Have You Visited a Food Shack Lately?

There are times when you might suspect that the appearance of a food establishment is not worthy of your time or attention because of where it is located, or because it may appear to be less than what normally catches your eye.

Well on a trip to South Padre Island, Texas this past weekend, we decided to go out for dinner, and our plan was to venture to a place that we had not visited before. We used Trip Advisor as our guide.

We settled on a location on Gulf Boulevard, but it turned out that the restaurant we selected was closed. No evidence about whether it had closed early, or if it was scheduled to be closed. No signs of any kind.

We searched on Trip Advisor once again for another choice. This time we decided that we would try a place in Port Isabel. It was a quiet night and not a lot of traffic, so we said why not.

A Restaurant in Port Isabel, Texas

We chose to go to Will & Jack’s Burger Shack. We crossed the bridge and were there in a short time. There are a few food establishments in the same general area as Burger Shack, so it took us a few minutes to find a parking space close by.

The Ambiance

It really is a shack. A wooden structure with 2 small tables on the outside by the entrance.  Once inside, you walk by a kitchen counter to an outdoor patio with 6 or so tables. The décor and ambiance is what you might find in a small Mexican coastal city. Very simple with lattice covering part of the ceiling and walls with decorative lights and some pleasant music.

I had no idea this place existed. I had not seen it or heard of it before.

The Food

So a burger shack will have burgers, and this one has seventeen burger choices, fifteen beef, one lamb, and one chicken burger.

They have a variety of interesting topping combinations, some not too common, but not too strange either. It is a good selection with pretty concise descriptions of what to expect with your order.

Fresh ground beef, not preformed or frozen. If you have a view of the kitchen, you could see the cook weigh and form the patties as the orders were turned in by the waitress.

I chose to eat a burger with bacon, artichoke hearts and provolone cheese with an order of french-fries, and I drank a cucumber water. I was there with three other people, and all of us concurred that the burgers and the drinks were pretty good.

The Service

If you visit, you may need to anticipate a wait, depending on how busy they are. We waited a bit, but the weather was perfect, not hot nor super windy.

It is not a large operation, and staff appeared to be stretched a bit, but they provided great service. I would definitely return to eat a burger there again.

We were happy to try a new place, and even happier that we had a pleasant experience.

What can you say about your favorite burger shack?

If you enjoy cooking and would like to try a new burger recipe, read about how to cook a delicious burger on this link. The recipe is for a turkey burger, but the turkey can be substituted if you would like to make it with beef instead.

This restaurant review contains my opinion, and it was not solicited or offered for anything in exchange.

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Beach Pictures

South Padre Island, Texas  (picture taken in 2015).

Mazatlan, Mexico (picture taken in 1989)

The first picture is a real shack by the beach, and the second pictures is of kids that were playing with baby octopus to impress tourists.