cherrypatter nyc
and great ideas for what to do too!
shake shack: still amazing despite all the accolades
shake shack is not exactly a revelation for anyone who knows anything about the new york food scene, but i’m very happy to report that it continues to be as good as it’s ever been, and i’ve been coming here from the very very beginnings when it was just a hot dog cart. my office used to be right around the corner on broadway and 25th (oh how i miss those food days, such a better location then being in gowanus though i do benefit from no commute) and so of course i went into beautiful glorious madison square park every chance i could. how could i not investigate the food activity there, and until shake shack there was none.
my preferred meal at shake shack is a single shack burger which has that special sauce, always the best looking and tasty tomato slice and then of course a great meat patty. when shake shack first opened, i never thought i would like one of these fast food burgers. i like my burgers medium rare, super juicy and covered in cheddar (i don’t think i have ever even had a hamburger at mcdonalds, as a kid i always got the fish filet — i know, gross, but what can i say). but eventually i tried the shack burger and i’ve been hooked ever since. for a while, i was going once a week before the lines were crazy and we could just sneak out of the office for a quick lunch.
in addition to the burger, i really love shake shack’s cheese fries. that cheese sauce, which looks so much like 7-eleven’s is just another animal altogether. it feels fake, but you can feel better about yourself (well as long as you don’t care about the calories) knowing that even though that cheese tastes like it should be artificial it is really, most likely, made of all real ingredients. i mean really, i don’t think that danny meyer would allow you to eat fake cheese.
and finally, if we can actually manage it, we end our meal with a hot fudge sundae. although shake shack always has these crazy flavors (we tried the the other day — not a success), i tend to stick with the tried and true vanilla. that sundae is a classic, it is always the same, and it is always delicious.
since i no longer work nearby and with the huge lines (they can be more than an hour), we now do shake shack as a family outing. one parent gets to stand in line (that’s usually the preferred position, as you get to read or hang out with no kid duties), while the other hangs out at the great little playground on the other side of madison square park. once the waiting and playing are over, we then hook up for the perfect family meal. both kids devour their burgers, and we all dig into that sundae. although the madison square park location is by far my favorite, there are a few other shake shacks now which have inside seating (the one at madison square park is outside so beware of the weather conditions though when it is raining there is often no line) and there is gossip that one is opening up in dubai. shake shack: madison square park, southest corner near madison avenue and 23rd street; upper west side, 366 columbus avenue at 77th street, both in manhattan, new york. also in citifield (mets stadium), 12301 roosevelt avenue, queens, new york. . plans are also in the works for another location in nolita at 47 prince street at mulberry street.
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