Show 121, May 9, 2015: Shake Shack’s Culinary Director, Mark Rosati

Mark Rosati of Shake ShackThe original Shake Shack opened some 11 years ago in Madison Square Park in New York. The “better burger” battle has been on ever since. Shake Shack has gained the enviable cult following of our own revered In-N-Out Burger locally.

Shake Shack debuted a large location on The Strip in Las Vegas late last December adjacent to New York-New York. A second location is planned for Summerlin. The Las Vegas Shack features over-the-top location-specific frozen custard concretes including All Shook Up which is vanilla frozen custard and chocolate toffee bits blended with a slice of banana peanut butter cheesecake from local bakery Gimme Some Sugar.

Immediately thereafter the Vegas launch there were persistent rumors of a Los Angeles location. It’s now official….The site in 2016 will be the location of the departed Koo Koo Roo in West Hollywood at 8520 Santa Monica Blvd. at the corner of West Knoll Drive. The lot is some 22,500 square feet. The Shack will seat about 150 guests inside and there will also be an outside patio. On-site parking, too…

The architect will be Michael Hsu who designed their newly opened Shack in Austin, TX. They appreciate his “dynamic aesthetic” in design

Shake Shack’s Culinary Director, Mark Rosati, is with us to preview West Hollywood. He’s now off to London for the opening of their second store there.

Show 31, June 15, 2013: Dining with Jet and Producer Andy

The new dining room of Spago Beverly HillsChef Jet and Producer Andy have been doing some noteworthy dining around…

Jet recently experienced the renovated Spago Beverly Hills which remains one of the bastions of fine dining in the West. The new look is more retro in the style of AMC’s “Mad Men” series. The servers are smartly attired in vests with ties.

Serving portions are by the numbers. One’s are the appetizers. Two’s are small plates and Three’s are big plates which you can share. Standouts for Jet are the grilled corn agnolotti and the veal steak tartar. Expensive but worth it…

Connie & Ted's in West HollywoodProducer Andy reported on the new Connie & Ted’s on Santa Monica Blvd. in WeHo. This is Celebrity Chef Michael Cimarusti’s (Providence) greatly anticipated East Coast / New England-style seafood “shack” with his front of the house partner from Providence, Donato Poto, one of the most welcoming in the business. It’s housed in an architecturally significant new building. The front looks like a wave and the inside has the feeling of openness with an open kitchen.

Producer Andy was particularly taken with their lobster roll. You can get it hot or cold but Andy commented on the hot variation which is poached lobster served on a house-baked, toasted hot dog –style bun slathered in drawn butter. All breads and rolls are baked in-house including the oyster crackers for the three versions of clam chowder.