Stacked: Review

Blogging my food experiences has changed the way I experience food. The biggest change I experience is the way I spend my time tasting the food. I thought I was in love with food but it was because I was hungry and willing to eat anything to satisfy my appetite. Of course that is not the case, to love food is to know when people put love (i.e. time and dedication) into their food. Stacked does not fit that concept.

A friend of mine works at Stacked and I thought (hankering for a burger) why not try a new experience and hopefully run into her. It was a Friday night and I knew better by calling into putting my name down on the list. They told me it was a 30-45 minute wait and they were great about taking my name down. They would notify me by text message when our table it ready and to just check in with them about our position.

Short note: Stacked is found in the Thousand Oaks Mall across from the Cheesecake Factory.

The Thousand Oaks Mall A.K.A The Oaks

Stacked inside-outside patio

The front of Stacked

About 25 minutes later when we got there I was told it was a 30-45 minute wait. WHAT?! So I tried to reiterate basically what she was telling me, that now the que instead of a 30-45 minute wait is now an hour and a half wait. She said yes. . . my initial thought was "How the fuck did it jump from 30-45 minutes to an hour in less than 30 minutes?" So I asked her that question but without the cursing and she explained on how between the time I put my name down to the time I got there, they seated the people who was physically there. . . but still 30-45 and I would have been there on time.

To my left, while checking in

We went around the mall and then came back and it was around the 30 minute mark before my phone vibrated to let us know our table was ready. . . to get cleaned. We were seated but there was a stool missing which the girl said she'll get our seat right away. A couple of minutes pass and another server said she'll get us a seat. They had one of their seats with someone who was waiting to be seated. . . umm really?

To my right, this was before we were seated

Lexi our server introduced herself and showed how we're suppose to order. To activate the Ipad we had to swipe a credit or debit card. . .. Basically, if you don't have a card I really don't know what to tell you, sorry. I swiped and she showed us a demo. Ordered drinks and we looked at our menu to see what we want. The Ipad is pretty cool because Stacked is all about customizations but it was 5 of us and 1 Ipad. It kind of ruined the experience of having everyone put in their order in one go.

As you can see it was dark enough to only have the screen illuminate our table =/

My sister and my cousins having a go with the interactive menu

The sauces (including ketchup and mayo) cost extra and any additional sauces cost extra. You pay for the burger and sides separately. Each burger was at least between $9-$10 dollars.The sides (which we got onion strings with sauce) cost about $7 each. We bought 2 of those and we split it between all of us, so it was about a little $3 each. One by one we ordered and send it in. It didn't take too long to get our order.

My burger was exactly the name of the place, stacked, but for the size of it, I didn't know if it was worth shoving out the $9. I took a bite, oh how I thought I was sick. I couldn't really taste anything. I mean ANYTHING! The pretzel bun was overwhelming since it was a bland, overly-chewy structure. I couldn't taste the kick in the pepper-jack cheese. I tasted the meat just slightly after taking off the bun, the grilled onions (it was basically put on the grill to put burn marks but not grilled as the same as In-N-Out), and the fried egg. Doused my burger with ranch to taste something. However, when it came to the shake, it compensated for everything.

Our meal, my Wake Up Call burger to the bottom right.

The shake I got the mudslide, which was coffee with Oreos, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. The shake was the balance between runny and thick. I was so pleased with it and that ran about a little under $6.

Mudslide Shake

During our experience we did not see Lexi much except after we got our food. We actually did not see a lot because the place was dark, like they forgot to pay their electricity bills or someone dimmed the room way too much. From the pictures it looks crowded which it was but the place is tiny. Their counter is a podium and it's basically a third of the size of your average BJ's Restaurant.

The alcohol wall and exit, it got cold and I forgot a jacket T_T

When our drinks were low she wasn't there but someone was there Justine. She was amazing, she came back several time to fill our cups, to make sure everything was well and what not. I still gave a 15% tip because my friend served me as well as having a great experience at the end with Justine. If you're ever there request for Justine, she'll take real good care of you.

More than I would love to experience the place again, our bill ran up to $86 dollars (excluding tip). . . for 5 people. Not bad but if we're planning to cash that much money I rather go to the Habit or In-N-Out.

You don't go to Stacked for the food, you go for the shakes and the experience. You basically pay off the technology they use and that is fine and dandy but with that comes a price and it's the most important thing. . . the food. In the end I'm sorry Stacked (well not really) I'm not coming back.


Stacked- 446 W Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks, Ca

Value: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Food: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Overall: 3/5