Meeting Top Chef Richard Blais at The Crack Shack in Century City!

The Crack Shack recently opened in Century City. I had heard SO many good things about The Crack Shack, so I couldn’t wait to try it out. As a big fan of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, I have been tracking Richard Blais’ career for years, seeing his transformation from TV chef contestant to cookbook author & now a celebrity chef & restauranteur!

I decided to visit the restaurant on opening day. Mind you, I was also there to check out the Nordstrom sale & I saw that The Crack Shack is conveniently located right across from the department store on the first floor of the Westfield Century City shopping mall.

The Crack Shack is known for their fried chicken. I love fried chicken but since I only had a limited amount of time, I opted to order a chicken sandwich. I had a hard time deciding which one to try so I asked the restaurant hostess. She said that the most popular chicken sandwiches at The Crack Shack are the Coop Deville & the Firebird. Since I wasn’t sure how spicy the Firebird was going to be, I decided on the Coop Deville. I love spicy & flavorful food but since this was going to be my very first time eating at The Crack Shack, I decided to play it safe. This also gives me a reason to visit again (next time with my whole family). 🙂

I paid the cashier & grabbed a table out on the patio. It’s a great spot for people watching & there was a nice breeze on a picture perfect LA day.

A few minutes later I noticed a Crack Shack employee delivering food to the table near me. I quickly realized that it was Richard Blais! I was so excited that I jumped out of my seat & approached him. He was very nice & gracious enough to take a selfie with me. We had a quick chat – I asked him if there were plans to open a location in the San Fernando Valley. Richard said that they were opening in Pasadena later this year.

Shortly after meeting Richard, my Coop Deville sandwich arrived. I couldn’t wait to take a bite of it – but first, a photo or two!

The brioche bun was so fresh & tasty. I discovered later on (after reading a sign in the restaurant lobby) that The Crack Shack only uses bread made in-house or artisan bread from local bakeries. The fried chicken was moist & tender. Most places I’ve been to serve fried chicken that’s sort of on the dry sign. So I took this as a good sign! Like their placemat says…

The fried chicken sandwich has a little bit of heat, but the combination of pickled fresno chilies, lime mayo & napa cabbage really just hit the spot!

The restaurant has a bar, extensive sauce station & a Stubborn Soda machine (along with Pepsi).

The outside patio (facing towards Constellation Blvd) has a fun grassy area for hanging out during happy hour, complete with beach chairs & bean bag toss game).

I’m looking forward to returning with my family in tow, so that we can order a bunch of different entrees. The Crack Shack has fried chicken dinners, a variety of bowls (you can add tuna, fried or grilled chicken, pollo asado & other types of proteins), as well as side dishes like deviled eggs, Mexican poutine & mini biscuits.

The Crack Shack is located at the Westfield Century City shopping mall. For more information, visit their website here.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. This blog post is for informational purposes only. I happily paid for my own food & can’t wait to visit again. All images are my own unless otherwise noted. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.