Shake Shack Comes to LA in the Spring! But You Don’t Have to Wait that Long

The LA foodie community has been watching the slow advancement of Shake Shack as it takes over the world one hamburger at a time. The popular burger empire is coming to LA in the Spring, and the internet is abuzz. It’s kind of a big deal.

But you don’t have to wait for Spring. Tonight Shake Shack is doing a pop-up at Son of a Gun on West 3rd Street. They will be serving the Shackburger, those addictive fries, and a whoopie pie dessert. There are no reservations, so bring your Kindle or maybe some magazines for the wait. You can start lining up any time now for their 6pm opening. The pop-up will close at 11pm.

Last night Shake Shack treated the media and the local community to a preview of their menu as well as a screening of the first Star Wars movie in the empty lot where their restaurant will soon stand. The cheeseburger patty was nicely charred and perfectly pink inside. If it wasn’t a hand-formed patty, someone was hitting it with a big mallet before cooking, because like snowflakes, no 2 burgers were the same. The cheese on my burger melted and made it resemble Cthulhu. The bun was soft, but held up to the weight of the burger. Because of the crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes, I expected something more than American cheese, but it’s tradition.

The thing that will really bring diners running is the addictive krinkle cut fries. They made all other attempts at krinkle fries laughable. Especially the frozen ones. And the ones Carl’s Jr used to make. These fries are fried in soybean oil and served crisp and lightly salted. They somehow remain hot long after they hit the table. Shake Shack couldn’t bring the shake machine onto the construction site, but they made up for it with frozen custard. It was a buttered caramel popcorn flavor to go with the movie theme, and it was delicious. If their shakes are as good as their frozen custard, there will be lines around the block.