Though, did they honestly think they could open up a Shake Shack in Midtown and not expect The HOchieS and Co. to turn up for lunch?
Finally, a Shake Shack that is near the job but near enough to be frequented often and thank goodness.
I really did not want to have to do a self-imposed ban had the latest Shack been close.
I've had a number of burgers in my life time and maybe not as many as I'd like to think but enough to know that unless burgers are home-made, I cannot get a great one from an establishment.
There are places I have yet to eat a burger from and will in the future, but I can say that Shake Shack lives up to the hype.
Even at my third outing, I still looked sadly at my empty wrapper when it was all done. What makes a shack burger good? It's seasoned!
I'm not one for a burger tasting like beef. It is something I have learned to be okay with but I am used to Momma Hochie seasoning her burgers and was spoiled for years.
Other than the burger, I went there for a reason. The Jelly Donut Concrete called "Jelly's Last Donut". It's wrong, oh so wrong what with the Donut Plant Jelly donut mixed into custard and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
It was far too sweet but you know? I kinda liked it at some parts - the parts that didn't have too much jelly involved. I would never have it again (or crave it again), though. I've been there, done that and I think my body will thank me for that.
This was not how I wanted my first Donut Plant donut to be but I will fix that at some point in the near future. In fact, Beetchie and I are already planning an excursion for creme brulee donuts.
Having already talked about Shake Shack in the past, we know the food is good but what about the location? The space? The crowd?
I hate it.
Times Square, as Aims so rightly pointed out, has become Tourist Central. I love my city. I hate my city at Christmas and New Year's Time - it's usually bustling with so many people that it's hard to move, or breath without cursing. It's definitely hard to be in any sort of giving, cheery spirit at Christmas while working in Midtown.
I know I have spoken about this before but why people feel the need to see a dead tree with lights on it at Roc. Centre is something The HOchieS will never understand.
Christmas time in Midtown usually means I am a scrooge.
Sadly, it may be that I have to be scroogey all year round now. Tourists invade the city every day of the year.
Obviously they're not all bad but they are annoying with the need to take up the street and standing in the middle of a sideWALK.
Shake Shack Midtown suffers from being in the middle of it all - the Theatre District.
Shake Shack also has always suffered from Hipsters. NYC is not only being plagued by tourists but it is now also being plagued by Hipsters. It's damned awful.
At least at the Shake Shack at Madison Square Park, I could ignore people. I did not have to look at Hipsters. They were out preaching to each other about how sand under their sandals and in between their toes was the best thing since the sun shining on their milkshakes. Hipsters are a lot like that - they don't know that the sand is nasty in NYC.
At the Madison Park location, I could get a table with my friends and not have to hear or look upon anyone else.
The Midtown Location? There's a lot of fighting for tables. There's music blasting over head that while good music, it becomes bad music because Hipsters have decided to take it as their own.
Then there was the bathroom. There are a lot of places at which the bathroom is for paying customers only. There is nothing wrong with that but Shake Shack has managed to take it to a whole other level.
You need your receipt to use the bathroom because at the bottom of every receipt is a four digit code. You need the code to enter electronically to open the door. There's also some sort of method to getting out of the bathroom.
That's right, the bathroom is a vault and you can get trapped.
So the things to remember:
1. We need to go at 3 p.m. to avoid any major crowd because that place was rough all week since the opening with a wait from 45 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Until I can find a way to lessen the Hipster population, we may just have to keep scowling at stupids.
3. Use the bathroom before you go, or plan to use it after. Pray you do not have to go while there but...! If all else fails, go across the street to use McD's.
