Shake Shack [New York]

Appropriate that I follow up that In-n-Out entry with its biggest contender: the Shack Shack Shackburger. The place is a chain of sorts: 3 locations in the Big Apple. I visited the Upper West Side location, a few blocks shy of the 72nd street 1 2 3.

Now I'll be frank: this place isn't as good as In-n-Out. It's close. Very close. But it's a bit more expensive, and the taste just isn't quite up to par. Then again, with burgers like these:


I can understand why your average NYCer vouches for the Shack so vehemently. The shakes by the way, are also pretty damn good.

Taste:

I had the Double Stack, a happy combination of juicy beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, special "Shack Sauce," and fried portabello stuffed with muenster and cheddar cheese. It's a particularly thick burger, very full-flavored, lots of taste, dripping in burger-juice, mostly savory in nature. What puts this monstrosity a step above the rest is how they treat their mushrooms. Cheese stuffed fried portabello. Absolute genius. Never has there been a better match between mushroom and...uhh...anything? In the end, it's the mushroom I ended up remembering more than the burger.

They market the shake as 'custards.' Deeper in the description you find that they're combinations of soft serve and ice cream. A great combo. I tried the caramel milkshake--a perfect blend of caramel and light vanilla blended into a smooth, creamy drink somewhere between feathery and medium in thickness. Shake Shack does a good job of avoiding the two major flaws in most milkshakes: artificial flavoring and thickness.

Reflections:

A good experience. A filling burger. Slightly pricey (8.50 for the double stack, 5.25 for the shake), but a good time nonetheless. I mean, if you had a choice, In-n-Out all the way, but seeing as the two are a continent apart...this will suffice.

In-n-Out Burger [California]

Oh hail king of burgers. I bow before your might, the glory of your patties, the joy of your special sauce, the freshness of your greens, the vivid shine of your reds, and the toasty bite of your perfect, beautiful buns.

Straight from Socal we have the In-n-out burger. For those of you unfortunate cretins who don't know what In-n-Out is (blasphemer!), it's the fast food joint that makes all other fast food joints look like hapless pieces of shit wrapped in week-old endometrial fluid from a coat-hangered fetus chillin in a pool of NYC subway sewage.

Good luck getting that image out of your head.

In-n-Out is an exclusive chain that limits itself to the West Coast. They serve burgers, fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks in all manner of fashion. They feature a "secret menu" that further elaborates on the regular offerings--triple, quadruple, quintuple patties, "animal" fries, "animal" burgers, extra this, or extra that. It's one hell of a joint.

Did I mention that it's delicious?

Taste:

The best burger I have had (followed by the Royal Red Robin at Red Robin. Can't really go wrong with egg on top of hamburger). Juicy, tasty, fresh, awesome texture...I run out of adjectives, so I'll just describe the ingredients for you.

The key to In-n-Out's success (in my opinion) lies with those fresh ingredients. Their lettuce has a crisp crunch to it. Their tomatoes are remarkably flavorful--much moreso than the crap you get at McD's. Of course, that's not to play down how well they can handle their patties--juicy, dripping, an absolutely delicious mess. In-n-Out is also one of the few burger joints that pays careful attention to toasting their buns. This I think, adds a great deal to their texture, and the overall experience. Not only do you not get caught up in a soggy bun, but there's that delectable crunch that you get with every bite.

The sauce they use is an orange thing, perhaps a combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, and thousand island dressing. It's a very nice, subtle solution that seals all the ingredients together quite pleasurably.

And here's a picture of animal fries:

So they put their special sauce on some fries (same sauce as their hamburgers), cheese, and lots of grilled, diced onions. Your girlfriend may not kiss you after eating this, but your mouth will love you forever. Their fries are made fresh (you can see some poor schmuck in the back cutting up potatoes), and the taste shows it. Each fry is crisp. Not a limp one; none overdone with oil either. I never thought there were such things as "good" fries till In-n-Out before.

Reflections:

Would do again. Many times. This alone is reason to go to California, and I know many people who will support me in saying that. An awesome, awesome experience. Here's a little tidbit too:

Every drink cup at In-n-Out gets a Bible verse! Fascinating huh. Them Christians! They be getting into our foods!