Shake Shack

Late night burger run to try out the newly opened Shake Shack at 20th and Sansom. Dressed to the 9's after coming from a Philly fashion week event that featured $5 Heinekens and chicken wings. Seriously, who serves chicken wings at a fashion event? I saw a girl trying to eat them with a fork. I'm not kidding. Regardless, we got some funny looks ordering our burgers while doing our best Zoolander impression. 

blue steel

Luckily for us Shake Shack stays open till 11 every night, and the serve beer! The burgers are in the PYT/In-N-Out/Five Guys category of fast-food-like style. Check the grand comparison by the guys at A Hamburger Today here.  

Nicely grilled soft potato roll, lettuce, tomato, cheese and their Shake Sauce - which is their signature addition. The sauce is supposedly secret, but it's mayo based and described as "sweet, sour, hot." They mix in some ketchup, mustard, spices and chopped pickles, then blend it smooth. It's a great tasting sauce that adds some piquant bite to the meaty, savory burger. 

shake shack burgers and crinkle cut fries

The meat is a good mix of house ground beef cooked to order. They use a special technique of forming the patties into a hockey puck shape, then flattening it out on the grill with the back of a spatula. The burger is left to develop a nice brown crust before flipping and finishing the cooking. When it all comes together it is a tasty burger. Like the ones down at Big Kahuna that Jules' wife won't let him eat because she's a vegetarian, which pretty much makes him a vegetarian. The toppings were all very fresh and crisp. Nice melty yellow american cheese. Soft roll and tasty burger. Not bad for $4.55. Even better with a Yards on draught. 

I'd happily swing by for lunch or late night again, but you will not catch me standing in an hour long wait just for a burger here. There are so many great places to get a burger in our city (see The Great Burger Challenge posts) that I can't for the life of me figure why people would wait for any length of time just for Shake Shack. 

Food Baby rating: Only child

Shake Shack
2000 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 
215-809-1742
Open daily 11am - 11pm
http://www.shakeshack.com/location/philadelphia/