From a recommendation from a reader (hi newmi!), we ventured out to Madison Square Park (only a few blocks from our second hotel) one night to eat at the Shake Shack. It was already past 9pm and so we thought we’d we able to eat quite soon but what greeted us was a long line, snaking it’s way down the path and around all the tables! And the line stayed that long by the time we got to the head of the queue, about 45 minutes later.
I ordered a Shackburger, French fries, and a regular Arnold Palmer to drink (half lemonade and half iced tea). I was given a pager and I went to find a place to sit. My pager buzzed about 10 minutes later and I went up to collect my box of food.
Mirna’s pager took a lot longer to buzz and then she took even longer to pick up her food. It turned out that they had just forgotten to set off her pager and so her food had been sitting there getting cold. They proceeded to cook her another burger (also a Shackburger) but her cheese fries were already soggy and beyond redemption. Well, we ended up splitting the first lukewarm burger, pushing us into very full territory and without any stomach space to try their famous frozen custard.
The first thing that came to my mind when I took a look at my burger was butter! The burger reeked of butter – it’s a butterburger, not a Shackburger. But the burger itself? It was very good, definitely not the best I’ve eaten, but not to be sniffed at. The fries were crisp and crinkle cut and were most likely from frozen. I have nothing against that – they were nice fries. The cheese fries were topped with an extremely rich cheese sauce (their menu says its a mixture of cheddar and American cheese) and would have been nicer had they been hotter and the fries crisper. If/when I’m next in New York, I’m going to try their frozen custard!
You know, I thought sitting in the park would be great, all fresh air and bbq party atmosphere. What I’d forgotten about were the um… critters. We sat at a table with some plants and midway through our meal, we saw and heard something rustling underneath all the foliage. A mouse emerged and shot between my legs (yes, I’m not too proud to admit that I squealed like a girl) and then proceeded to make a tour under all the other tables. Eeks!
Shake Shack
Madison Square Park, SE corner
enter at Madison Ave and 23rd St.
New York, NY
Wed, 1 Oct, 2008 at 22:24
The burger looks good – too bad about Mirna’s order! I can’t imagine waiting 45 minutes.
And now I want cheese fries. THANKS.
Wed, 1 Oct, 2008 at 22:25
Oops, that was me. Screwed up typing in the name… maybe I should just go by boo for October, in honor of halloween?
Wed, 1 Oct, 2008 at 22:52
The Shake Shack has certainly changed over the years – I still remember when it was a temporary/seasonal hot dog stand. How fun to read about it now as a highly-efficient (pagers! so American, no?) landmark on the NY food scene.
Thanks for sharing your NY trip details. You’ve hit some great places to eat, and I’m glad you feel it’s all such a good deal despite the recent “weakness” of the pound against the dollar. If you’d gone to the States a year ago the dollar-to-pound was just over 2 to 1, you’d have been truly astounded. : )
Thu, 2 Oct, 2008 at 02:51
ooooh shack burger! one question, how does one tell the difference between previously frozen and fresh fries?
Thu, 2 Oct, 2008 at 05:13
A moose loose aroond the hoose?
If this had been an indoor establishment, the Environmental Health people would have closed it down immediately. But, how does the law apply to an outdoor restaurant? Obviously, the creature was attacted by all the food scraps people leave around.
I note you spelt ‘cheddar’ with a small c … not the genuine article from Somerset, I presume?
Danny: Go and try the chips at Harry Ramsden’s, in Guisely, Yorkshire (NOT the various franchises that bear Harry’s name). They’re the genuine article!
Fri, 3 Oct, 2008 at 14:43
Yup, the fries are frozen because they simply don’t have enough space to make them fresh.
As for cheese fries, I find it works best if you get the cheese on the side!
Fri, 3 Oct, 2008 at 17:38
Boots in the Oven:
I’d totally forgotten about Halloween – I guess that’s soon. I’ve got a pretty good Halloween costume photo from New York that I’ve yet to upload. Yeah, 45 minutes was quite long and I’m not sure I’d ever queue for their burgers again. There’s a live cam to the queue though! The line is very long as I type this.
American in London: I haven’t seen a single pager here in London! Only in the States/Canada and once in Helsinki. Only one month before our trip, it was already at 2 to 1. Oh, how we despaired as we watched the value of the pound drop…
Danny: Uniformity in crinkles and uniformity in colour and crunch. But hey, I’m NOT an expert!
travelrat: I suppose that’s the best part of having the establishment in the park! Not sure of the provenance of the cheddar.
I’ve only had the chips at the Harry Ramsden in Bournemouth – and those were already pretty dang tasty!
kathryn: Thanks for confirming the frozen fry thing! And I never knew that sauce on the side was an option… but now that I think of it, doh!
Wed, 22 Jun, 2011 at 12:47
I know this is an old post, but I just had to add that you’re lucky it was only a mouse than ran past you; I haven’t eaten at the Shake Shack since I was there one night and a squirrel jumped out of a tree and landed on a poor girl’s back. Yeek! I take mine to go now