The Shake Shack, Madison Square Park
|
What a place! After hearing all the hype we were so glad to find Shake Shack up to the standards set by the buzz. Excellent, juicy, and thick burgers, especially the Shack Stack, were delicious. Crispy fries, and some of the best shakes EVER make the meal almost complete. The beautiful park setting with strings of lights and cute, friendly squirrels puts it over the edge. Shake Shack is certainly one of the city's greatest food assets. We only have one question... When can we go back? Try the Shack Stack Burger, fries, and any shake. Also see Upper West Side Location.
Atmosphere
Sure, Shake Shack is just a burger stand, but it's a COOL burger stand. Aesthetically- speaking, it looks like it jumped from the pages of Architectural Digest; dark grey steel, sharp angles, and simple lines make this 'modern day roadside burger stand' stand out from all the rest. Nestled inside of beautiful, little Madison Square Park, it is surrounded trees and little green-metal bistro tables. There are probably 100 tables, but it doesn't feel that way. Strings of lights come on after dark, giving the whole place a cozy, romantic air. Smart, people-friendly squirrels come and eat out of your hand. The whole place feels happy, peaceful, and quiet- a refuge in the middle of a busy city.
Service
So often, when a restaurant is made popular by lots of hype, the food and the experience is soured. Not so with Shake Shack. We waited in line about 40 minutes but thought that is was probably worth it. We weren't disappointed.
Counter service is friendly and quick taking your order. When you order, you are given a buzzer. When your food is ready, it vibrates. On this busy sunday, it took about 10 minutes to get the food after ordering. The short wait gives you enough time find a table and to collect your condiments, napkins and such.
Oh, and a word to the wise: if you come here on a weekend, or during lunch hour, expect a wait. A LONG wait!
Counter service is friendly and quick taking your order. When you order, you are given a buzzer. When your food is ready, it vibrates. On this busy sunday, it took about 10 minutes to get the food after ordering. The short wait gives you enough time find a table and to collect your condiments, napkins and such.
Oh, and a word to the wise: if you come here on a weekend, or during lunch hour, expect a wait. A LONG wait!
Food
We ordered a double Shack cheeseburger ($7.25), a Shack Stack Burger ($8.75), Fries ($2.75), and a fair trade coffee shake ($5.50). Our food came in a little cardboard box and, at first, it didn't look like enough. But, the burgers are small and compact, but very thick.
The double cheeseburger was hot, and juicy. The meat here, premium beef hand-formed and grilled fresh, is definitely the star. It's joined by sliced tomato, lettuce, American cheese, and special Shack sauce, basically some version of mayo-based remoulade. Was that a hint of garlic? The soft, white bun is grilled potato bread that compacts and mushes with your fingers and tastes amazing.
The Shack Stack is a Stack Burger combined a Mushroom Burger. In this case, the same excellent beef joined by a portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese and deep fried. Again, there was tomato, lettuce, and Shake sauce. Normally, the thought of something fried on a burger sounds like overkill. And, after the first bite, which was mostly fried cheese, I was afraid that this was the case. But, as we got further down, the mushroom added a nice, earthy, rich flavor to the burger, and the fried-ness gave it a nice crisp crunch. This was by far my favorite of the two burgers. Again, that soft, comforting, white gushy bread.
The fries here are excellent. Accordian-cut, they are so light and crispy. They actually crunched in the mouth. Not heavy or greasy, you could eat a ton of these and not feel bad. Oh, and by the way, they are made with 100% non-trans fat oil and have 25% less fat than most fries. Good, because I ate a lot of them! The ketchup here tastes better than normal too, though I don't know why. Anyway, you don't really need the ketchup, the fries are great on their own.
But, after all of this, I have to say, my favorite thing at Shake Shack is the shakes. Rich and creamy, thick but not too thick, they have such intense flavor but are never overly sweet. So far, we have tried the caramel and the Fair Trade, vanilla with fair trade coffee. Both were fantastic. My advice? Don't split one because, once you taste them, you will want one all to yourself, and the line is too long to go back. Trust me on this.
Shake Shack also serves hot dogs. We've had one that was very good, but we prefer the delicious hamburgers. They also have concretes, frozen custards with mix-ins, but we haven't gone there yet. There are special custard flavors each day of the week that sound excellent, like crème brulee, pumpkin, apple cinnamon, and PB&J. Mmmm.
Shake Shack also has a large selection of beer and wine, so you can have a nice beer in the park with your burger. What a place!
The double cheeseburger was hot, and juicy. The meat here, premium beef hand-formed and grilled fresh, is definitely the star. It's joined by sliced tomato, lettuce, American cheese, and special Shack sauce, basically some version of mayo-based remoulade. Was that a hint of garlic? The soft, white bun is grilled potato bread that compacts and mushes with your fingers and tastes amazing.
The Shack Stack is a Stack Burger combined a Mushroom Burger. In this case, the same excellent beef joined by a portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese and deep fried. Again, there was tomato, lettuce, and Shake sauce. Normally, the thought of something fried on a burger sounds like overkill. And, after the first bite, which was mostly fried cheese, I was afraid that this was the case. But, as we got further down, the mushroom added a nice, earthy, rich flavor to the burger, and the fried-ness gave it a nice crisp crunch. This was by far my favorite of the two burgers. Again, that soft, comforting, white gushy bread.
The fries here are excellent. Accordian-cut, they are so light and crispy. They actually crunched in the mouth. Not heavy or greasy, you could eat a ton of these and not feel bad. Oh, and by the way, they are made with 100% non-trans fat oil and have 25% less fat than most fries. Good, because I ate a lot of them! The ketchup here tastes better than normal too, though I don't know why. Anyway, you don't really need the ketchup, the fries are great on their own.
But, after all of this, I have to say, my favorite thing at Shake Shack is the shakes. Rich and creamy, thick but not too thick, they have such intense flavor but are never overly sweet. So far, we have tried the caramel and the Fair Trade, vanilla with fair trade coffee. Both were fantastic. My advice? Don't split one because, once you taste them, you will want one all to yourself, and the line is too long to go back. Trust me on this.
Shake Shack also serves hot dogs. We've had one that was very good, but we prefer the delicious hamburgers. They also have concretes, frozen custards with mix-ins, but we haven't gone there yet. There are special custard flavors each day of the week that sound excellent, like crème brulee, pumpkin, apple cinnamon, and PB&J. Mmmm.
Shake Shack also has a large selection of beer and wine, so you can have a nice beer in the park with your burger. What a place!
Cleanliness
You can't see inside the shack, but the seating area is kept clean and clear. Even with a long line there is usually a table. Shake Shack in the park does not have a restroom.
Pros
Great food, beautiful and peaceful park setting, reasonable prices, excellent shakes.
Cons
Long lines, no bathroom, burgers & shakes addiction is bad for the waistline.
