Saturday, August 04, 2012

Shaking In My Boots At Shake Shack


When I posted about the "In-N-Out and Five Guys taste-off" that we organized eons ago, many commenters remarked that there was "one burger chain to rule them all," and that I gravely failed to mention this burger joint. This place? New York City's Shake Shack. Therefore, when my beau and I visited the East Coast recently, we had to visit the burger joint I have heard as this "second-coming of In-N-Out," but way better.


Well, you know how I feel about In-N-Out. And you know how I feel about Five Guys. In seconds, you are going to find how how I feel about Shake Shack. (I will have to tell you about my favorite burger place in all the world, Umami Burger, real soon!)

Upon entering, my immediate impression was that Shake Shack felt trendier and more appealing to the hipster crowd. We decided to "go big" and order the Shake Stack, which is a classic cheeseburger with an additional veggie patty inserted inside the sandwich, as well. Shake Shack's veggie patty is not your standard salty hockey puck of tasteless and ground-up grains and beans, rather, it is a sliced portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese, breaded, and deep-fried. As you would imagine, the divine mushroom nugget contains a volcanic eruption of oozy, gooey, and stringy melted cheese and meaty mushroom flesh with each bite and is perfectly matched with its best friend, a crunchy, crumbly, and golden-brown breading.


Unfortunately, upon biting into the mammoth burger, it degenerated into a unphotogenic and gloppy mess, so you will only see pre-bite pictures. (Sorry for the blurry pictures, but my free hand can barely wrap around that monster!) As you can see, the Shake Stack typifies what is great about America: truth, justice, and deep-fried cheese.

As for the crinkle-cut fries, they were good, which means they were leaps and bounds better than In-N-Out. The ultimate verdict and my burger-licious impressions? I loved the juicy, greasy, savoryness of each burger and thought although it felt unhealthier, it was a tasty burger just a little more flavorful than In-N-Out. (It might have been the quality of the meat or the meat-to-fat ratio of the ground beef, the fresh house-made pickles, or the luxuriously soft and tissue-like lettuce.) It was definitely better than the squashed and foil-steamed mess that is known as a Five Guys burger. However, in my book, In-N-Out still wins for the easy accessibility (to California residents), the cheap prices, and the reliable quality. Shake Shack is definitely worth repeat visits though!


Have you tried these burger joints? Let me know your thoughts!

13 comments:

  1. I agree with your verdict =)

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  2. Haven't tried either the Shake Shack or Five Guys... but my all time fave is definitely the truffle burger at Umami... YUM! May need to get my Umami fix soon! :)

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    1. I love the blue cheese burger and their namesake burger. They recently had oxtail burger on the menu! Too bad I did not try it... Darn it!

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  3. Oh man! I keep hearing about this place, that veg burger sounds fabulous! The quality of the bun also looks really good. Unfortunately no plans for travel in the future, just booked a hotel 8 miles from my house to stay at while we get our floors repaired... Would much rather book a hotel near Shake Shack!

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    1. Luckily, that is not just a veg burger, but a veg patty with a meat patty as well! You and I are omnivores all the way, so I just wanted to clarify! Whoo hoo for meat!

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  4. Thanks so much for visiting Shake Shack. It always makes us feel good to hear when guests have great first experiences at the Shack.

    Hope you had an awesome trip, and our team can't wait to see you again soon!

    -Brandy, Shake Shack

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    1. Wow, a comment from Shake Shack?! That is something that never happened from any representative of In-N-Out or Five Guys! Yet another plus on the side of Shake Shack, then!

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  5. How long did you have to stand in line? When I visited New York two years ago, the line went around the park and I decided I had better things to do in the Big Apple. :) And P.S. I like umami burger too! (And it's closer to home.)

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    1. Since I went to the D.C. location, the line was a couple of minutes (if not seconds)! And a visit to Umami Burger with you is definitely in order!

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  6. I love it. So healthy and green. Thanks for sharing. private chef in austin

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  7. Hi –

    I’m working with a start-up for food bloggers in the Bay Area called Tabelog (www.tabelog.us). They’re a subsidiary of the largest company in Japan Tabelog.com (similar to Yelp here in the US).

    We’re bringing their annual restaurant awards to the US that are judged solely by a panel of local food bloggers (all online). The winning restaurants get a framed 2014 award and the food bloggers get an “official judge” icon/etc and related PR for their blog. We’re looking for bloggers from the Bay Area to invite as an official judge. Is this something that you would be interested in? My direct contact is awards_bayarea@tabelog.us.

    Thanks in advance!
    Brock

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  8. Wow this looks delicious. Thanks for creating this wonderful post :)

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