With the World Surfing Championships coming to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in September 2018, I will continue to showcase restaurants worth checking out in Lemoore, California.
And this time, it’s a burger restaurant not far from the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch. Just hop on to 18th Ave. and a little over a mile away is a burger shop known as the Burger Shack.
According to the restaurant, the place is known for fresh food. Fresh ingredients. The food is made to order.
Burger Shack is the place to go for a classic American burger, made with fresh, never frozen premium beef, fresh vegetables and their own special house sauce.
We decided to try a few things on the menu, the Pastrami Sandwich, the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and the double cheeseburger.
One thing that is worth trying in every small town you visit, is try the local mom and pop burger places (non-franchise/non-chain restaurants – So, no McDonalds, Rallys, Burger King, Habit Burger, Chili’s, Applebees) that locals rave about.
Of course, with mom and pop burger places, you are going to pay a little more than the chain restaurants. So, for those used to paying $1-$3 burger, you’re going to pay around $6 for a sandwich and $9 for a combo. Which is about normal up and down the state.
The pastrami sandwich was tender and crispy, not too salty and was quite delicious. It comes with Jalapeno peppers for those that like that extra kick.
The Onion rings came with a little cup of ranch dressing and was crisp and very good.
Angela said her double cheeseburger was also delicious and well-made as with the fries.
As for the Philly Cheesesteak, the meat was tender, good balance with the green and red bell peppers and onions. We both were in agreement that the sandwich was good but we both agree that the best steak sandwiches we have tasted was in Lemoore is Boston Pizza (note: This may have changed as now the Lemoore and Hanford restaurants have different ownership). But of course, Boston Pizza’s costs over $8, while Burger Shack’s cost about $6.
For the children, there are shakes sold at the location and for those who want a salad, they sell different types of salad as well.
The location is experimenting with seafood dishes, shrimp baskets, fish and chips, etc. Similar to another burger restaurant in the area, but would love to see them add premium, gourmet style burgers. Larger, different toppings, may it be an avocado burger, mushroom swiss, a smoked burger, something that people are willing to pay a little more for.
No, I’m not advocating the Burger Shack to be another Shake Shack or Umami Burger, but considering that the chances of those types of gourmet burger restaurants coming to Lemoore is almost slim to none, this gives Burger Shack a bit more leverage to take that successful concept and offer something different than what other local burger places are doing and experiment with offering premium burgers that people are willing to pay for. It’s a concept that Red Onion in Porterville and Pitty’s BBQ in Tulare has ran with and it has worked to these other restaurant’s success.
For the most part, the restaurant was clean and preparation of the food was rather quick. Would love to see that when customers leave, someone go out to clean and wipe down the tables. Granted, there was a small rush and the employees were busy cooking and taking orders.
But I see a lot of potential with Burger Shack and for those coming to Lemoore for the World Surf Championships at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in September, I still recommend visiting this restaurant as it’s not far from the ranch.
Also, the location has free-refills, so the combo is worth the price if you are eating at the restaurant. But because the place is small, with about seven tables inside and one outside, it may be best to call to pick up your order, as the place might get packed.
Last but not least, I like the fact that the owners do listen to reviews, may it be on Yelp! or online, positive and negative and work hard to make sure they give customer’s the best food and service as possible.
Burger Shack in Lemoore, a small town burger restaurant worth checking out!
