Wee Shack Burger Café in Morro Bay
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive name — the Wee Shack Burger Café is definitely big on flavor and quality.
Spearheaded by brothers Huy (pronounced “Wee,” hence the restaurant’s name) and Wayne Ngo, this hands-on, family-run business is located in what was the longtime site of Margie’s Diner in Morro Bay. It opened in October 2011, but not before the family brightened up the interior with more windows and festive colors, and spruced up the dogfriendly patio.
Though Wee Shack is on the well-traveled Main Street just south of Highway 41, Wayne Ngo noted that “because of the location, this building kind of flies under the radar. Our goal — and really all the credit goes to Huy, this was his brainchild — was to create a nice family place for the local community to come and be able to have a reasonably priced burger and beer.”
Obviously the handformed, never-frozen Black Angus beef burgers are the meat of the matter at Wee Shack. You’ll need both hands to corral these into your mouth, and plan on using more than one napkin.
Among the most popular items are the John Wayne, “a real carnivore’s burger” loaded up with bacon and onion rings, and the Wee-Man with jalapeño-flavored bacon. From there, you can steer for the straightforward Shack Burger with signature sauce, or the Blue Moon with blue cheese and sautéed onions, or the smothered Chili Burger, or the Shroom with Swiss cheese.
All-beef hot dogs, bowls of chili, and slider trios such as Baby Bleus are also options at Wee Shack. However, if you want to forego the beef, you can pluck a Chic Burger with grilled chicken and avocado from the menu, or aSacred Cow with a veggie patty and bacon, or go for one of the salads such as the Cobb or the Hail Caesar.
Soon after opening, the Ngos added morning fare to the Wee Shack lineup as well.
Not surprisingly, you can get a Breakfast Burger with a fried egg, cheese and your choice of bacon or sausage. However, they’re also proud of their hearty breakfast burritos — packed with egg, cheese and your choice of meats (or just veggies), they’re then cut in half and seared on the grill so they keep their shape.
In addition to all the savory items, Wee Shack always has a full case of sweet treats to tempt you. Huy is a baker and candy maker by trade, so be sure to check out the array of brownies, cookies and decadent cinnamon rolls.
If that’s not enough not to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can also get an oldfashioned shake, or an “Ice Cream Burger” made with some of those fresh baked cookies.
The plans are to “keep the menu small so we can keep things fresh and consistent,” said Ngo. “We’re considered fast casual, but we take a lot of pride in what we do. We’re not just hand-forming our burgers, we’re also making fromscratch hand-cut fries, and our freshly baked buns come from Edna’s Bakery in San Luis Obispo.
“We’re even going to start curing our own bacon and have fun playing around with some more flavors,” he added. “We’ve got a really talented crew of cooks here, and we really rely on their expertise to bring our vision onto the plate.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2012 at 5:41 AM with the headline "Wee Shack Burger Café in Morro Bay."