Gawker: Shake Shack

Shake Shack Prematurely Opens, Shows Its Wands

Joshua Stein — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:10:30 EDT

The ka'abah of burgers, the Shake Shack, opened yesterday, two days ahead of schedule. Already the lines were long—not Kate Moss long but long nonetheless. Today (with Richard Blakeley) we trekked up there to see if the burgers are as good as last year (they are) and to see if the place is as filthy as last year (it's not). Some new tricks are afoot, most notably the Shack Wands which vibrate lasciviously when your order's up. Also: potato buns for hot dogs, wind power and organic trans-fat free fries and the challenges of drinking root beer floats as a Jew.

Shake Shack [Shake Shack]
Earlier: Shake Shack Full of Doody, Shake Shack Not Full of Doody

BREAKING: Shake Shack Burgers NOT Full of Doody

abalk2 — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 20:28:01 EDT

We just received the following letter from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group in reference to the news about Shake Shack. After the jump, Meyer, generally considered one of the nicest guys in the New York restaurant industry (a distinction essentially earned by not yelling any of the thousands of Spanish-language slurs for "homosexual" at back of the house staff), explains the recent poor inspection.

As you may have heard, Shake Shack performed poorly when it was inspected by the Health Department on July 25, 2006. There is no excuse for these results, and we have already addressed every point aggressively with the goal of getting an "A" on our re-inspection. The facts are not nearly as bleak as what you may have read or heard.

Operating a small, stand-alone establishment in a park is both a privilege and a challenge; we work hard every day to provide the cleanest possible environment for our guests, as well as the safest and most comfortable workplace for our employees. The major violations for which we were cited were either structural or operational. None found conditions of vermin, mucus, urine or feces.

There you have it. (Emphasis Meyer's.) We wish he would have also addressed the rumors that the hot garlic potato chips at Union Square Café are actually made from the flesh of deceased former regular USC Roger Strauss, as called for in Strauss' will, but maybe next time. We once again feel confident that the shakes at the Shack have no more urine than is usually found in such products.

Earlier: Shake Shack Only 2nd Dirtiest Restaurant in NYC

Shake Shack Only 2nd Dirtiest Restaurant in NYC

Chris Mohney — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:00:57 EDT

Did you enjoy your burger at lunch? Good, cause beloved Madison Square Park infinite queue generator Shake Shack scored a filthy-gorgeous 140 violation points on its July health inspection. The only venue with more violations was Brooklyn's Candilejas, which weighs in with a brawny 610 points. It only takes 28 violation points to trigger a mandatory follow-up compliance inspection; the Shack racks up the impressive score with the full monty of bad equipment, vermin and insect infestation, and food workers slingin' hash with hands that are either snotty, grubby, pissy, or poopy (apologies for the technical hygiene jargon). Might be time to reconsider Corner Bistro.

Shake Shack [NYDMHH via Eater]
[Photo: aser]

Venture Capitalist Auditions For Gothamist Writing Staff

abalk2 — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:25:46 EDT

Via city food blog Eater, we find these musings from a venture capitalist Fred Wilson about how to do a business lunch at the Shake Shack. We're just going to quote directly:

I generally suggest people meet me there at noon, we get in line and start our conversation, just like we'd be doing at a restaurant while we order and wait for the food.
Generally at that time of day, its about 20 minutes wait, unless its raining in which case, you need to find another place for your lunch.

After we order, we get a table, and there are almost always tables to be had, and continue our discussion.

Then the food comes, we eat, finish our conversation, and leave.

OMG, this is so going into our RSS. We can't for "How To Take a Dump At Blue Smoke."

How To Do A Business Lunch At The Shake Shack [A VC]

Remainders: Next, She'll Dye Baby's Hair to Match

Jessica — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:00:03 EDT

• Britney's ratty brown wig is not a wig. Smart move: split ends are harder to see when you hair's dark. [Us Weekly]
• Remember the Meow Mix House? Every single cat from the "reality show" has since been adopted, except for one: Bambi, who hisses and scratches. Best Post sentence ever: "Some say the cat-dorable cat-estant has yet to be cat-dopted simply be-claws the 7-year-old puss is sporting a little Man-cat-tan meow-titude." [NYP]
• Oh, look — it's Amy Sedaris' apartment. Again. [NYT]
• We are a pain in Steve Cuozzo's ass. Finally, we can rest now. [Belle in the Big Apple]
• Snoop shills for Orbit gum. So sad — remember when there was so much drama in the LBC? Those were the days. [Adfreak]
• An open letter to Nicole Richie, so that she may raise Lupus awareness. [Cobain in a Coma]
• Because your Shake Shack obsession MUST be coddled, do enjoy the Shack Cam dashboard widget. [Works Perfectly]