(tl;dr at the end of my review)
In all my years of eating out at restaurants, I have been able to explore many different cuisines. However, as much as I love Thai or Desi or Caribbean food, just to name a few, nothing beats a hearty...
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(tl;dr at the end of my review)
In all my years of eating out at restaurants, I have been able to explore many different cuisines. However, as much as I love Thai or Desi or Caribbean food, just to name a few, nothing beats a hearty burger or a chicken sandwich. Much to my most welcome surprise, Smashville now has my most favorite hot chicken sandwich AND my most favorite burger. The Smashville interior is designed really well, with a cool sign and eye-grabbing wall art that can only enhance any social media photo op you take. The staff is very friendly, and the menu is simple and not overwhelming at all. I walked into the establishment thinking, "there's no way they can be doing both a sandwich and a burger that well, they should just pick one and stick to it and refine it as much as they can." Well, I'm extremely glad I'm not running the place.
Let me begin with the hot chicken sandwich. First impression, it looked amazing, with a very sizeable piece of chicken sitting in a bed of chipotle house sauce and pickles, all inside a nice warm buttered brioche bun. When I took my first bite, I realized that it tasted even better than it looked. The breading was crunchy, the spice had a kick that lingered (I ordered a medium) but did not overpower the taste, the chicken was tender inside, the pickles were not too sweet, and the bun was warm but not soggy.
I then moved on to the beef smash burger (I ordered the double patty). The process to make the burger was simple (grill is in open view): take a beef patty (two for the double), smash it on the grill, add seasoning, add cheese, add sauteed onions, and throw it in a bun. Very simple, and in this case, simply excellent. After my first bite, I literally could not stop smiling and at a certain point, I even laughed. My taste buds were thanking me and my heart was happy. I thought the hot chicken sandwich was amazing, I didn't even have the words to describe this burger. I hate to say this because both items are phenomenal and they're both praiseworthy, but if you absolutely HAVE to choose between both the sandwich and the burger, get the burger. But again, you need to try both (this is like picking a favorite child).
The other menu items they have available are things like fries, hot fries, and smash fries. I tried the smash fries too which is essentially the smash beef burger layered on top of a bed of fries with their chipotle house sauce. Just like the burger and the sandwich, this did not disappoint.
tl;dr new halal spot with a hot chicken sandwich that is done extremely well and a beef smash burger better than anywhere else I've tried, customer service is impeccable, seating is spacious, and a cool design with Instagram-worthy ops inside, everything tastes excellent, this place is definitely worth a try because I guarantee you'll come back for more. 9.5/10 because they can definitely use more options on the menu, but they're also a new restaurant so mastering their menu before expanding is definitely important.