Ever since the Salted Pig closed down, I have been watching to see what would take its place there on Lindbergh just a little north of Highway 40. When "The Shack" was announced as the new eatery, I was intrigued and wanted to go visit. We have actually attempted to go there two times earlier, but the first time there was a family emergency and we were running too late, and the second time the wait was too long, so we decided to go elsewhere. Finally today we had the time to wait it out and visit and try to see why "The Shack" always seems to be so packed on the weekends every time when we drive by it.
We showed up around 11:30am this time, and with a party of four they estimated the wait at 15 to 20 minutes so we were willing to sit and wait. The waiting area is large, but there are not so many seats, mostly just empty standing space. Luckily we found some space on the hard bench seating where we could look at all the people who have written on the wall, as well as perusing the menu for our food selections. They definitely had fun decorating the place, with the restrooms named "POTTY", and humorous coffee cups available for sale as well as coffee available early (to be paid on the bill later, if desired.)
The wait time was quite accurate as my buzzer went off a few minutes before noon. We were seated at a roomy booth with cushions where the previous occupants tab and cash payment were still resting. We also soon noticed something else from the previous occupants remained, as there was a large chocolate smear on the table surface. The "stuff written all over the place" continued on the table surface which was an old door with a large piece of plexiglass layered on top of it. Whereas the words on the wall were entertaining and interesting, it was a little disturbing on the table. The plexiglass seemed sticky and did not feel "clean" and with the words and drawings it was hard to tell how clean it was. Our waited came over and offered water in two bottles which he poured out into four glasses for us as he took drink orders. We were pleased to see they offered Diet Dr. Pepper, but we were disappointed they did not have just plain iced tea, only "herbal" or "honey" tea.
We ordered our entrees at the same time: my wife ordered the turkey club, my mother-in-law selected eggs and bacon, my son ordered bacon & egg burger, and I ordered the "make a grown man cry" breakfast burrito. As we sat and waited for the food we noticed the place was quite noisy with a lot of background noise along with some old music from the 1970's and 1980's (the Bee Gees?) The wait for the food was not too long, but when it arrived they had made the turkey wrap for my wife instead of the turkey club sandwich. The apologized and took it away and she had to wait a little longer and watch the rest of us eat. While we started a manager type person also came over and apologized for the order mix up, and asked us how everything was. We told him about the dirty table, and he came back with a damp towel and cleaned up the nasty spot.
Once my wife's order arrived we could all try our food. Her club sandwich was not on the brioche bun she was expecting but just normal toast. She did not like the flavoring of the turkey which tasted like it was mesquite smoked. She also thought it was too messy to eat and just okay overall. The fries that came with it were somewhat odd, not terrible, but there was something off about them. My son thoroughly enjoyed his burger and thought it was good, but not as good as a similar Five Star or Dave & Tony's burger. The homemade chips were thick and hearty, but did not have much flavor to them. My mother-in-law thought her bacon and eggs were good. My breakfast burrito was quite good with a flavorful combination of ingredients inside and a tasty cheesy sauce on top of it. I added a bit of Chalupa sauce to give it a bit of a zip. It was resting on a generous pile of hash browns which were pretty good, but they were still just hash browns.
So overall the food was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. The service was very good and the manager even came by later and gave us a $25 gift card for the dirty table and mixed up order. Not only the waiter and the one manager, but another person came around and asked us how everything was. They definitely try to make sure all their customers are happy. The place is always crowded which means hopefully they will last longer than the Frontenac Grill or the Salted Pig. As long as you do not mind the noise and the intentionally "messy" look and feel, it is not a bad place. It is definitely good to have a casual breakfast/lunch restaurant in the Frontenac area that is family friendly and offers a variety of food that should keep everyone happy.
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