The upscaling of fast food is one of the defining food trends of the last decade, and like most trends it has been taken to extreme levels. Sometimes this is inspired, with burgers, fries, tacos, and burritos given ethnic twists or whimsically reinvented. Elsewhere creativity overheats and trendy ingredients are piled on regardless of whether they go together.
The new Craft Shack in the Point development takes the fast food experience back to basics when it comes to the environment. As is undoubtedly intended, it looks very much like a cross between a beachfront snack stand and a lifeguard shack on steroids. You order at a walk-up window and then take a seat at bright patio furniture or one of several painted benches or tables, and on a summer afternoon it’s quite pleasant. I don’t know what they’ll do when winter comes along and the local clouds remember how to rain again, but that’s a question for another season.
The nine-item menu is all about summer fast food, from a traditional burger complete with American cheese to updated versions of fish tacos, Caesar or shrimp salad, and a quesadilla. There are poke tacos too, because everyplace that opens has something with poke, and nachos made with French fries rather than chips. They name-drop a few producers but don’t go overboard with it, and the appeal is to people who want fairly simple food that is well-crafted. That’s what they promise, and that’s what they deliver.
I tried their burger with one modification, white cheddar cheese instead of American. (I know it’s traditional but to me American cheese is a way to insult otherwise useful milk.) The burger was good for all the reasons we like a burger, a bit messy, enough grease and meat juice to be messy fun but not too much, and the crunch of iceberg lettuce and tang of pickles. They use a fresh potato bun that doesn’t fall apart when moist, so you could eat the whole thing without it falling apart. Order either regular or sweet potato shoestring fries, or the “mixed bag” that contains both, and you have lunch from the fifties, 2016 style.
The fish tacos are reinvented a bit more thanks to the use of wild Oregon rock cod rather than the grouper or halibut they’d use in Baja. There are also deep-fried chillies that add a nice shot of spiciness to an item that already has pickled radishes, lime crema, and tomato salsa. I’m not usually a big fish taco fan, but these get an A+. The other Mexican-inspired item I tried was misleadingly described but still successful. The “quesadilla” is served in what they refer to as an “open face” style, meaning it’s really a big tortilla with Oaxacan cheese melted onto it topped with salad, lettuce, grilled vegetables, and more of those breaded deep-fried chillies. There is enough cheese for flavor but the other ingredients dominate, and you have to fold it and pick it up rather than eat it with utensils, which puts it out of the range of what people think of as a quesadilla. It’s really a large vegetable taco made with a flour tortilla, and it’s an excellent item that I’d order again, but they really should change the name to manage expectations.
The shrimp salad bridged traditions, the batch of mixed greens and wood-grilled shrimp given a fresh citrus hit with orange segments and a Mexican twist with grilled pumpkin seeds, queso fresco, and a coriander vinaigrette. I don’t remember having a coriander vinaigrette before, but it’s on my radar now; it tied everything together wonderfully. Craft Shack has a short cocktail list that includes one of the best low-alcohol cocktails I’ve ever had, a Summer Breeze made with Sauvignon Blanc, St. Germaine, and blackberry puree. This is a great summer sipper and very food friendly. The Three Hour Tour, a tiki-inspired mix of rum, juices, and falernum, was higher alcohol but also refreshing, and it’s clear that they put some thought into the drinks here. They also offer wine and a very good selection local craft beers, because how could you offer a beach experience without beer?
The prices here reflect the location – that burger and fries will set you back $15 the fish tacos $12, and other items are comparably priced. It’s higher than you’d expect in a real beach dive but reasonable for a new place in a prime location. That beach dive won’t make food and drinks this good, so even though you won’t have the sight and sound of the waves, you’re ahead by dining at Craft Shack.
Craft Shack by Simmzy’s is at 850 S. Sepulveda in the Point development in El Segundo. Open at 11 a.m. daily, close 9 p.m. Mo-Thu, 10 p.m. Fr.-Su. Lot parking, wheelchair access good, patio dining. Menu at eatcraftshack.com, phone 424-277-0283.
