Who’s Hungry?
If you love burgers that way I love burgers, then you know there are a few places making them better than anyone else – and here’s one that seems to have taken over the world in the past few years!
Move over McDonalds – and don’t even bother mentioning Burger King – there’s a new “king of the world” burger chain that got its start in a small New York City park!
Time To Do The “Shake Shack!”
As this NY hamburger chain has rapidly expanded around the world, I have had the chance to try them in a number of different cities.
I am focusing on three of their burgers – so I could compare and contrast some of their most delicious offerings!
Here is how the company describes itself:
“Shake Shack sprouted from a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan to support the Madison Square Park Conservancy’s first art installation. The cart was quite the success, with Shack Fans lined up daily for three summers.”
“In 2004, the bid was won to open a permanent kiosk in the Park: Shake Shack was born. This modern day “roadside” burger stand serves up the most delicious burgers, hot dogs, frozen custard, shakes, beer, wine and more.”
“An instant neighborhood fixture, Shake Shack welcomed people from all over the city, country and world who gathered together to enjoy fresh, simple, high-quality versions of the classics in a majestic setting. The rest, as they say, is burger history.”
There are Shacks all around the world now – more than 600 exist – so if you haven’t seen one yet, you will!
Now that we’ve heard fthe story of how they got started, time to step inside a “Shake Shack” and bite down on the best they’ve got!
The “ShackBurger”!
Shake Shack offers a number of variations on their burgers, including vegetarian, but their standard cheeseburger is topped with lettuce, tomato and their special shack sauce – and it costs about $8…
I like that the bun isn’t completely sliced, so the back part that you hold is still connected…keeps everything together – and the meat is grilled very crispy – and has good solid flavor as well.
Time For “The SmokeShack!”
I usually opt for this version. It’s where you begin to see their approach to a burger: it’s a cheeseburger topped with TONS of all-natural applewood smoked bacon, plus a slightly spicy chopped cherry peppers and their signature shack sauce – oh, and did I say TONS OF BACON?
Yes, this was loaded with bacon…but you don’t have to get it with bacon – because the key to a “Smoke Stack” are the slightly spicy chopped cherry peppers liberally added…a nice change for a burger and delicious!
The cherry peppers and sauce give it a nice spicy and sweet tanginess, but know that you are getting meat, cheese and sauce. as well..so it’s a ton of that and nothing else…
Still, it’s a deliciously filling sandwich, and once again, what I love about their buns: Shake Shack only cuts through them about 3/4 of the way, so nothing falls out of the bottom!
This is a really good burger, but perhaps a better way to get a balanced flavor profile at Shake Shack is to bite down on this:
It’s The “Shack Stack” With Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries!
Any burger is made better with their crinkle cut fries, which also come covered in creamy cheese sauce if you like!
Finally, here’s the third burger variation I tried: it’s their “Shack Stack” ’Shroom burger topped with lettuce, tomato and shack sauce, and it sells for $9.15.
Cheese-Stuffed Mushroom!
First, notice that this has much more color, thanks to the lettuce and tomato…and it also has a cheese-stuffed mushroom on top of the beef!
It also come without the meat of course, so it’s a great vegetarian option.
This burger was terrific! Full of flavor, the cool lettuce and tomato were a nice addition, and of course, this is what happens when you bite into the mushroom patty!
The cheese oozes out of the mushroom, giving the entire burger a cheesy goodness – and the mushroom has a nice “woody” flavor that balances well with the beef…
Along side my ‘Shroom burger, I ordered the cheese fries topped with a blend of cheddar and american cheese sauce.
Shake Shack also specializes in hand-Spun Vanilla chocolate, caramel, black & white, strawberry or peanut butter milkshakes for $5.15, and also “Concretes”, which is a frozen custard ice cream with added flavors….maybe next time!
Does “Shake Shack” make the best burger in America? They make a great one for sure, but you’ll get an argument from lovers of In-And-Out, and remember this “hole in the wall” in Hackensack I ate at?
These burgers were incredible – and what a unique cooking process!
Here’s a video I saw as I watched in awe:
She churned burger after burger, each one slowly cooked with or without fresh onion…really something!
Click here to see the entire review:
I made a “Surf and Turf” Burger as part of last year’s “52 In 22” cooking challenge:
That’s quite a “stack” isn’t it?
It tasted great too!
Click here to see how I made it!
My goal is to expand your view of what a burger can be…one of my obsessions is with “stacked” burgers like that one – and this one too:
Messy? Sure! But here are some of the wildest ones I found around the world!
As every Chef is proud of their unique burgers, certainly the crazy chefs at Chicago’s Kuma’s were – I saw it in person:
Read my review of Kuma’s amazing burgers here:
And Taylor’s Refresher from Napa Valley would also like to weigh in:
Here is my review of Napa’s legendary hamburger stand, as well as the story behind their epic burger battle:
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Let me know which of these burgers you have tried and what you think! Let the burger battle continue!
Categories: Bacon, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Burgers, Cheeseburgers, Eat This!, Fast Food, Food, Food Pictures, Food Porn, Recipes, Restaurants, Sliders, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
These look like super-duper burgers, John. I like a good burger now and then too 👍🏻
Oops wrong email address 🫣
Robbie, it’s always fun to try something as old-fashioned as a burger in a new way…although my taste right now is for asian flavors so I’m getting into that – which I will be sharing soon – hope all is well!