Shake Shack : NYC's Must-Eat Burger

I have a newfound love for this patty-in-between-bread dish and I'm glad I had my eureka moment in the capital nation of burger, United States. What started as a quick way of tricking lunch so I can fit in my tight schedule of wondering around the depths of San Francisco, eventually turned into a fascination. The variety of buns, patty, sauce, filling, fries. The flavor. The character of each burger. I mean, man, what we have in Jakarta is nothing compared to those in the States.

I ended up trying 7 different burger joint on my last trip. Shake Shack here is worthy of mentioning first simply because of its superstardom. Almost everyone I know who've been to US recommends it.

Having visited their location in Madison Square Park and tried their signature Smoke Shack burger, I must say it lived up to its reputation. I finally understand what separate the good and the mediocre. That is, they are serious about all things that make up the burger. Now, let's break it down to its part:

1. The Bun
Shack Burger is sandwiched with two buttered grilled potato bun. Word on the street it's an East Coast favorite bun sourced from Martin's Potato Rolls. I personally prefer a much crunchier bun, this one is on the very soft end of the scale.

2. The Bacon
Niman Ranch all natural applewood smoked bacon. Crisp. Flavorful. Enough said.

3. The Cheese
In the spirit of burger as comfort food, Shack Burger is topped with a typical American Cheese. It does well to add saltiness, creamy texture and of course the melt-effect.

4. The Patty & The Sauce
If you notice, a good burger joint will insist of having the meat cooked medium rare to keep the beef juice in good portion. For me, that's the only way to go, and Shake Shack does exactly that. The result is an intense flavor combo between beef and the sauce. Shack signature sauce is mayonnaise based with their 'secret sauce' that has been refined a few times. The goal was to give a little bit of each flavor to the tongue: sweet, salty, bitter, smoke and spice.

The result is a burger so good that it is greater than the sum of its parts. With so much attention on detail, it's only natural that this $8.80 burger made such a hit in US. It even has branched out to London where they opened their first stall in Covent Garden. Location is part of their success recipe, I must say. It is a very relaxing experience having good food in between tall tries, sunny weather and chilly breeze of spring air. I totally recommend this.

Speaking of Covent Garden, I shall leave you Biters with this post, and off I go for two weeks journey in the land of Shakespeare, Puddings and Shepherd Pie. Wish me luck as I travel to scour for the best food & experiences around.

LONDON BABY!
Tune in to my twitter @Wanderbites. Who knows I might live tweet from Heston Blumenthal's Dinner. ;)

See you in a bit, lads.

Fellexandro Ruby 
Food Photographer & Conversationalist

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SHAKE SHACK
Southeast corner of Madison Square Park
Near Madison Av. and E23rd St
Subway: N/R or 6
T: @shakeshack

Wonderment & Being Human

I tweeted this few days ago while packing for the flight home from New York City.

"Nearing the end of the trip. Head filled with thoughts, heart with excitement, and feet with stories. I'll share them soon." 

And here I am, 10.000 miles after, in Jakarta with 40 gigs of photos and videos. I don't know where to start with the stories. Overwhelmed.

Should I begin with the incident in JFK airport?
Should I begin with Thomas Keller's delicacy that left me in awe?
Or, should I begin with the 11 new friends I made along the way?

When you travel all your senses seem to be more receptive to stimulus. Your eyes see new, your tongue taste new, your heart speak new, your ears hear new, your hands and feet find new strength too. They all adds up to a series of wonderment. You can't wait to share, but you're exhausted, and you're also afraid of minimizing the experience into a few lousy paragraph.

I'm gonna have to take a few moment to digest all this in.

When I'm done with that, from this post forward, I wish I could capture the essentials. I wish I could project emotions in the stories. I wish I could take you to the place as it happened. I wish these stories could be as human as they suppose to be.

I wish you'll read it line by line and journey it with me.

With that in mind, let the curtain roll.

Fellexandro Ruby 
The Wanderlust