If you’re planning on opening up a restaurant on a college campus, walking that fine line between good food at a great price can be quite difficult. Typically, you’ll see your mix of pubs and grills each with their own unique spin on burgers, wings, and fries. These grilled and fried dishes are served in a basket or a boring plate with little to no presentation. Let’s face it. These are college students and not refined foodies that you’re trying to impress. Buy it frozen to save a few bucks and keep the food cost at a reasonable rate as most coeds are living on a tight budget. So, I have to admit, when few friends and I dragged our half hungover asses over to Saint Louis University’s campus on a Sunday, I was quite surprised that what I was walking into was a campus eatery.
Midtown’s newest addition occupies the old Laclede’s. Unlike its former occupant, this place is clean and pristine and not covered in grime from the night before. We sat down at a table made out of an old door with light metal stools surrounding the waist high surface. A waitress promptly made her way to our table and gave us the spiel on the specials of the day. It was Sunday Funday and $15 buckets of Bud products and $1 off appetizers were the choices of the day. Plenty of inexpensive items lined the menu and we chose some appetizers to begin with. An order of onion rings, chicken wings, hot and spicy boardwalk fries, and fried pickles and peppers were relayed to our server.
Our appetizers made their way in a timely fashion to our table. A smorgasbord of starting dish were strewn about waiting to be devoured. Just at first glance, they all looked great. Presented on small metal trays and shallow pails lined with tissues, they beckoned us to dig in. I started off by picking out a jalapeno pepper out of the fried pile of pickles as I was craving a little spice. The breading was light and crisp and the jalapeno was cut thick enough that it wasn’t drowned in the fried coating. Next, I snagged a few of the hot and spicy boardwalk fries. Each fresh cut fried potato dripped with buffalo sauce as bits of bleu cheese and green onion clung to each fry. It was a great balance of spice cooled off by creamy bleu cheese. Finally, I tried the wings and the onion rings each quite good and freshly prepared. By the time we had finished all of the appetizers, 2 pitchers of beer had been polished off and I was still a little hungry.
Our server cleared off our table and I turned on the food blogger switch, impressed so far with the beginning bites. I asked her to put in an order for me, telling her that I wanted whatever the chef or owner would want people to know about. She came back and informed me that I was soon to be presented with a pastrami shack-wich and some ham and eggs boardwalk fries. My specialized meal was delivered by the manager who gave me the rundown on the food which lay before me. The pastrami is brined and smoked out at their restaurant in the county. Intrigued by this, I had to dig into the cured beef deli meat first. I cut the shack-wich in half exposing the layers of tomato, fries, coleslaw, andprovelone cheese all stuffed on top of the pastrami in between two slices of freshly baked french bread. My first bite was filled with the smoky, salty flavor of the thinly sliced pastrami. Hints of creamy slaw and fresh tomato complemented the meat well, and the bread was a little tangy and very tasty.
The green egg ‘n ham boardwalk fries were up next. These fries looked amazing as they were coated in creamed spinach, covered in chopped ham, and topped with an over-easy fried egg. My friends, who are not exactly foodies, turned their nose up at the dish at first. I took the first bite, and it was delicious as I broke the yolk of the egg, allowing it to coat the fry mixing with the ham and creamed spinach. I must have made it look great, and one by one they each took turns trying out the fries. The manager came back around to check up on us, with a few of my friends thanking him for choosing these fries out as they would have never thought to order them without the nudge.
Needless to say, I will be heading back to The Shack. I had been on the search for new Sunday hangout, and due to the fact there’s still quite a few things on the menu left to try, I won’t be getting burned out anytime soon. For those of you who can’t make it on Sundays, make it up the the Shack on Mondays for $1 burger night from 6-9pm or Tuesdays as they dish out $1 tacos. The Shack is sure to be a favorite among SLU students and I don’t imagine it will fade anytime soon.
Fork U 