Today was my second time in Beef Shack, and regretfully, it wasn't nearly as good as the first. I really wanted to give this place a better rating but unfortunately the only reason that I am giving it 2 stars is because of one of the guys behind the counter and the amount of beef and cheese that is on the sandwich.
Today I was the first customer of the day coming in at 5 after 11. I had a taste for beef, and drove past a couple of Portillos, and Buona's, as well as a couple of other local beef places to come here. I remembered how good the beef was the first time. Consistency is key, and maybe today was a bad day but if I were a first time customer, i'd not be back.
I walked in the door to no one being behind the counter. Sure it was early in the day and perhaps catering orders or prep work was being done. After about 15-20 seconds, someone came out and said hi (white male, tall, with redish hair). I placed my order for a cheesy beef and a hot dog while looking at the menu board. Looked over the the man and he looked at me like I just spoke to him in Japanese and I was an inconvenience for interrupting what he was doing before he had to come take my order. I again repeated my order to him. Unfortunately when I sat down I forgot to order peppers on the sandwich, and I was never asked about this. I didn't want to interrupt him again though, so I just waited.
Another worker was preparing my food (black male, tall).This guy actually looked like he was working and like he gave a darn that I came in and spent my hard earned money to help keep them employed. When he got done putting my order together he called my number, said thank you, and have a blessed day. I sat at a tablet and ate the beef there.
When I took my beef out of the bag, there were was a lot of juice in the wrapper and unfortunately I spilled some of it on my pants. Now I love a juicy beef just as much as the next guy, but I guess I didn't realize it would be swimming. I'll take the blame on that one. The beef was full of flavor and was absolutely delicious. The only thing I would change about it is putting the cheese in the center, so you get cheese in both bites.
Now onto the hot dog. Well lets just say it wasn't edible. I got back home and opened it up. The bun was left open faced and the fries were just dumped all over the hot dog. Now I get that I had to drive 25 minutes back home, and wouldn't expect the dog to be as good as if I had eaten it there, but this was just not good. I tried to pick the fries off the dog and when I was done, I realized the hinge in the bun was broken and half of one of the sides of the bun was broken. Essentially I had 3 pieces of bun to hold into. The hot dog was very small. If I had to guess I would say maybe a 10:1 dog. The toppings were smeared all over and it just wasn't worth trying to salvage what was there. The fries and dog were unfortunately tossed in the garbage.
Overall, would I return? Maybe. Would I drive 25 minutes to come back here again, not a chance. I likely would recommend the beef, and stop back for it if in the area, but certainly wouldn't come here for the customer service or the hot dogs. read more