A Hamburger Today
Shacklash in the 'New York Post'
Steve Cuozzo's got some things to say about the Shake Shack in the New York Post, a handful of which I am going to respond to:
When the griddle is clicking on all cylinders, the Shackburger attains a modicum of flavor and a reasonable compromise between tender and chewy.
FALSE!When the griddle, grillmen and grillwomen, cashiers, and expediters are all firing on all cylinders, the Shack attains more than a modicum of flavor—it is downright delicious. The burger is moist (if not gushing with juices) with a crunchy, crusty, salty exterior and a great bun-to-meat ratio. Unfortunately, when you go at peak hours, it's a rare occurrence that all the meatslinging machinery's in tune. Burgers too often come out overcooked and lukewarm.
It’s not like the food is remotely good enough to justify a standard, one- to two-hour wait. For me that day, it was one hour, 15 minutes - 45 minutes on the ordering line and 30 minutes more at the pickup station.
TRUE! See the photo above, people. If you wait in a line any longer than that indicated, you're an idiot. First, it's questionable that any burger is worth an hour-plus wait in line. Second, if the line is that long, you're probably going to get a subpar Shackburger.
The beef is ground at Meyer’s Eleven Madison Park across the street - gilt by association with one of the city’s finest restaurants. Cooked only one way - medium, which too often means medium-well - it’s topped with cheap American cheese, a mayo-based sauce, lettuce and insipid tomato slices inside a lightly-grilled bun.
TRUE and FALSE!
True: When it's cooked to medium, it's a great burger—but Cuozzo's right, at peak hours, the things get overcooked.
False: He is wrong, however, about the cheese; American "cheese" is the perfect cheesestuff for a burger of this type.
True: The tomato slices blow, but that's true of tomato slices at most burger joints. I almost never order mine with tomatoes. I think the standard Shackburger is vastly inferior to a standard cheeseburger with pickles and onions.
Left Unsaid: Cuozzo should have added that the Shack sauce is a tired old mayo-ketchup-based concoction that adds almost nothing to the burger.
And, yes, I know there's another article in the Post detailing the city's best burgers. I'll get to that in a bit ...