Burger Club NY: The Burger Club Don’t Want None Unless You Got [Martin’s] Buns, Hon

You may be wondering why Burger Club, an institution dating back to the dawning of man and burger, wound up reviewing one of New York’s most popular burger places, Shake Shack, at this late point in time. In response, we would like to issue a Pitchforkian disclaimer stating: We were there first. We might have been listening to Arcade Fire, wearing checkered Vans, and using the word “mitch” (definition below),* but we were there eating burgers hot off the virgin Shake Shack grill. We were just blog-less then. And if we know how to do anything well, it is to do something post-tipping point.

Martin's Potato Buns make the Shackburger. The Shake Shack lettuce is crisp and green, and we learned that the tomatoes come from GA, so you don’t have to worry about salmonella in this recent scare. Jane wowed us all with getting the DOUBLE Shack Burger, fries, and a black & white shake (rather large, I might add), so Jane’s order deserves a Wayne’s World-style, “We are not worthy.”

On to the sides: The fries were good but disappointingly limp. Perhaps, it was the heat, or their last beer. The fries also needed a bit more salt. For dessert, we stood in the super-fast dessert line, and we ordered the coffee and donut concrete. When we asked Jane about her black and white shake, she said, “To quote Jerry Seinfeld, ‘Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate. And yet somehow racial harmony eludes us. If people would only look to the [shake] all our problems would be solved.’"

As a club, we decided to do more research on the burgers we try. I began by clicking on the press section of Shake Shack’s website. NEW YORK MAGAZINE gave the Shake Shack burger the coveted “best burger in New York” rating. Under that review, TIME OUT magazine gave a vague, “NYC’s 100 best burgers.” I found FOOD & WINE's bold blurb, “world’s best meal deal,” even more puzzling. First, what exactly is a “meal deal,” and why does it have to rhyme? Second, wouldn’t you think that Thailand, for example, might have better “meal deals” than a restaurant located in the middle of Manhattan?

Needless to say, I left the Shake Shack’s press section confused by the broad range of statements (one man’s #1 burger might be another man’s #100 burger) and the scope of the statements (world’s best "meal deal"), which left me wondering about the philosophical nature of my own place in this world, which no burger press site should ever make you ponder.

All in all, the Shake Shack makes a fresh and portable burger that is just the right size. Not to mention the perfect Martin’s Potato Buns. It is definitely worth waiting in the line, but only when the weather is 90 or below.

Roger: