God, what a mess
on the ladder of success
Where you take one step
and miss the whole first rung
Dreams, unfulfilled
Graduate unskilled
Beats pickin' cotton
and waiting to be forgotten
Another Tuesday... another Taste.
Quick opening side note: I'm extremely glad I sometimes plan/write these weekly reviews about a week ahead of time rather than the night before, seeing as I spent most of Canadian Thanksgiving weekend couch-ridden without any appetite (turns out black mold buildup hidden in your kitchen... not good for you!)
With that extremely appealing way to kick off a food review... hoooo boy, we've indeed reeled in a big one for this week. A true legend in the modern North American cheeseburger scene, an import from the newest of York Cities... that's right boys and girls we're going back to the shack (not Weezer's best song fyi).
Shake Shack started out just after the turn of the millennium (the 2000s of course... don't think I'd be eager to try whatever a hamburger from the 1000s would taste like). Initially, it was a simple hot dog cart operated by a nearby fine dining kitchen (this was all part of a larger revitalization of Madison Square Park in Manhattan at the time).
There was wasn't a big plan for the hot dog cart to eventually become a permanent space, but by 2004 the popularity of the cart had grown substantially and the city was looking to establish a food kiosk in the center of the revamped park anyhow. Thus, the original Shake Shack came to be... still serving folks in the park on their distinctive green picnic tables to this day. Meanwhile, the menu having now expanded to burgers and fries along with the dawgs and signature milkshakes... the demand and fame only accelerated. Particularly, a "east versus west coast" burger comparison between the likewise famed though very different In-N-Out Burger.
Despite expanding to several other countries across the world in the span of the past decade and a half, it was only this spring Shake Shack finally opened one in Canada... right on the north-east corner of the bustling Yonge/Dundas Square (weird it took so long considering, ya know... Toronto is significantly closer to NYC than say, Hong Kong).
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Now, this was not my first ever trip to a Shake Shack. I'd first tried them back in 2012 when I visited that same original kiosk in Madison Square Park in New York (their peanut butter creation is still one of the three best milkshakes I've ever had). Wildly, I got a second taste during a stopover at La Guardia airport a few years later (actually within 24 hours of having an In-N-Out burger in San Francisco... quite a duel that I hope to explore further another day soon).
When it was announced Shake Shack was expanding into Toronto, I gave a strong nod of approval while also thinking "yeah I'll go after they've been open for six months". I don't like waiting in lines! And I knew this one, despite clearly an enormous location, would involve some patience.
Anyhow, here we are! About six months after opening (don't check my exact math) and now time to finally sample and see if this version of Shake Shack measures up to the excellence I remembered from that first try from where they started.
First... what an interior. Not your standard vibe of a cheeseburger and french fry joint. Felt like I was in an ancient Roman atrium or something. Quite elegant... plus I do love green (which is the colour of the Shack logo anyhow).
It's a very large space and after placing your order, they give you one of those buzzing pager things to alert you when it's ready. Plus there are multiple screens (such as in the middle of the photo above) wherein you can follow your progress in the queue. Cool? I guess? I imagine these kind of things were especially useful when they initially opened and the buzz was at its peak... lineups for an hour and all. That has cooled considerably I imagine, as when I went on a late Friday afternoon they were simply quite busy rather than crammed to the walls. It took about seven-ish minutes for my order to be ready and that's a perfectly acceptable amount of time.
Speaking of said order, hey here it is! I'm a simple lad: just a single patty Shack Burger with some bacon cheese fries. I'd worked up quite an appetite (unlike this Thanksgiving just passed, damnit) after spending a chunk of this afternoon waiting in the passport office... and my first criticism will be how this was not a super filling meal.
Starting off with the bacon cheese fries. The bacon itself: well you can likely tell, dear reader, that this is your standard dried out assembly of bacon bits. Not down to the level of a absurdly salty bacon crumble (the modus operandi among the scoundrels of many a pizza joint)... but this is only better by a slight step. I guess it's okay, but I was hoping for a quality solidly above something likely sold in a sprinkle jar. This here would be fine as a finishing touch in a caesar salad, but as an item where it's a headliner this is quite underwhelming.
So the bacon isn't all that hot or juicy. How about the rest? Crinkle cut fries... sure I guess. Just too many crinkle-cut fries on the show this summer, they're all blending together at this point and I'm over it. Good crispiness, kind of a hollow potato taste to it (probably cut in house but then frozen in bulk I suspect) and overall fairly okay-ish but similarly a minor let down. They do the job, these are slightly above average fries via sheer consistent texture but honestly nothing to sing about.
How about the cheese sauce? Well, I hope you're reading this review still with an open mind regarding my intentions... because while I stand by my conclusions about the 'okay-ishness' regarding the fries and bacon... well Shake Shack absolutely nails the cheese part of this equation.
Truly a fabulous cheese sauce: creamy, rich, loaded with a milky cheddar flavour, perfectly thick but not goopy... they drip, man. Replace the fries with macaroni and you've still got a killer mac and cheese here. Real damn good... I'd even ditch the bacon (it's really such a minor presence) and just hook this cheesy goodness to my veins. Thick enough to linger in the mouth, too. Truly awesome stuff.
Here is the main event, the Shack Burger. You get the sweetness of the lightly toasted on the inside potato bun quite prominently, and a terrific visual ratio of meat-to-other-supporting elements. I mean, you ever seen a sandwich that could take a bite of you???
So I'm not gonna be playful in my descriptions here: this is a fabulous cheeseburger, and it does my memory of the New York version proud. The first bite I took of this thing... holy moly. Like going back to an old school and your carving underneath the bleachers is still there.
Just marvelous. Everything is in such precise proportion: the hint of lettuce, the light sweetness of the potato bun, the cheese coating the patty, the sweet sting of sliced tomato, and the beef itself is vivid and juicy, flavourful throughout. My singular complaint is how small it was: this reunion was over too fast. You left me wanting more... which objectively is still a compliment. I'd even consider maybe getting a double next time, which as I've mentioned frequently is not my thing.
An excellent cheeseburger. You don't get too much of any one aspect taste-wise: the beef has the spotlight but the cheese is always there, the tomatoes are playing the keyboards, the lettuce is a solid bass player keep things fresh and the subtle sweetness of the soft potato bun on drums keeps it all together. Precise and deliciously executed. Even here as a single patty, it's a good time. Melts together in your mouth, almost: everything is so tender and soft.
Overall! Yeah it's pretty good, and to double down on a previous point I made... they do the NYC legend and my memory of it considerable justice. Indeed I do recommend checking them out and most definitely trying it if you never have yet experienced Shake Shack.
However... much like my thoughts on Prince Street Pizza: this is exceptional stuff, the import has been a success... but some of the very best newish homegrown joints, in my mind, are just a tiny bit more compelling. Much like I'd take Badiali over Prince Street by a tiny bit, Toronto is really a blessed food city and the burger scene has followed: we've got Rudy, Harry's, Friday, Burger Drops, Allen's (for your more older school sit down types) and a bunch of other ones I still need to try or haven't even heard about yet. Shake Shack Toronto puts a very strong foot in, sliding into that "Best In The City" conversation but in my view not transcending it.
A good problem to have. We have a bunch of delicious burger spots in our city? Somebody call the police! Nah, Shake Shack is goddamn delicious and I was incredibly pleased that this wonderful taste indeed made it through customs. The fries are okay-ish like I said (with a killer cheese sauce) but the main attraction are the burgers and it did not disappoint (and yes I know I could've gotten a milkshake too for this review but... shrug).
Worth a visit without a doubt and I'd go again (open the next one further east though, please).
Pizzamouth Strikes Again
If you missed it, I also tried and reviewed a new-ish pizza joint up near Davisville and Yonge Street named Diavola Pizza. They do a Roman style pie, which is still rather unusual here in Toronto (not as completely impossible as it is to find as Chicago deep dish here though... seriously Double D's closed almost half a decade ago somebody please get on this).
Tuesday Tune
Feeling kind of angsty, what with the appetite abandonment and barely eating in two days as of publishing this review (for somebody who writes so much and so frequently about fast food and pizzas... my eating habits are even weirder and less healthy than you think, but not for the reason you think).
Anyhow, it's the Replacements. They ruled in their unruliness.
That's all for this week. Here's hoping my hunger returns soon because... well eating is kind of important (no shit). For the purposes of the weekly review though... well I don't have another one written and banked unlike this one mostly was (damnit) but more interestingly: this by my count is the 98th edition. Meaning... the big 1-0-0 is two weeks from now, October 29th. I have a fairly good idea what I'm going to do, but also... could I throw that plan out the window for something crazy? Who knows! I sure don't.
Until the big anniversary of The Taste, and oh yeah next week of course... stay warm/cool, stay safe, eat something good and most of all don't spill that mustard.
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