Former The Shack Spot Becoming Full-Service Restaurant Come Fall; Current Pop-up Serving Solid Cheesesteaks

Freddy Does Philly, a cheesesteak pop-up ("Freddy Smalls' take on the cheesesteak") running this week in Santa Monica in the former The Shack spot, will in fact only be a pop-up. The owners needed to re-open the joint for permit purposes and decided to stick with the food item most associated with the former tenant. The plan is to soon extensively renovate the space and come around Halloween open as a full service restaurant that will sorta and sorta not be like popular Westside spot Freddy Smalls.

On one side, this is an exciting development as the idea of a Freddy Smalls-caliber spot joining the likes of nearby Milo + Olive sounds intriguing and a welcome addition. On the other hand, many locals relied on the spot for their cheesesteak cravings. Good news: an employee told me they may keep their pop-up cheesesteak on the restaurant menu come the fall.

As for the cheesesteak? Pretty solid. The meat is packed with flavor. My Philly friend though remarked that the traditional Italian roll and provolone cheese "weren't Philly." $12 isn't cheap either for such an informal setting. That said, if you're in the 26th and Wilshire area this week if recommend checking it out.

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TBA Restaurant

Opening: Estimate late October 2013

2518 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica