Kevin and I took the short drive last week to historic Downing Street in Hollister to a fun little lunch spot called the Sweet Shack.
They specialize in smash burgers, home cut fries, handcrafted and homemade ice cream, and even Italian ice. Wow, they are checking a bunch of boxes of happiness for me right there. I almost needed an extended stay. They have a fun family-friendly atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating, both video games and traditional games to play; a very welcoming vibe.
We were greeted by Rose Lemmo, the owner, as we checked out the ice cream flavors. She shared a couple of her burger recommendations and Kevin and I just shook our heads yes and double yes. As Rose went to cook, Erin, her co-worker, asked us if we wanted to sample a couple ice cream flavors. Kevin and I both, being of the slim side of fluffy, debated whether we could handle that before our burgers for about no time at all. We tried a couple different ones and they were all unique and outstanding. They put a neat mix in or neat flavor add-on in each one.
We moved on to play a quick video game; I tried Ms. Pac-Man and that didn’t last long. My skills of old are definitely gone. We decided it was time to claim a table. While we were waiting, a family came in for some morning ice cream and sat at the table next to us and just raved about it. We agreed and said we had to limit ourselves to just two bites of it a few minutes ago, because we had real food coming. As we turned our eyes to the kitchen, out walks Rose with baskets of food piled high.
Her selections for us: The Shack Burger and The OKC Burger, both served with home cut fries. Kevin and I had to try the crispy hot fries first. They are very delicious and will keep you coming back for more. We cut the burgers in half so we could try both, and then we tried The Shack first. It is on a grilled Hawaiian artisan bun, double meat, grilled crisp and a melted cheese skirt, fresh shredded lettuce, onion, tomato, and a special sauce. Holy cow, what a giant bite, you are hit with a lot of flavors here. That is very tasty burger folks.
Now for The OKC. A fresh 100% grass-fed dry aged angus, paper thin onions smashed and caramelized into a double meat and melted American cheeseburger with mustard and pickle on a Hawaiian artesian bun. The cheese skirts on these burgers are a hit!
These baskets and burgers and fries served sweet Shack in Hollister are special and made with love and attention and packed with a flavor punch. I’m sitting there now in the fullest, miserably happy sort of way and I look at Kevin, and he has this look in his eye that he has one of his no-good ideas and I said what. Kevin says “I noticed when we were sampling ice cream, they have flights of four.” I’m thinking brother I’m completely stuffed, but I sent him to go pick out four flavors for us to devour anyway.
At this point, it is 11:45 a.m. on a lunch break with a bunch of work left and two giant burgers and two large baskets of fries completely down the hatch. As we stare at four cups of ice cream, our new friends from Kentucky just stare in shock, laughing hysterically and said “There is no way you are going back to work!” It was some amazing homemade ice cream. We chose Rocky Road, Butter Pecan, Root Beer Float, and, last but definitely not least, Apple Pie. Rose told us they put two entire apple pies in the ice cream when mixing it. This little place does it all; catering, birthday parties, corporate parties, and more.
