Short Order Falls Short On Service, High in Price

The hullabaloo surrounding the opening of Short Order reached a fever pitch nearly a month before the place even started serving. The story -- Bill Chait, then well on his way to becoming an empire builder, backed Nancy Silverton (and her burger blend, sold at nearby Huntington Meats) and (mastermind) Amy Pressman in their humble burger stand endeavor -- was endearing. There was tragedy: The food world's sadness was palpable when word broke that Pressman had passed. And then vindication: With the project nearly complete, Silverton continued to carry the torch that lit those Short Order griddles, and on Friday, November 18, Short Order opened for dinner. Since then, the bloggers, Yelpers, commenters and critics have created a steady stream of opinion. Here, now, in another Good News/Bad News, we review the written word. As always, additional opinions are welcome in the comments below.

The Good News: "The first thing I noticed here was the beef... A thick patty was cooked medium-rare, pink/red throughout. Looked like the cross-section of a perfectly grilled steak. Clearly the restaurant wanted to showcase this meat and it didn’t disappoint—beefy and juicy, delicious." [DarinDines via Chow]

Elizabeth Daniels 2/12

The Girly/Gnarly News: "A "raft" is a new creation, basically a buttery bun topped by a burger patty, topped with a frisée salad laced with chunks of small-producer bacon, and in turn topped with a runny fried egg, a burger that seems simultaneously girly and gnarly, which I suppose is the point." [LAW]

The Early Service News: "...an early lunch at Short Order is the best way to avoid the fledgling burger destination's inevitable early service glitches." [Eating L.A.]

The Hit or Miss Virbs News: "Other than the quite terrific backyard burger, burgers can be hit and miss. Ida's Old School Burger is grass-fed beef with cheddar, pickles, tomato, griddled onion and a smoky-sweet secret sauce. It's classic, except for the soft ribbons of onions, but quite a bit drier than Nancy's burger." [LAT]

The Bad Service News: "First off, many have noted the bad service. The staff seemed friendly and definitely seemed willing to help. However, they don't seem to have the ability. One example: the menu says they carry Boylan sodas. Great! They don't list them on menu and the wait staff doesn't seem to know which ones are available. I was told "cola, hmmm, errr, root beer." I stopped him there and went with root beer. I had to ask for the root beer three more times. While apologetic, the staff just couldn't get it out to me. Finally, half way done with my burger and fries, the root beer arrived." [Yelp]

The Milkshake News: "This place is seriously worth it for one thing and one thing only. Their mind blowing special milkshake that has these huge hunks of snickerdoodle like cookies in it. AMAZING and totally worth $6. Everything else is pretty meh." [Yelp]

The Rude News: "The hamburger was OK, the spuds were excellent. But the extremely rude bartender is the reason why I'll never come back here." [Yelp]

The $13 Burger News: "It cost me $13.00. Yes. $13.00 for a medium sized, high quality burger. It was good, but not $13.00 good. Not even close. By the time I got out with tax and tip I was $21.00 into a ...burger." [Chowhound]

The Carl's Jr Comparison: "At the end of the day, for all the hoopla and jacked-up prices you are staring (sadly, in my case) at a hamburger that is not much better, just thicker, than the grease bomb I can get at the Apple Pan, or Carl's Jr." [Chowhound]

The Mediocre News: "Why is everyone tip toeing around Short Order? It's mediocre. There, I said it. Without the Silverton name attached, no one would care or go there." [Eater Comments]

·All Short Order News [~ELA~]