Craft Shack is a new fast-casual concept in The Point serving food inspired by sister restaurant Simmzy’s in Manhattan Beach. It is set up much like an open-air shack restaurant on the beach, only in the trendy setting at The Point.
You should first know that Craft Shack does not have a sign on their building. They are located just south of Smitten Ice Cream. Orders are placed at their counter and delivered to your table. Craft Shack is ideal if you like people watching and you enjoy eating outdoors.
It was a bit early that day to start on craft cocktails and so I decided to focus on the organic line of sodas they have available. Made by Tractor Soda Company, they are organic and non-GMO. All of the ingredients in their sodas are natural with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colors.
I had sample tastes of the cola, cucumber, coconut, lemongrass and cherry cream. The flavor complexities were immediately appealing to me. Absent from the list of ingredients are: corn syrup, potassium citrate and potassium benzoate. Instead you see ingredients like coriander, anise, clove and hibiscus. My favorite was the cherry cream.
I knew their Quesadilla Foldover was popular and I had to verify it for myself, It’s served open face and topped with various ingredients. It’s named that way because the tortilla is sliced in half and you’re supposed to fold it over into a quarter sized tortilla to eat it.
The Quesadilla Foldover can vary in composition and mine came with caramelized Oaxacan cheese, lettuce, black beans, grilled shrimp and queso fresco and was tossed in a jalapeno vinaigrette. What made it rather interesting is that they served it with sliced deep fried peppers which added some interesting texture.
Craft Shack has an interesting take on nachos. Instead of using tortilla chips, they substitute shoestring fries. The end result is that the fries remain crisp because they don’t saturate the fries with melted cheese and chile arbol.
While it was listed as “grilled corn” on the menu, it was actually their version of the popular Mexican street food, elote. A corn on the cob is cut on half, grilled and rolled in lime crema. It is then topped with grated queso fresco, chopped cilantro and chile powder. I thought this was delicious and would pair nicely with a cold beer.
Other popular items include poke tacos, gourmet burgers and fish tacos. In addition, salads such as caesar, shrimp and chicken apple walnut are listed on the menu.
They have a medium-sized selection of both bottled and draft beers. I like the fact that they are keeping the money local and their beer selection comes from South Bay brewers.Their wine selection isn’t as extensive and while they may have an Italian or an Argentine offering, California wines dominate their wine list.
I was surprised to even see that they had some craft cocktails on their menu. One of my favorites, the Moscow Mule was listed and so I made a note that I’ll have to return in the evening.
I think Craft Shack has done a very good job at tracking LA’s current food and beverage trends in a way that will appear to people that work and play in the South Bay.
- The Point, 850 S Sepulveda Blvd, El Segundo, CA 90245; (424) 277-0283
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatcraftshack/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EatCraftShack
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatcraftshack/