NYC Cray !!! Shake Shack

The Lowdown
Restaurant Name: Shake Shack
Cuisine: American Burgers
Average Price per Person: $6 to $15 USD
Location: There are 16 locations, we went to the Madison Square Park location in Manhattan. See their website for a list of all the locations. (please refer to the map below for details)
Recommendations: Smoke Shack, Shack Stack and Frozen Custard

Ratings (out of 5)
Taste: 3.5
Creativity/Authenticity: 4.5
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 2.5
Bang for Buck: 4
Crayscale !!!

I did a ton of research and asked a bunch of food obsessed friends for good NYC food recommendations prior to my trip. One spot that was unanimously mentioned by almost every person was Shake Shack. You may have heard of Shake Shack before, it’s kind of a BIG deal in New York – HUGE deal actually. There’s a mad long line up for Shake Shack almost errrdayy. Coincidently, on my flight over, I happened to watch the movie Something Borrowed where Shake Shack was a lunch time favorite… which made me even more excited for my first Shake Shack experience.

Shake Shack originally started out as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park back in 2001. Since then, Shake Shack has expanded and now has a total of 16 locations most of which are concentrated in New York with a couple reaching down south in Florida. They recently set up shop internationally with locations in Dubai and Kuwait City as well.

So what makes Shake Shack so legendary? It could be their (wait for the marketing sounding copy) “juicy flavorful Shake Shack Burgers made with freshly ground 100% all-natural Angus beef, free of hormones and antibiotics cooked to perfection.” Or perhaps it’s what originally caught people’s attention, their crispy grilled Flat Top Dogs. I personally fell hard for their Frozen Custard Shakes! Shake Shack is also canine friendly and offers treats for dogs as well!

Luckily for us, our hotel was only about 2 blocks away from the OG location in Madison Square Park. We went during a weekday so the line wasn’t too long. Well actually Eugene was the one who waited in line while Sammi and I got ready (thanks LOML). I think he waited for about half an hour in the searing heat and overheard the two girls behind him talk about how they couldn’t get Futura x Hennessey on the cover of Complex. We walked by during the weekend lunch rush and it was packed, so if you can, try to stick to the weekdays. Shake Shack is outdoors, so pick a day where you’ll be climatically comfortable to wait in line or be prepared with sunscreen or an umbrella as the case may be. You’ll have a lot of time to digest their menu and debate between the options (everything sounds so good). Once you place your order, you’ll be given a vibrator that shakes to let you know your meal is ready to be picked up! There’s seating in the park as well so you can scope out a seat while you anxiously wait for the vibrating signal! Time goes by pretty quickly though as you take in the gorgeous New York landscape with the Flat Iron building and Empire State building within viewing distance.

Was Shake Shack worth the hype and the wait? For a first timer, yes, I thought it was a delicious experience. If I were to go back to New York, I’d definitely eat there again but only if the lines not too long. For a fast food joint, they definitely outdo themselves by serving fresh food using quality ingredients for a reasonable price. Their burgers are probably the best quality and tasting FAST FOOD burgers I’ve ever had and they definitely win points for their amazing custard shakes.

Derby Walnut Pie Frozen Custard ($3.25 USD): mmm this was super dense, rich & creamy. Soo effing good. I wish we had hit up shake shake earlier so I would have known about the Frozen Custard Calendar! Every month, Shake Shack releases a Custard Calendar which lists special flavors for every day of the week. Click here to check out the custards they’re whipping up this month.

Fair Shake (I don’t have a pic of this, but it’s under the frozen custard): Vanilla shake featuring 100% certified organic Arabica Fair Trade coffee ($5.50 USD). Mmm love the Fair Shake Frozen Custard Shake! I want to try to replicate this at home and have it for breakfast every morning haha.

Shack Stack: Cheeseburger and Crisp-fried Portobello mushroom filled with melted Muenster and cheddar cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato and ShakeSauce ($8.60 USD). I totally expected the Shake Stack to be my favorite. It was pretty friggin delicious but super heavy. It was a little overwhelming which is why I think I prefer the tangy simplicity of the Smoke Shack. That fried cheese stuffed Portobello mushroom though…

Smoke Shack: Cheeseburger topped with Niman Ranch all-natural applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper and ShackSauce ($6.25 USD for a single and $8.80 for a double). We ordered 3 of the 5 burgers and this was my favorite! I love the chopped cherry pepper together with the ShakeSauce.

ShackBurger: Cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShakeSauce ($4.55 USD for a single and $7.10 for a double). The ShackBurger was simple, no trills, just a straight up delicious meaty burger.

Cheese Fries: Topped with Shake cheddar and American cheese sauce ($3.65 USD). I was pretty disappointed with the cheese sauce. This was one step up from that nasty fake processed nacho cheese ish you get at 7/11. The crinkle cut Yukon potato fries were good though, crispy and moist and on the inside and apparently 100% free of artificial trans fats and 25% less fat than regular fries.

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11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, United States
p: 1.212.889.6600
w: shakeshack.com