Gastro Traveling

Shake Shack Bird Dog With All the Fixins

Before I get to the food, how many dining spots have a web cam so you can check how long the line is to get in and belly up to the counter?  At their Madison Square Park location, it’s not uncommon to wait over an hour to place your order for a hamburger, fries, and their sinfully thick namesake milkshake.  But this isn’t any ordinary fast food joint.

Shake Shack takes the simple burger joint to a whole new level. Forget Kobe or Waigyu Beef burgers or the $25 – $50 gourmet burgers some places try to charge.  Although the Shack’s fresh steer burgers ground daily are indeed worthy of savoring, their unique dogs command my attention…like their Shack-cago Dog made with Vienna all-beef on a poppy seed bun topped with mustard, Rick’s Picks Shake Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper and celery salt; the New York Dog, an all-beef dog topped with Schaller & Weber kraut served on a potato bun; or my favorite, their Bird Dog made with Usinger’s smoked chicken and apple bratwurst.

Beat the fair weather crowds…that’s right, chilly spring weather is good!  Even if you shiver easily, they have heat lamps outside where you can huddle and nosh on their Portabello Mushroom Burger topped with cheddar and signature Shack Sauce paired with a thick chocolate shake. Dining alfresco always makes the food taste better anyway!