Sunday, August 21, 2011
Shake Shack is the mecca of grub cheap burgers in NYC. Owned by top-notch restaurant stud Danny Meyer (Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, The Modern, Mialino Union Square Cafe, and on and on), he brought his culinary genius to the simple concept of a hamburger stand. Even though there are multiple locations(opening one 2 blocks from my apt, :) happy time!) around NYC now, my favorite is still the OG spot situated in picturesque Madison Square Park. Nothing beats eating your meal on those flimsy metal chairs with gorgeous trees towering over you.
Usually there are some pretty long lines at this place (as you can see from the pic). They even have a webcam setup on their website pointing at the line in real-time so you can gauge your wait. fucking technology.
When ever I come here I go on fatty alert, there are so many grub things, its hard not to order the whole menu. On this visit, I went with the chicago dog, mushroom burger, shack burger, and cheese fries. The Chicago dog is done right, classic chi town toppings, mustard, bright relish, tomato, onions, pickle and celery salt. If you put ketchup on a chicago dog, you will be shot. and you will have deserved it.
The cheese fries...Im usually not a big fan of cheese fries, but these are pretty fantastic, I think they just work with the crinkle cut. The cheese has the consistency of whiz, but feels slightly elevated. The fries are always crunchy, so thats cool too.
Ok, onto the mushroom burger, I know, I know. Sounds weak, but its far from. So this thing is a portabella mushroon cap, sliced open, filled with a combination of cheese goodness, battered and deep fried to perfection. Saaaay wHaT!??! The result is shockingly grub. Crunchy exteror, meaty mushroom, and the gooey-est cheesest center ever. Oh! and the bun, how could I forget, this bun can NOT be overlooked here, its a slightly sweet potato bun that is soft and squishy, it complements the burgers like a guy trying to pick up a girl.
Burger time! (remember that game?) The meat here is sourced from the now famous Pat Lefrieda, I don't know the meat blend ratios are for this burger, but its insanely juicy and flavorful. They press it down on a flat top so its gets a slight crust of salty meatness. They dont over cook the quality meat, as you can see, there is a slight pinkish hue, gorgeous. Top that with a fine slice of american cheese, ripe tomato, crisp lettuce, some shack sauce (think thousand islands, ketchup, mayo) and you have yourself bless in your hands.
I now this is blastfemy for anyone from the west coast (like myself) to hear this, but I actually like this burger MORE than In-N-Out. I know, crazy talk. But for reals. This is a my favorite non-restaurant burger. period. exclamation point! hashtag #bestnonrestaurantburger
-j
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next time I'm in NY i got to have it and that's all i have to say about it.
ReplyDeleteSo Tasty dude! I am sure...Just like those frozen chicken sandwiches we made in SB from Costco. HAHAHA. Looks great. Welcome back, and thanks!
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