The Shack

The Shack Restaurant Review:

The Shack’s popularity makes either early arrival or online check-in a must, because once the aroma of omelets and pancakes hits you, your belly won’t want to wait. Hearty appetites gravitate toward the plates, with themes from Mexican (chorizo, scrambled eggs and green chile salsa) to chicken (in a waffle-batter breading with syrup and sriracha) to bacon-wrapped meatloaf (with gravy, eggs and hash browns). Skillets aren’t much smaller, with two eggs, hash browns and toppings like shaved rib-eye or corned beef. For a carb rush, there’s french toast crusted with cornflakes, or you can veer in the opposite direction with an egg white-and-vegetable omelet or granola parfait. On the drinks menu, there are boozy cereal shakes (rum, Rumchata and Captain Crunch, for starters) and fruit smoothies, juices or Kaldi’s coffee. Lunch is mostly salads and sandwiches (try the sliders with either short ribs or smoked chicken salad), and on the days when dinner is offered, the chefs add comfort food like pork chops, turkey and gravy and a nightly barbecue special, plus donut holes, s’mores or cobbler for dessert. The original location (13645 Big Bend Rd., St. Louis, 636-529-1600) is open for breakfast and lunch only.