A few blocks from our hotel near Times Square is a burger joint called the Shake Shack. It was hard to miss with line-ups at all hours of the night. What was the big deal? We wondered...
A few nights later we had the opportunity to try this place out. The burgers are fresh, generous and juicy, much like something you'd have at a friend's backyard BBQ. Definitely a step above Wendy's, and rivaling the freshness of Five Guys.
But what puts them over the top are a few unique menu items such as frozen custard and custard mix-ins called concretes. John was starting to build a dependency on Fair Shake Concretes (Frozen Custard made with 100% Certified Arabica Fair Trade Coffee), but different flavors were offered daily.
Burgers could be ordered with hot dogs or breaded cheesy portobello mushrooms. I bravely ordered the Shack Stack which is a cheese burger, with a 'Shroom burger inside it.
I loved all of it.. So much that we ate there three times during our week long stay. (Once for dinner and twice for crazy I haven't-adjusted-to-EST munchies). We brought our buddy Mark of Ottawa with us and had a lovely meal with him here. It was his first time so it was fun to share our discovery with him. He said he enjoyed his burger and I believe it! He made that burger disappear!
The food isn't haute cuisine, but cmon! It's burgers. It should be unpretentious, delicious, predictable and affordable. Just go. You'll like it I promise. Just remember to come back here and tell me I was right.
“Shake Shack sprouted from a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan created by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) to support the Madison Square Park Conservancy’s first art installation. The cart was quite the success, with Shack Fans lined up daily for three summers
In 2004, USHG won the bid to open a permanent kiosk in the Park: Shake Shack was born. This modern day “roadside” burger stand serves up the most delicious burgers, hot dogs, frozen custard, shakes, beer, wine and more. An instant neighborhood fixture, Shake Shack welcomed people from all over the city, country and world who gathered together to enjoy fresh, simple, high-quality versions of the classics in a majestic setting.
The rest, as they say, is burger history.”
