Critic's Review
With few interesting new openings in town lately, I finally broke down to try this place. Paying $7.95 for a milk shake seems wrong, particularly when not one of the milk shakes recipes appealed to me.
I'm an adult so I don't eat cereal; You can't get a chocolate or coffee shake here (or even a creamsickle). Everything is edgy; i don't want a milk shake adorned with fruit loops. I walked in at 2:30 and there were 6 people in the restaurant; 5 of them were in the process of cashing out, leaving myself and one other dude with the run of the place for the duration of my visit.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the smell; lacquer or turpentine. Something that reminded me of my Father's basement. Maybe Shellack? I dunno; but it's not a good smell.
The place is very colorful, with lots of interesting stuff on the walls. It's definitely not a boring space.
I ordered an iced tea as I started to go over the incredibly complicated menu. "Complicated" because every dish has a series of edgy ingredients; decoding the buzz words alone is enough to make your head spin completely around.
The tea came out with a lemon wedge and not much ice; ice is a pretty important part of the iced tea experience, but I didn't complain.
He started to explain various items on the menu, and I had little patience for it. I wasn't having a $16 hamburger so listening to him explain each one to me was torturous. I'd whittled it down to a $13 grilled cheese or an $11 sausage on a roll. I went with the Cheddar Jalepeno sausage and got the green apple slaw instead of the fries.
There's a girl in the back in a truck that seems to serve as the milk shake kitchen. With nobody having milk shakes you have to wonder why they need a dedicated milk shake girl.
Music here is rocking; literally. Nirvana, Chili Peppers, Dave Mathews, Soundgarden. Good stuff. TVs on random useless shows; this is not for a high IQ crowd.
The sausage came out in 5 minutes; clearly the food is pre-made.
Black on the outside but it wasn't hot. Balsamic caramelized onions, red peppers and a "sourdough" bun. The bun didn't taste like sourdough to me. The sausage was fine; onions a bit too sweet, and very short on jalapeno. Only 1 bite of the entire sausage has a real kick.
I didn't like the slaw; I had to ask for salt but I couldn't fix it. Too sweet for my taste; I don't like sweet cole slaw.
The food was decent; this is something I'd like to eat at a ball game or get at a beachside stand.
I give the roll a 'C'. I ask myself is this better than something I get hot off a grill at a street festival for $5, and the answer is "No, not really". Maybe it's a bit bigger. I'd have to pause at an $8 price for this.
They have the very edgy tableside checkout, except you still have to wait for a receipt if you don't want to give them your email or phone number. And you have to select one of the tip presets (18% minimum) and sign with your finger. All part of the modern dining experience.
I spilled a bit of tea and the wet napkins remained on the table throughout the experience, and there was no offer of a refill for the tea. This isn't Capital Grille.
Conclusion
Today I had a $10 lunch that cost me $19.71. The problem with this place was wholly predictable; it's simply 50% too expensive. Edgy millennial-centric recipes at prices designed for people who pay 40% extra for anything marked "organic" who have no idea how much real food costs.
Combine New York City prices with one of the worst parking lots in the city and you have a restaurant that will struggle to get enough customers to survive.
Previous Musings
Brgr Stop is now open. A 150 seat restaurant that serves expensive burgers and $8 Milk Shakes ($17 spiked milk shakes). Their other location is 30 seats.
*******
Craft (overpriced) Burgers are coming to Fort Lauderdale; wait, is it 2010 again? The home of the 9.50 hot dog and $12 grilled cheese, this is ROK:BRGR 5 years late.
The idea here is to add some edgy ingredient and charge 40% more. Opening the same week as Shake Shack down the road can't be a good thing.
