Not Quite "Love" Shack: Dude Where's My Fries?

If you know me well, you know I have an odd obsession with Top Chef, considering I believe boiling pasta is a successful dinner creation.  Having watched the show and seeing Chef Tim Love hailing from Ft. Worth appear as both a judge and a competitor on Top Chef Masters and Iron Chef, I was very excited to find out one of his restaurants was coming somewhere more accessible to me.  Tim Love is known for using for wild game meats and making urban southwestern food. It is not uncommon to see ostrich or rabbit rattlesnake sausage on his menu in his upscale Steakhouse in Ft. Worth. I was informed by some co-workers that Chef Love decided to make a fast casual chain known as “Love Shack” that recently opened in Denton. I was more than excited to get to try some wild take on a normal burger.

Love Shack is tucked away in downtown Denton, where I appreciate its quaint and welcoming charm. We walked into the Love Shack that donned the catch phrase, “Live, Drink and Eat Well.” I quickly abided, as this is pretty much my personal motto.  The setup is fast casual, but does provide a waiter/waitress. The crowd was filled with a good mix of college students and others on their work lunch. The motif is rustic, casual and complete with a large patio and open seating. This is where the first problem began. Having the main indoor dining and the patio connecting, means you may have some unexpected company to your meal. By that, I mean flies. We had pesky flies coming in and out of our space throughout our lunch. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good picnic, but when you are actually trying to eat inside this is just not a pleasant experience. I ordered a “freshly made root beer” that tasted as though it had been poured directly from a barrel behind the bar. However, be warned that there are no free refills with this tasty drink.

The menu is definitely a different take on Burgers than your average burger joint. Think more along the lines of Twisted Root. There were options ranging from hot dogs with sauerkraut, fried Portobello mushroom veggie burgers, burgers complete with boar bacon and the list goes on and on.  One of my co-workers had the “Gobbler” turkey burger and stated that it was really tasty. I ordered the specialty “Dirty Love Burger” that comes complete with lettuce, tomato, pickles, “love sauce”, American cheese, bacon and a fried quail egg. Yes, I said quail egg. All burgers are cooked medium, just the way I like it. The burger came out and was just as I had presumed, delicious. It was cooked just the way I like a good burger, the bacon was thick and juicy and whatever the love sauce is, it tastes darn good. I also loved the touch of the quail egg, it wasn’t overpowering and for you less adventurous taste buds, no it does not taste any different than a regular egg. I was expecting to be stuffed after this burger, but I was happily satisfied and not overly full. Note: you can order a double if you are really looking for a full tummy.

However, just like love usually goes, the shack has its downfalls. We ordered a large basket of fries, and never saw them. I snuck a few off my co-workers plate, however his came out cold and a little limp. They tasted as if they had potential to be pretty good if they were hot. However, after not receiving our order and tasting the cold ones served to him, I opted not to hound the waitress for them to come out. There are also “crazy good onion rings” and “chile parmesean chips” that maybe would be a good option for the next visit. The service however, was awful. She did not bring the fries, and when asked to remove them from our ticket, it took about 20 minutes and 2 trips to the cash register for her to figure things out. That combined with the flies buzzing all over, made the ambience a bit less than ideal.

Here’s the bottom line, the food can get me to a place, but the experience makes me want to put it into my regular rotation. The burger was good, really good. The root beer tasted like what I imagine people drink in Heaven. However, I am yet to reserve the “best burger” title to a burger that replaces my dreams of bacon.  I would go back, because the food was good and I am willing to give the “experience” another shot. Maybe this time I will get my fries…