Hokey Pokey LA

🇳🇿 NEW ZEALAND
📍 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, Westside
🅿️ Mall has private garage, one hour free
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: Inside Westfield Century City mall, unit #2625.

In the United States when ice cream is around, the term "hokey pokey" has generally meant some form of corrupted Italian terminology and has plenty of origin stories. In New Zealand, it means something very different and very specific, referring to a flavor combining vanilla ice cream and honeycomb toffee chunks.

Near the end of 2022, a New Zealander-owned shop opened up in the Westfield Century City mall and three brothers started offering Los Angeles their hyper-regional treat. Their take continues the soft serve trend in the city, with a base of ultra-creamy vanilla either on a waffle cone or in a cup. They have turned the usually larger chunks of toffee into a homemade crumble that gets spooned onto the ice cream when you order.

Hokey pokey (above) sounds like a simple dessert and it kind of is, but that first lick proves what a luxurious treat you have actually ordered. The ice cream itself is very rich, while the sweet crunch of the toffee rounds out the flavors and energizes the textures of the experience. The temperature is on the low side to maximize the creaminess, so start licking fast before it drips down your hand!

While hokey pokey is an important and popular flavor in New Zealand, their ice cream shops are also well-known for having long lists of options on their menu. Hokey Pokey LA keeps their menu quite tight, but there are other flavors to choose like hazelnut hokey chocolate (below left), which uses a delicious Italian hazelnut soft serve and adds soft chocolate to the toffee crumble.

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Shake Shack

USA 🇺🇸🍔

🇺🇸 UNITED STATES (New York)

📍 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, Westside

(And many other locations)

🥤 Beer and wine available

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (06 December 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/shake-shack

 

When Shake Shack first expanded to Los Angeles, it came with all the love and hate you would expect. As the West Hollywood location spent about a year from announcement to opening, all manner of predictions, praise, and insults went flying. Now that there are eight locations in the city, including the one at LAX, it can be said the burger had a reception good enough for its business model. And despite your loyalty for this or another burger, it is good for the city. Keeps everyone on their toes.

If you ever lived in New York City, you remember happiness on trips to Shake Shack, but sadness that there was no competition from In-N-Out. Unfortunately this never happened, but here in Los Angeles there is a much well-rounded burger scene as mom and pop burger shops also thrive, making it possible to obtain any type of burger you want, from the most upscale pretentious kind all the way to an honest roadside stand model.

A recent return visit for a double shack burger

Shake Shack falls somewhere in the middle of this and is all about the burger. Ok, yes get a shake too because those are even better. And fries. And sometimes beer. But the burger here is the most popular menu item despite the name. The single is not the kind of massive American artery-clogger, it's more of a sanity-sized light lunch, if that is possible in the world of burgers.

 

They offer a response to their initially long lines right on their menu: "There are no shortcuts to quality." While this might be a lofty expression for a simple place, I'll buy it. The line goes fast enough that it is nothing to be too concerned about anyways. They are ubiquitous enough now that sometimes the lines are shorter than the nearby Wendy's.

Even on a freezing day, people will wait in New York

The Shack burger ($5.79, below) is gooey and moist, the consistency of medium-rare somehow even though only available ordered at medium. It is definitely cooked through, but bursting with juice and flavor. The shack sauce is nothing extraordinary, but the lettuce and tomato are always very fresh, and the non-descript bun is the perfect slightly sweet holder for this sandwich.

The krinkle cut fries ($3.09, above) are by any measure standard, and heavily salted. They don't need ketchup though, and that is a good enough sign. While the place does serve beer, there is something so classic about having a milkshake with a burger. The namesake dessert/beverage here is just right. They do make fresh lemonade that is excellent, although ask for it with little or no ice or you will be drinking mostly frozen water. The taste is very sour and sharp, not very sweetened, and perfect for summer or winter.

Sometimes they put on promotions to try out new items like the hot chicken sandwich ($7.09, below). These are generally underwhelming compared to the burgers.

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I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

Thank you!

VENMO: @JAREDCOHEE

CASH APP: $JaredCohee

PAYPAL: (no account necessary, use link)