Shake Shack - Shack Burger

Shack Burger is open again, yeah..................... =) I like the burgers from shack burger, it usually tastes pretty good. They are located in Madison Park (I think that is the name of the park), in open space. They have a special shack sauce that I thought makes the burger that much juicier and that much more yummy. However, the one problem that I had with the place is (1) quality is not consistent from day to day, (2) extreme long line and (3) expensive.

I think there is a reason why not as many people like shack burger as much as I do, beside the reason that they just don't like hamburgers. Quality control is really an issue with this place. On one day, the burger tastes like the best burger in the world, but the next day, the burger would taste like it was soaked in soy sauce, way too salty. I took my sister there a couple of times, and both times, the burger there was just average, better than McDonalds, but not as good as In & Out (for those of you who don't know In & Out, it is an awesome California burger chain, really really good). Some other times, however, the burger can blew all its competitions away. I really don't understand this whole lack of consistency and quality control issue, what is up with that?

The second thing I don't like about Shack Burger is that the line is amazingly long, which made me thought of a comment someone made to me in China, that people in New York just like to stand in line. You see all over New York city people standing in line for stuff, whether it is concert tickets, tickets to Broadway shows (the TKTS thing in Time Square, man, the line is scary), restaurants (like the Soup Nazi couple years ago, Shack Burger now, or brunch places like Norma's), clubs (always huge lines outside many clubs and lounges) among many other examples (even Trade Joe you have to stand in line, even though the line is short - 10 mins - but still, it is only a supermarket). Well, the line at Shake Shack can be as long as an hour, that is before you order, and perhaps another half an hour to wait for the food, so you can essentially take 2 hours for the whole meal, exciting stuff. I think some people actually stood in line during lunch . . . . lucky ones with too much time to kill. I used to go at odd hours, like 3 in the afternoon or early noon (like at 11:30am) to avoid the lines, but then that is when I was still in school, no longer such luxury. I guess I can always go when it is raining, but then I wouldn't be able to eat it there, as they offer no indoor seating.

Finally, I thought Shack Burger is getting more and more expensive every year. I think it was only about $3 something for a single shack (one beef patty) 2 years ago, and last year, it was around $4 and this year, it was close to $5. An order of large shack, a double shack and a single shack would set you back like $17 or so, and be mindful that this is not one of those burger place that offers HUGE BURGERS that you might have trouble taking a bite, but instead, it is regular sized (as in McDonald sized burger . . . I think sometimes a little smaller).

Even with all that complaint, I would still go, since (1) I like burgers, (2) there are no In & Out for me to go to here in NY and (3) too much time on my hand and it is not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the park. . . standing in line . . . in nice weathers.