my bowl and so I received chicken as the default. When the guy brought the bowl to my table he said, «Oh, you’re vegetarian? That suuucks. Oh well — it says right on the menu sign, you get chicken. There’s nothing I can do,» and walked away. It’s interesting that the cashier asked my husband what type of protein he wanted with his wrap but did not ask me about the bowl. Yes, I should have spoken up, however, what a nasty way to be treated. At 9 months pregnant, I need to be eating protein and it was really awful to pay for food that I could not fully enjoy and have some sarcastic person point out that it was basically my fault for not being able to read. When I went back up to speak to the manager about this person, I noticed on the sign that it says «your choice of protein,» rather than «sucks to be you, vegetarian, you get chicken.» When I pointed this out to the manager, rather than apologize right away, she looked up at the menu and said, «Hmm… you’re right,» and thought for a moment, then said, «Well, I’m sorry he was rude … I’ll … uhh, talk to him about that.» There was no offer on her part to make it better — I would have been happy with a few cubes of tofu or perhaps the dollar that they charge you for protein refunded, but no… alas… So, I would recommend another CBW location if you want good service in a clean, healthy environment.
Update: Within minutes after sending a letter to CBW, I received a response from their locally owned main office — my sense is the experience I had yesterday is not the norm and that CBW takes the well-​being of their customers very seriously, so I have added stars taking that into consideration.

When I’m in town on business, I’m often looking for a quick, healthy meal. Typically, it is hard to find.
Crazy bowls is nice because everything can be customized and if you prefer to eat healthy, the options are there to choose from. I have been here twice and both times I was impressed. The workers have all been friendly, the food comes out in under 5 minutes, tastes good and is healthy.

2^nd time & last time I eat here. Over cooked vegetables, tough chicken, greasy rice. $ 9.80. Nah. ‘Crazy’ if I go back. Thought i was gonna hurl in the grocery store.

I wasn’t a big fan of CBW, but my best friend recently became a HUGE supporter, so I relented and started going with him when asked. Well, it is actually better now than I remember (due to some changes from their original concept). I mainly get wraps and have liked them all, and I had a couple bowls that I’ve also been happy with (though I prefer the wraps). Everything really does taste fresh, and I like the rice/​quinoa options. This location is pretty small, so it gets busy quite often, but I haven’t ever not been able to find a spot to sit. They also have a small salsa bar that can get a little crowded just due to the way everything is situated.

I am a Crazy Bowls veteran and a big fan of this place. I used to work in Ballwin near 141 on Manchester, so I used to go to the location out there constantly for lunch, as did my co-​workers. It got to the point that we frequented the place so much that one time an overly excited employee started putting orders together for what he assumed we were going to order when we walked in.
I very much recommend the teriyaki chicken superbowl with white rice, dark meat chicken, and spicy slaw. I will complain about inconsistent quantities of both meat and teriyaki sauce which is why I pay extra to get extra of both. I shouldn’t have to do that, but whateva. I tried the salmon instead of chichen once and it sucks, so don’t do that.
I also recommend the power bowl with white rice and dark meat chicken. It comes with a side of tortilla chips which the staff frequently forgets to give you if you have a to go order, so watch for that. Try this… get the power bowl, cruch the chips in the bag, dump them in the power bowl, get two full cups of hiyashi sauce (or 3 if you be feelin saucy) from the sauce bar, dump the hiyashi sauce into your power bowl. If you have a to go container, put the lid back on and shake it up a bunch. Awesome mixture! If you have no to go lid just mix everything with your fork, but I tell you, that hiyashi sauce is under-​utilized by Crazy Bowls guests, but its such a great flavor! As a Crazy Bowl veteran, It is highly advisable to follow my suggestion here.
BBQ chicken wrap is awesome. I also LOVE the causer wrap. Here is another suggestion from a pro: Get a few cups of creamy buffalo sauce on the side from the sauce bar, it’s a fairly unique and delicious sauce. This sauce, for whatever reason, goes PERFECT with the caeser wrap, so dump it on as need as you enjoy your wrap.
I’ve gotten the pad thai bowl which is not too bad and somtimes I actually crave it, but honestly it is not even close to being authentic pad thai, and there are a bazillion places I’d rather go for pad thai in St. Louis.
I also recommend their hummus, despite some inconcsistency with texture and flavor from time to time. Dip your tortilla in that stuff, it will grow on you!
The sweet and sour chicken bowl is AWESOME. I love it! Huge breaded chunks of checken in a delicious sauce and a sweet and sour sauce that is quite different than what you expect from traditional chinese restaurants.

I realize this is a chain and technically a fast food one at that, but I actually really like this place. It’s a great alternative to the usual selections esp. if you are not an avid burger & fry kind of person. It’s not horribly heavy and hard on the waistline as long as you don’t go apesh*t on the apps and desserts.
My wrap faves are the traditional (when I am in vegetarian mode) and buffalo chicken. Their wraps are seriously filled with magic and love, and they are certainly substantial. You don’t leave hungry by any means. The BBQ quesadilla… oh my goodness — what a great idea. It is a must! I also recently gave the peanut butter smoothie a shot — nothing makes this girl happier than peanut butter in her smoothie. It was equally as amazing — all their smoothie options sound really tasty.
The prices are definitely within reason and service is always fine and dandy. We usually never have a wait nor any attitude from the kind person taking our orders. If all fast food consisted of the awesome selections CBW has to offer — I would be in a world of trouble!

I love that there is a CBW close to our office. There are a few wraps that I love– chicken caesar if I am indulging, jalapeño cilantro if I am behaving. Their bowls are great as well. I love the options of various starches and proteins that can help you attain your desired health and calorie level as well.
The free chips they offer with each order are a nice touch, though maybe one of the more unhealthy items there. If you eat these, or just love a good condiment selection like I do, remember that their «side» bar rocks. The pico de gallo is fresh and just the right amount of spice, the green jalapeño sauce is hot and delicious. I wish we didn’t have to ask for «to go» lids for these items, but I can understand that they might need to manage them closely.
To finish the meal, it’s hard to resist their house made rice crispy treats… just like when you were a kid!

For whatever reason I often forget about CBW for lunch. I don’t know why because I love their bowls and low calorie count. It serves up fast with a good price. I tend to get the same thing each time I go… the teriyaki chicken bowl. It always tastes great and I depend on my lunch meal more than dinner. I don’t want to go back to work upset from a bad lunch. It makes for a long afternoon.
Check one out soon if you’ve never been.

4 stars for the awesome food. Crazy Bowls might not be the BEST food you’ve ever eaten, but it’s damn consistent. My advice? Stay away from the wraps (they tend to fall apart). Go for the bowls. They never disappoint.
Another thing that doesn’t disappoint? The rice krispy treats! They’re huge and delicious. The chocolate chip one makes my tummy happy.
1 star for the HORRENDOUS parking lot. This lot makes the Brentwood Parking Lot of Hell seem like a cakewalk. Steven B., is this on your ‘parking lot derby’ list? Because it totally should be. Ugh. I’m just thankful I got out alive.

Bottom Line:
Fresh Food, Inconsistent Dining Room Cleanliness, WiFi (if working)
Overview:
I come here fairly often. At least once per month. That said, I have had lunch rush, post-​lunch, and dinner at this location. It is the most convenient CBW in town for me. I like it because they serve healthy food and the company is local. At least, I think it is. What does surprise me is the lack of Facebook/​Twitter etc. communication outlets for a place like this. I mean, the people the come in here can be broken up into two categories based on gender. If you are a woman, you are most likely coming here because you are watching your figure and, if it is in the evening, you are picking something up after working out at the gym. If you are a man, you are probably an IT guy that does some sort of physical exercise outside of your job. Generalizations, but hang out at a CBW, and I think you will see I am right. Although, I think with A-B’s IT department emptying out at a nearby building, there may be less IT guys coming here, but they still go here.
(I feel like I have written the above before (about the women/​men) in another CBW review. Oh well. It is true here too.
Food:
Note:
One over arching complaint I have about CBW in general is the tortilla chips they serve. They have these brightly colored tortilla chips; I guess to make the food look more appealing. Well, I have a hunch that their customers would be just fine without the food coloring! They also have the «blue corn» tortilla chips that I think are also food colored. Annoying! Leave it natural, CBW!
I usually oscillate between several items. Here they are:
Red Beans and Rice:
Simple, affordable. Nothing special here. It has a taste to my liking, and it is a nice dish that I think you can order in two sizes. I go with the larger of the two. That almost fills me up for an evening dinner.
Mediterranean Wrap:
Falafel, low fat hummus, lettuce, feta, tzatziki sauce, spinach tortilla. I think that says it all. The spinach tortilla wrap is unnecessary. A simple flour tortilla is fine. Would prefer straight-​up hummus over low fat, but not a huge deal.
Power Bowl:
Romaine lettuce, beans, cheese, corn salsa. I usually order tofu to go with this one and opt for the quinoa grain. It is not the most appetizing dish, but is filling and it seems to be quite healthy. I usually get the sesame sauce to go with.
Atmosphere:
I think I have touched on the atmosphere a bit above, but I have to say based on my visits, the cleanliness of the dining room varies. I have also noticed that it is tied to one lady in particular. She seems like a nice lady, she also seems like one of those people who has settled in on a part-​time job and doesn’t intend to upgrade her vocation. I have also noticed that when she is there, the dining room is a mess; this is mostly post-​lunch time/​pre-​dinner time (3−4pm). I usually call it out and ask to have my table wiped down, as there are NO other tables that are clean! That said, everything else *seems* to be OK food-​wise (fingers crossed).
WiFi:
WiFi access has been spotty from time to time. A nuisance when you bring your laptop hoping to do some online work and find the connection dead. I have tried tapping into Panera’s hotspot. Unfortunately, it is too weak on the times I have tried.
Summary:
I gave this place two stars because cleanliness is really a big deal for me. If you can’t keep your dining room clean, I don’t want to eat here. Unfortunately, given the small number of restaurants that serve these kinds of options in the county, I am kind of chained to this place. I must admit, there have only been two or three occasions I have come here with the dining room being atrocious. Otherwise, the place is decent. And if the WiFi is working, all the mo’ betta.

Well, I didn’t have time to cook tonight and wanted something light-​ish so I decided to stop in here. My friend enjoys it quite a bit, so I thought I might, too.
My conclusion: it served the purpose for what I wanted. I got a small veggie bowl with brown rice. I wish there were more veggies and less rice, but overall it was fine! It appeared well staffed and clean, though I took my food to go. It was pretty cheap, I got a diet dr pepper with my bowl and spent under $ 6. I might return if I’m in a similar mood.

Always a great experience at this Crazy Bowls & Wraps. The very cool thing about this establishment is that they are locally owned. Food is always fresh and the service has always been polite and professional.
The only gripe I have about Crazy Bowls & Wraps is they need nutritional information on their site. It’s always a guess trying to find out how many Weight Watcher points something is.
Bottom line: great place for lunch for busy professionals!