Shake Shack is promoting the Korean-style menu items that it launched last month with two Valentine’s Day events in Los Angeles.
The chain’s Culver City location is hosting a “Swicy Date Night Experience” — “swicy” being a combination of sweet and spicy. With seatings at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., guests who score a reservation will be treated to a live performance by musical artist Allie Schulz as well as a prix-fixe meal of the chain’s limited time Korean Style Fried Chicken, Spicy Korean BBQ Fries, Korean barbecue sauce and cheese sauce, and a gochujang caramel sauce sundae created for the event. Tickets are $80 for two people and include alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
Meanwhile, Abigail Barlow will be performing at the West Hollywood location of Shake Shack where parties of four can buy tickets for a similar menu, but with the Korean BBQ Burger rather than the chicken sandwich, for $160. The New York City-based chain is calling that event the “Umami Dinner Party Experience.”
The chicken sandwich is made with fried chicken breast in a sweet-and-spicy gochujang-based glaze with notes of dried chile, ginger, and garlic, along with sesame seeds and white kimchi slaw on a toasted potato bun. The burger has fried onions and scallions along with a savory-salty Korean barbecue sauce with flavors of soy sauce, pear, garlic, ginger, doenjang, and sesame oil, among other flavors. It’s also on a potato bun.
The fries have kimchi seasoning and are served with a side of Korean barbecue sauce.
A company spokesman said the gochujang glaze on the chicken sandwich is sweeter than the Korean barbecue sauce on the burger, adding that the latter is intended to accentuate the savory umami flavor of the beef.
The chicken and burger sandwich are normally offered starting at $8.49 and $7.79, respectively, and the fries are $3.99, or $4.99 with cheese sauce added.
Shake Shack was a fairly early adopter of Korean flavors, having first introduced chicken sandwiches, chicken bites, and fries with gochujang in early 2021.
Shake Shack experimented with more upscale dining opportunities last year in February and March when it offered white-tablecloth dining at 10 of its restaurants for guests sampling its limited-time white truffle menu.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]