Burger time at The Shack
As a first time visitor to New York it took me about 15 minutes to work out where this burger place was because I thought it was somewhere on the street and I kept going in circles around the block area but then realised it was actually located in the park. Finally arriving I was greeted by a lunch time queue of more than 20 people deep so I thought this place must be doing something right. The burgers were first recommended to me by Richard and Jancis on my call out post for Where should I eat in the USA. There was plenty of time to study the menu while waiting and in the end I chose the ShackBurger ($4.75) which comes with 100% all natural Black Angus beef mince cooked medium and American cheese, lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce. It's a pretty small sized burger and you could feel the fat on your fingers as you picked it up and were about to eat. The medium cooked patty took me by surprise at first wondering if it had actually been cooked but it tasted OK and helped to make it very moist and melt-in-your-mouth. Flavours were good and the soft bun to mince ratio was good.
The French Fries ($2.75) were crinkle cut and had a perfect crunch factor — possibly even more enjoyable than the burger itself. I would probably have them both again but I'd be keen to try their hot dog, frozen custard and concretes which sound really strange yet interesting. Being called the Shake Shack perhaps they're also well-known for their shakes. The service was friendly enough and very systematic with a buzzer provided to notify you when your order was ready giving you a chance to look for a table — although if you were by yourself it would be a bit difficult. Shake Shack's popularity certainly seems to be a worthy contender for New York's best burger.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: No hormones and antibiotics used in mince, Freshly made, Park view seating, Squirrels to watch, Buzzers for orders
CONS: Long queue when busy, Weather would effect seating enjoyment, Not something you should have every day perhaps
MUST TRY: ShackBurger at least once, Fries
MAYBE NEXT TIME: Frozen custard, Concretes
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French Fries ($2.75)
Buzzers used to let you know when your order is ready
The lunch time long lineup
The shack
Park seating
6 comments:
Simon, this looks like perfection. And cheap. Bring on the Shake Shack burger!
Love the look of those crinkle cut fries! And the squirrels too; I wonder if they're in the burger mince? LOL
Glad to see you visited on of my recommendations! For the price I think it's approaching burger perfection. They are a little oily, but that's what helps make them so melt in the mouth!
Oh yum! The memories! The arteries! We visited Shake Shack too when in NYC in November and, while the burger was greasily tasty (in a way overly fatty foods rarely manage), it was the concrete that stood out for me. The Shacky Road - rocky road add-ins, brownie batter and frozen chocolate custard! I'd definitely recommend it for next time. Although I'd need a labrador's worth of squirrel chasing to work it off (watching the squirrels was one of my favourite bits, too)
Ooh, squirrels! Been reading a lot of good things about Shake Shack and it looks like it lives up to the hype.
hi john, let's hope shake shack some to Sydney perhaps!
hi joey, squirrel burgers! now that's a new concept ;-)
hi richard, thanks for the recommendations.
hi blue penguin, i wish i tried the Concretes but i was on a feeding frenzy that day trying about 10 places on my long wish list so had to reserve tummy space. i wish we had squirrels in sydney, they're so cute but i guess we have possums.
hi bel, hope you get to try it one day for yourself :-)
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