For those of you that loved Scampi's, this review will mean very little to you.
The former location of Scampi's is now
Shaw's Burgers and Shakes, a burger joint with a broad menu that seems to deliver on all accounts. Ann Shaw, daughter of the Scampi's chef finally kicked her dad out of the business (not true) and created an intimate, yet very casual restaurant the size of a small bathroom. At roughly double the size of Nonna Tata, Shaw's is not a large place, but tables seem to fill and empty quickly as people throw their food down their throat in an effort to enjoy it as quickly as possible.
A recent late lunch put me and the lady FWHITW at Shaw's right before 1 pm and the place had a short line of people waiting for a table. We were seated within minutes and had food a few minutes after that. Ann was hustling around the restaurant as part-time Hostess, Waitress, Seater, Arranger, Busgal, and Server. She did it all which definitely seemed to help the actual wait staff.
The menu has enough different items for all crowds. There is a huge selection of burgers with toppings ranging from a variety of cheeses to andouille sausage. They even have a crab burger and a lamb burger. But for the healthy eatin' folks (hippies), they have salads, sandwiches, soups, and milk shakes. It is important to remember that the size of this place will cause people to judge you if you order the lamb crab burger with cheddar, extra bacon and chili. The size of this place alone will make many of you reconsider and order the soup and salad combo. You also have the option of ordering a draft Abita Root Beer. Order it at lunch if you have friends/coworkers at another table. The rumors of your alcoholism will be hilarious.
Our meal consisted of the special of the day - chicken tender plate with steamed veggies and fries - and the grilled cheese with bleu cheese, bacon and tomato. And sweet potato fries. The chicken tenders were great, although when are they not? They were plump, made with actual chicken tenders, instead of the pink puree you may find at certain places. And the sides were good as well. A steamed veggie side can only be so good, but it makes you feel better about eating all the fried goodness on the remainder of the plate. This meal also came with a flavored ketchup, the I can't remember the flavor. Tomato and something. It was good.
The bleu cheese grilled cheese cheese sandwich with cheese, came on crispy toast with lots of bacon and tomato, though it lacked the bleu cheese flavor. It may have been in there because the sandwich was gooey, but the taste didn't come through. This wasn't a big problem though, because I was drunk on my third glass of draft root beer.
Though I haven't had the burger, two trusted field reporters have confirmed that the burgers are delicious. They even went so far as to say they'd let me take them back and buy them another for further review.
For you long time readers, you know of my tendency to spy on others and stare at the food of nearby tables. All the food looked good, but I heard one complaint. A table nearby mentioned something about this not being a family friendly place. I don't have a family that claims me, so my opinion may be off a little. But they were obviously drunk on root beer. Shaw's looks like a place I would have loved to go to as a child. They have booths and root beer on draft. They have burgers, sandwiches, and milk shakes. If this isn't family friendly, then my kids will be screwed when it comes time for me to entertain them.
If you haven't been, give Shaw's a shot. You'll see Ann running around so say hi and she'll make you feel at home. And let me know what you get because I think this place will get worked into my regular rotation and I want to only try the best stuff there.
Shaw's is located at 1057 West Magnolia Avenue. They're open Monday through Sunday for lunch, and dinner on Wednesday through Saturday.
Edit to add: I forgot one of the most important components of Shaw's. It's BYOB, which is always a plus in the restaurant world of overvalued drinks. But its also BYOT. That's right, bring your own Tequila, and for $2.99, they'll provide the rest of the ingredients to make you a margarita.
