I would consider Shake Shack an institution in the city, and everyone that lives here has either been to a Shake Shack or has heard of it. The thousands of yelp postings just verify how popular it is among city residents and visitors, in addition to the long lines that normally span at least 20 minutes. Since it is officially the summer and I have been smelling that charcoal bbq smell all around the city, I have been craving a burger. After going through the list of places in my mind, I knew that Shake Shack was the place I wanted to go to.
There are many places in the city where you can claim to find "the best burger," but my taste in burgers is not that sophisticated, and therefore I find it difficult to rank one above the next. However, I am able to recognize when a place serves a great, high quality burger, and Shake Shack is one of those places. To me, it also ranks above the rest because coming here means getting the complete experience (with fries and a shake), as opposed to going to a nice restaurant and getting a fancy, overdone burger. The only one that I have ever been to is the one in Madison Square Park, because that has always been the closest to me and it is nice to be able to get your food and sit outside in the park to eat. Upon arrival, the line may appear to be a bit daunting...
And, yes, I was in line when I took this picture, so clearly it wrapped all the way around. From the time I got in line to the time I ordered, it was about 20-25 minutes which is not bad for Shake Shack. They do have a "B" Line for those who just want to order Ice Cream, Beer, or Wine, but that one tends to be very short since most people come for the food/shakes.
Once you finally order, you are then given a buzzer to wait for your food, which took about an addition 10-15 minutes. Part of the charm is being able to sit outside in the park, so you have to be pretty vigilant and jump on a empty table when you have the chance, otherwise you my get stuck eating on a park bench.
I ordered a single hamburger with the works (lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion), an order of french fries, and a black and white milkshake. I decided to go all out because I did a ton of walking today and a very hard boot camp class. I had also been craving a black and white milk shake, so I knew I had to order that.
This was such a satisfying meal, and exactly what I had been craving. The burger was very juicy, and the patty was the perfect size. I hate when burgers are too thick and everything falls off the bun, but this one was perfect. It is a very simple and straight-forward burger, but that is what I love about it.
The fries were also very good. While they were not the best fries I have ever had, I can never eat a burger without having fries on the side, and these did the job just fine. The shake was so creamy and delicious, and it was very hard not to drink the whole thing. I made the mistake of looking up the nutritional information before I went, so I was too scared to drink the whole thing (note for the future: don't look at the nutritional information unless you are sure you want to see it!) Even though I am generally a chocolate person, black and white milkshakes are my all time favorite. My sister, my dad and I used to get a black and white shake from the country club we belonged to growing up, and now that we don't go there anymore I have been looking for a shake to fill the void. This one did the trick.
While there are many shake shacks in the city, I would highly recommend going to the one in madison square park if it is a nice day like today was. They offer a variety of different shakes and frozen custards/concretes that also looked so good, in addition to burgers, fries, and hot dogs. Sometimes you are just craving a burger with fries and a shake, and Shake Shack is the place to go for those days. They now have tons of locations outside of the city, like in DC, Connecticut, Long Island, and Florida, and are quickly expanding, so you don't have to live in the city to experience Shake Shack!
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