A Burger A Week – Shake Shack
It’s time for the Shack Burger! 🍔
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Putting this yearlong burger series together has been an interesting (and sometimes surprising) experience. When I first started thinking about it, it was more in the abstract. Then… Well, you know, all the burgers! 🍔🍔
One of the things that I didn’t really see coming down the burger highway was how much of a jigsaw puzzle this would all be. Fifty-two burgers seems pretty straightforward. Just slot them in. But, like much of life, things happen.
Stop number 38 has been one of my primary puzzle pieces. I’ve been moving it around to see where it fits best since I started filling in the blanks. Why? Because I figured I could have a Shake Shack burger just about any time!
Last week it was MADE. The complete other end of the burger spectrum and delicious in its own right. This week is something that’s maybe a little more familiar to folks than a burger topped with barbacoa and fried green tomato.
Shake Shack is the burger a lot of us grew up with. Not a Shack Burger per se, but one just like it; simple, easy, and delicious. The Shack Burger of my past was served at a place with an eerily similar name; Snack Shack. (This was almost 30 years prior!)
The Snack Burger was simple too. Quarter pound patty (or two), pretty standard toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion), and of course, some very melty cheese. (Maybe not Velveeta, but something in the same “cheese food” family, that’s for sure.)
I ate a lot of those Snack Burgers back in the mid to late 70s. A lot. So did everybody else who lived close enough to that very ordinary looking sandwich shop situated next to a White Hen Pantry convenience store on Dixie Highway in Chicago’s south suburbs.
Move the clock forward almost three decades to 2004. That’s when Shake Shack started operating their burger kiosk in NY’s Madison Square Park. Celebrated New York Restaurateur Danny Meyer was the force behind the effort to try and revitalize the then declining green space and sell a few Shack Burgers )and shakes as well).
Meyer was known more for the Michelin-starred cuisine served at his famed Eleven Madison Park than for a burger and fry basket. But hey, how hard can it be to make a great fast-casual burger…
Let’s talk about our Shake Shack burger experience…
RESTAURANT: SHAKE SHACK (190 N. Cattlemen Rd. (941) 413-1351)
DATE OF VISIT: AUGUST 7, 2023
STOP #: 38 OF 52
BURGER TASTED: DOUBLE SHACK BURGER
📒 OUR TASTING NOTES
🍔 This burger is served as listed on the menu: Double Angus beef cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and Shack Sauce on a toasted potato bun ($9.59)
• First, delicious. Yes, I knew that it would be. The crispy edges on this burger, created from “smashing” it on the grill, help give this burger that fantastic combo of textures.
• It is simple, if nothing else. There isn’t a lot of fuss here. Very straightforward. They use super fresh toppings, and you can taste it. That cheese is perfectly “melty.”
• Martin’s Potato Bun. We don’t need to say another word about it. 😀
• The kiosk ordering and customer numbering system makes everything run smoothly. 📝 Don’t panic. They do have traditional counter ordering if that’s more your thing. But we are in 2023…
• I went for a double today. It was a good size. These are not monster-size patties. So even a double is pretty easy to handle.
• 🍟 OK, here we go, the FRIES. Crinkle cuts aren’t usually my favorite. Don’t misunderstand. I WILL eat them! But these are the exception. SO GOOD. Here’s a nugget for you. These fries are frozen! Not fresh like everything else at Shake Shack.
📝This is interesting. They changed the fries in 2013, and the backlash was pretty quick and severe. (In ’85 Coca Cola changed its time-tested formula. Not a great idea. READ IT) I guess lesson NOT learned. You can read about the big Shake Shack french fry controversy HERE; it’s worth a couple of minutes.
Let’s check out how all of this looked when I ordered it…
BURGER TAKEAWAYS: A pretty good burger value (under $10 for a double) • Super-efficient ordering process • Very consistent quality from location to location • Just like the burger that you grew up with (at least that I grew up with) • Great for families and kids • It’s Shake Shack! 🍔
👀 SNEAK PEEK: We’re going back to the other side of the burger spectrum (hope you don’t get whiplash!). We’re having a burger that IS NOT on the regular menu, and is ONLY available while seated at the bar!
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🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD EVENTS 🗓️
Here are some upcoming local food events that we think you might find interesting. All you need to do is make that reservation. We’ve provided you with a link to more info. (If you have an event, send us the details! (EMAIL IT)
📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2023 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖
🍷 LIBBY’S NEIGHBORHOOD WINE CLUB – DETAILS
DUVAL’S TASTE OF SUMMER MENU! – SEE WHAT’S ON THE MENU!
WEEKLY POP-UP KITCHEN EVENTS – 99 Bottles Taproom & Bottle Shop
Yes, things are looking a little thin on the event front. It is summer. Hopefully, the calendar will fill up soon! 🤞
AUG 11– Music Bingo with Myra Mains – Hamlet’s Eatery
AUG 15 – An American Summer Wine Dinner – GROVE Restaurant
AUG 16– Wines Around the World, New Zealand – GROVE Restaurant
AUG 19 – Laughter in LWR! – GROVE Restaurant
AUG 24 – South France Wine Tasting – Mademoiselle Paris
AUG 29 – Wine Pairing Dinner – Amore Restaurant
AUG 30 – Wines Around the World, Italy – GROVE Restaurant
SEPT 22 – St. Supéry Wine Dinner – Pier 22
SEPT- 23 – Sarasota Opera Food & Wine Festival 2023 – INFORMATION
OCT 15 – Morton’s 23rd Annual Chili Cook Off – INFORMATION
OCT 17 – 2024 Forks & Corks Grand Tasting Ticket ON SALE DATE!
🧑🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO 🌾
EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS
THIRD THURSDAY NIGHT – RADD Night Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
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