Before I went to New York a couple of years ago, I compiled a list to guide my trip. It was made up of recommendations from friends, places I’d read about in blogs and those touristy must dos that I had seen on screen.
I don’t remember how Shake Shack got onto the list, but I do know that it had a prominent place.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a cheeseburger once in a while, but it’s very rare that I have a craving. With that in mind, I chose to forego the famous beef patty in favour of a flat-top dog, split and griddled crisp as the menu described. I did make sure to order the namesake milky beverage however, as it surely would have been a food crime worthy of NYPD intervention had I not.
The memory of that solo hot dog and peanut butter shake on a rainy October day meant that I was very excited to find out that the Shack was due to open its first London location this summer. The opening was met with crazy long queues as expected, so I gave it a few weeks before dragging along my personal food guru and dear friend Katy, burger afionado Austin and American foodie expert David to see whether it lived up to the hype.
We went on a drizzly Tuesday evening, although I don’t think it’s imperative that it be raining to eat at any of the locations, just a coincidence on my part. The queue was just long enough for me to um and ah about menu choices until I reached the order till.
I panic-ordered the same Shack-cago Dog that I had so enjoyed in NYC – a German all-beef hot dog fully loaded with Rick’s Picks Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, celery salt and mustard. I couldn’t resist the cheese fries to complete the meal, encouraged by the hungry boys. For dessert I ordered a Shake Shack speciality Concrete in the flavour of the day, S’mores – chocolate frozen custard swirled with brown butter biscuits and marshmallow, to which I added hazelnut brownie and creamy peanut butter sauce. Wow! I washed it all down with Fifty/Fifty iced tea and lemonade. A complete New York feast in the heart of London.
My American super-meal transported me back to great memories of my trip, so much so that I window-shopped flights when I got home. I will most certainly be returning to Shake Shack Covent Garden, although perhaps I’ll be a little less greedy with my order…hmmm, probably not.