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<\/a>Customers order food from a double-service window, which they can bypass in lieu of an express counter if buying only desserts or non-alcoholic beverages. Purchases of craft beer, wine and cocktails are made at the bar or from a waitperson.<\/p>\n
The \u201csun-beet\u201d is perhaps the healthiest libation I\u2019ve encountered anywhere. It dominated our palates with earthy beet juice before finishing softly with the flavors of white rum, lime and absinthe. With nearly a dozen other specialty cocktails in the offing, plus mules, margaritas and mojitos, the presence of live DJs in the bar section on weekend afternoons and evenings makes solid sense.<\/p>\n
Except for a pair of standard fish tacos we ordered (available only at this location), our lunch choices were all about the hog.<\/p>\n
A pile of crispy pork skins (chicharrons) were puffy like rice snacks but exceptionally tastier given their saturated fat content and dusting of chili spices. Fried to order, our only disappointment was they had cooled down in the short timespan of arriving to our table.<\/p>\n The \u201cpork belly app\u201d is a hefty cube of prized meat and fat draped in Asian glaze and served with a lively frisee salad. Although as any fan of these sumptuous belly cuts will attest, they\u2019re temperamental in texture, ranging from buttery soft to incorrigibly tough.<\/p>\n This was somewhere in the middle, due largely to its extra-thick girth that fought at times with our plastic knives. Yet from a flavor and portion standpoint, we were pleased.<\/p>\n The \u201ctriple threat\u201d sandwich remains my favorite item at Carnitas Snack Shack, despite its over-the-top piling of pulled pork, bacon and breaded schnitzel. Available at all locations, the assumption is that if you like one of these meat preparations, you\u2019ll love them combined. As a sinful treat about once a year, I certainly do.<\/p>\n Other menu faves include carnitas tacos that are juicier and porkier than most, and the BLT, which carries a payload of bacon and grilled ham, complemented by lettuce, tomato and house aioli on hearty brioche bread.<\/p>\n If pork isn\u2019t your weakness, alternative choices extend to rib eye and crispy chicken sandwiches, a beet terrine with goat cheese, and a white cheddar burger that sneaks in a smear of bacon jam. I\u2019ve yet to try any of them.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a brunch menu available from 9 a.m. \u2013 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It features machaca tacos, breakfast burritos, Tater Tots and more.<\/p>\n As a final lure to its new location, and particularly fitting once June gloom fades, the Shack sells soft-serve ice cream extruded into cones or cups. We chose it in a cup and caved into a fabulous topping of bacon-whiskey truffle crumbles \u2014 our final calorie splurge before hiking back to the car parked almost a mile away. But we didn\u2019t kid ourselves. No amount of flat-surface walking would have burned off this meal.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>