Full disclosure: I am a sucker for things that become “things.” And Shake Shake is a “thing.”
It follows then, that I am prone to love Shake Shake. And I do. Things that are “things” get a lot of love sometimes for only that reason. I like to think I am smart enough to discern the difference. There are a lot of things that just aren’t what they are hyped to be. And where food is concerned, “things” are sometimes really delicious, but fall short of life transformative, as one can often expect based on the hype. Think Franklin Barbecue. It is definitely great barbecue, but so is Central City, and Blue Oak. No one is in line there at 9am. C’mon. But I was at Franklin, and I felt silly. And I felt sillier when I was not transported by it, great as it was.
I am proud to say that I was NOT in line (pictured) on Friday, when it snaked around the parking lot for the opening of Shake Shack. This is the first of three in our area. Its opening means I will not have to change concourses at airports to go to a Shake Shack. And I likely won’t even be there that often. But I did want to have a burger here as soon as possible, just to check myself.
The opportunity presented itself Tuesday afternoon on the way home. It had been open since the Friday before. I was expecting chaos inside. But the chaos was outside. The parking lot is not nearly big enough for a phenom like this. Maybe it will die down enough, but I still think dormant Shack hysteria needs more parking. Inside it is smallish, as they can sometimes be. I did not order at the counter as I usually do, even though there wasn’t even a line. I did the monitor where you can self-order. Tom’s complaining distracted me, so I failed to put in my phone number. There would be no phone text alert that my order was waiting.
Finding a place to sit is always a problem at Shake Shack, so hovering is unfortunately required. Tom is good at this so I assigned him that job while I went to wash my hands. The wait time was much shorter than I expected, and it was hand-delivered to our table by the manager.
I don’t know how Shake Shack gets away with these crinkle-cut fries. They are not bad, but other high volume burger places hand-cut them. I guess the answer to my question is that people still go and happily order the crinkle cut frozen fries. I just did it myself.
Is it really that good? Yes, I think so. This burger that I had on Tuesday was hot, juicy, and really quite delicious for any burger, much less a fast food one. It had the offending (to me) American cheese, and the Shack sauce that I forgot to ask them to leave off. The ordinary frozen fry offers a proper silent support for this great burger.
Shake Shack is a thoroughly millennial company, with its premium quality anti-processed everything and its eco-stuff and charitable philosophy. I love them for their animal protections, and despite the rest of it. Though the charity is LSPCA, so no controversy there. But the truth is, it’s just all pretty delicious. The chicken, the shakes, the hot dogs.
I love Shake Shack, even though I am not transported. And yes, I still do feel a little silly.
Shake Shack
3501 Veterans Blvd Metairie
504-380-0279
Daily 11-11
shakeshack.com
