Shake Shack

Critic's Review

I'd never been to a Shake Shack in NY when I lived there; but I've been to a number of them in Florida. The Florida locations were underwhelming, possibly because copycats like BurgerFi had opened before them.

One thing about all of these places is that you have to know what to order. Not everything is great. They used to have a coffee shake that wasn't so good; they took it off the menu. The "Black and White" was also disappointing. I'm not doing a shake despite the name of the place. The shakes aren't that good.

I ordered online so it would be ready when I got there. It was about 1:15 when I placed the order; I set 1:45 as the pickup time to give myself some time.

Obviously $19 for a chicken sandwich lunch with no beverage is absurd, But that's what people are paying. Normally I wouldn't order dessert, but I've never had custard before; i wanted to try it. This was way too many calories for me but when you're reviewing you don't have to finish everything.

While there appears to be good parking right near the place, it's just an illusion.

This lot is only for the "office building" according to the sign. Violators will be towed.

There's limited parking along the "Walk"; the only space available was "reserved".

Turn right up ahead and there's a free lot where you can park.

About 150 yards from the restaurant; not really too bad but in 100 degree heat everything is amplified. As I was walking I got a text that my order was ready; 1:38, 7 minutes early. Not bad at all.

Inside there was no line, something new with the $19 lunch price. There was a time you'd have to wait 1/2 hour to order a burger at one of these places. No more.

They handed my bag to me and dropped in a spoon for the custard. Not sure why the spoon wasn't in there when they packed it.

I got a table in the back, the place was sparsely attended. Music here is silly by not offensive with "I don't want to talk" and "Water" playing at a reasonable volume.

The cardboard tray fits snugly in the bag. When you order online it would be nice if they had an "eating in" option, but most of them don't. So you get a take out bag to eaat in.

I've had the cheese fries a few times and they are one of the better items on the menu. 700 calories if you eat the whole thing.

The burgers are just ok here; not worth the prices they're now charging. The chicken sandwich, however, is special; better than Chick-fil-A in my estimation.

Its a bit bigger, and more expensive, than Chick-Fil-A. Enough for lunch.

The cheese sauce on the fries wasn't quite as tangy as what I remember; this was good but maybe lacking in something. One thing you need to know is that these are RUINED when the cheese cools off and hardens. Do not get these for take out unless you live very close by. They need to be eaten pronto.

I ate the entire chicken sandwich. It's just really good. I don't eat as much chicken as I used to. The battered chicken is juicy, tender and the mayo sauce adds just the right seasoning.

The custard was partially melted by the time I got it; one of the reasons I almost never get dessert at these places.

People try to tell you the Gelato is better than ice cream; it's not. Custard, technically, is ice cream with more egg yolk in it. Could be a little more, could be a lot more.

This tasted more like frozen. yogurt than ice cream; not very sweet at all Think of a soft serve gelato., I wouldn't say there was anything "Better" about it. I likc ice cream and I'm sticking with it.

Conclusion

The verdict here is that Shack Shack is worth the trip once in a while for good fast food. It's better than other places. The restaurants are handsome and the food is good. Is it worth $20? Of course not. But at long as the generation that can't make themselves a sandwich is out there paying the prices; we'll continue to see too high prices to dine out.