Shake Shack (Manhattan, NY) – The Place May Be Shakin’ But This Ain’t No Shack

June 8, 2010

When I first imagined Shake Shack, I imagined some run-down hole in the wall that served burgers like the ones you can find in the hood in LA. Seeing it in person, I realized – the place may be shakin’ but this ain’t no shack.

The modern looking “shack” you see above is the Shake Shack. Known for their burgers and frozen custard shakes, it is the only place I’ve heard of on the East Coast with a cult following that rivals In-N-Out’s. I mean, if you thought the drive-thru at In-N-Out was long, just LOOK at the line of people snaking through Madison Square Park. (It’s so long, they even let you can even keep tabs on their line via their “Shack Cam”!) Luckily, I caught the line at a slow point – it only took me about half an hour to get to the front and order the most loaded burger they’ve got.

The Shack Stack is the love child of their regular Shake Shack cheeseburger and their specialty ‘Shroom burger. You have your normal meat patty and cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce, as well as a crispy fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese sandwiched in the middle. Personally, I think I would have rather had a regular burger sans ‘shroom. When I have a portobello mushroom in a sandwich, I want to taste it; however, because it was battered, fried and stuffed with cheese, I couldn’t really taste the mushroom hidden inside.

‘Shroom aside, I did enjoy the rest of the burger. The patty itself was juicy and flavorful. The oozing muenster and cheddar may have overpowered the portobello, but complimented the meat naturally. I did find myself wanting more than one leaf of lettuce (a want spawned from my In-N-Out upbringing), but I was willing to overlook the lack of crisp lettuce for the soft potato bread buns.

In a city that feels like it never stops moving, these juicy patties and fluffy buns are worth standing still for. It may not look like the hole-in-the-wall that I imagined, but Shake Shack’s definitely got the soul of one.

Shake Shack
11 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-6600
Website: http://www.shakeshacknyc.com/

Frostbites (Cypress, CA) – I See FOOD Things

June 2, 2010

I think I can see into the future. Nope, none of that important stuff like saving people’s lives or averting disaster – I can see into the FOOD future.

I first stumbled upon Frostbites on my own, during a late night web surf. I read the reviews touting its frozen custard and Italian ice, realized it was down the street from my client at the time, and made a mental note to try it out. A week later, I was listening to a coworker, who had just returned from a gig in Pittsburg, describe her culinary adventures at a particular Pittsburg institution. This institution, “Rita’s Ice”, happened to sell - *gasp!* – frozen custard layered with flavored ices.

…Did that shake up your world as much as it did mine? It’s like I’m the next Haley Joel Osmond! (“I see FOOD things.”)

Okay, even if you aren’t impressed, believe me when I say Frostbites is awesome.

(And, of course, I take a picture of the menu that DOESN’T have the prices for ice cream.)

Before I get into this delicious fruity/creamy delight, I first have to applaud the service at Frostbites for being absolutely fantastic. When we asked for flavor recommendations, the nice girl behind the counter almost threw free samples in our faces (not literally, of course) . I think I tasted three or four little sample cups in a matter of five minutes and almost had to tell her to stop handing them out. (I was getting full!)

Basically the way Frostbites works is this: They have about a dozen flavors of Italian ices in flavors ranging from strawberry and cherry to pineapple and sour apple. They also two flavors of frozen custard – chocolate and vanilla. You can get either the ice or the custard or have a combination of them both, layered within one cup. (Note: My coworker says Frostbites is better than Rita’s Ice because it alternates the layers of custard and ice, whereas Rita’s just has a layer of custard at the bottom and a layer ice on the top. Yup, it’s even better than the original!)

After tasting samples to my heart’s content, I finally settled on a combination of sour apple and watermelon with the vanilla custard, which the girl recommended because it tasted like a Jolly Rancher. (Note: The cherry and pineapple combo was a close second – it tastes just like those Big Stick Popsicles from elementary school!) The Italian ice had the texture of a firmer slurpee or a very, very fine granita. The frozen custard is both richer and creamier than normal frozen yogurt, but without the heaviness (if that makes any sense at all). Tasting both together is like having a creamsicle, but more awesome.

Note: If you get hooked on Frostbites the way I did, make sure you get a customer card! It’s based on the dollar amount you purchase rather than the number of items, and you get get double stamps on rainy days.

Frostbites Crepes & Frozen Delights
9111 Valley View Street #103
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 484-1577
Website: http://www.frostbites.net/
Twitter: @frostbitescyp

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