This Shake Shack NYC review is one of our many NYC Restaurant Reviews. Visiting New York? See all of our posts tagged NYC.
Strangely, I've never posted a review of Shake Shack, which we probably visit every 2-3 months. We like a good burger as much as the next family, and while we generally prefer to make our own, sometimes we're pressed for time or don't have all the ingredients on hand, or just happen to be hungry while in a neighborhood with a Shake Shack. We visited yesterday, and of course paid with our Chase Freedom, which earns 5X on restaurants through the end of June 2015 (see Chase Freedom 20K Bonus Offer and Last Month for 5X for All Dining)
Shake Shack NYC Locations
Shake Shack has gone public, and even though it started in NYC, it now has locations in Texas, Massachusetts, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Chicago, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, and even international locations in the UK, Istanbul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait City, Beirut, Jeddah, Jabriya, Al Ain and Moscow.
The original NYC location is in Madison Square Park, but there are now a number of other locations:
- Grand Central Terminal (Lower Level Dining Concourse)
- Upper West Side: 366 Columbus Avenue at West 77th
- Upper East Side: 154 86th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenue
- Battery Park City: 215 Murray Street between West Street and North End Avenue
- Theater District: 691 8th Avenue at 44th Street
- Midtown East: 600 3rd Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets
- Downtown Brooklyn: 409 Fulton Street between Willoughby Street and Adams Street
- DUMBO Brooklyn: 1 Old Fulton Street, Corner of Water Street
The Scene
We've usually gone to the Madison Square Park or Upper East Side locations, and more occasionally the Upper West Side location. In all cases, there's a quintessential NYC mix of locals and tourists; singles, couples and families with kids; and ethnicities. I will say the crowds tend to skew younger than at more expensive NYC eateries, although there are grandparents with grandkids on weekends.
Shake Shack NYC Menu and Food
Shake Shack's menu is straightforward, covering all the basics: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheesburgers, a vegetarian mushroom burger, crinkle cut fries, hot dogs, frozen custard with mix-ins as options, shakes, and drinks that range from lemonade and sodas to wine and beer.
Our usual order is a double cheese burger and fries for my husband, a cheeseburger for our son, and a ‘shroom burger for me.
My husband inhaled his double cheeseburger and his overall assessment was “it was delicious of course–the burger was juicy and the pickles were fresh and crunchy.”
The munchkin enjoyed his burger more slowly, eating it plain, without any lettuce, tomatoes or pickles. Personally, I think that deprives it of so much of the flavor and textural contrast, but to each his own.
The ‘shroom burger usually comes with Shack Sauce, but I always get it without it. Meaty portobello mushrooms make a great burger, and the Shake Shack version is enriched with a mixture of melted muenster and cheddar cheeses inside it. The mushroom burger is quite thick, so this isn't the easiest burger to eat, but is tasty if you're aren't in the mood for meat.
The crinkle cut fries are fine, but nothing special–in my view they're no better than many versions you can find elsewhere.
Probably my favorite part of Shake Shack is the frozen custard. Normally we'll get concrete, sometimes with a mix-in such as chocolate toffee, but on this occasion we had free shake coupons, from having donated money on a prior visit to the No Kid Hungry campaign. We opted for a chocolate and Fair trade coffee shake, extra thick, and it turned out to be one of our favorite combinations to date.
The Verdict
There are plenty of gourmet burger places in NYC, and our personal favorite is making our own burgers at home with Kobe beef sourced from D'Artagnan. But for an inexpensive burger in NYC and frozen custard, it's hard to beat Shake Shack. Just try to avoid the absolute peak dining times, especially during weekends, when lines are longer and seating places more limited.
If you've been to Shake Shack, what was your experience?
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