I've been to a frozen custard place before: Carl's in Fredricksburg, Virginia. So I knew what to expect. And it was good, except here I ordered a concrete that included Valrhona chocolate disks or whatever they're called. I didn't really know what they are so I said "Disks? Sign me up!" Then I got the concrete and remembered what Valrhona chocolate disks are. Those guys are great... FOR BAKING. For putting in frozen drinks they're not so great. It's like putting chopped-up Snickers bars in a milkshake and then crunching on frozen Snickers bar all the time you're drinking it. When you get a concrete, stick to extra things that are soft.
Hamburger: eh. I probably shouldn't even have gotten this since Shake Shack had about 150 health code violations (not an exaggeration) last time it was inspected. It wasn't very good. Andy and I have been going out on excursions where we try out the city's hamburgers, and Shake Shack is pretty lousy. I'd rate it below Burger Joint (trashy take-out burger restaurant in fancy Parker Meridien hotel, primarily famous in class-obsessed New York due to its class-transvestitism; there are celebrity autographs on the wall inc. Stephen Colbert's), which doesn't even use real hamburger buns. In conclusion: Shake Shack is for frozen custard with soft things in it. That stuff is good and you're likely to run afoul of fewer health code violations.
If you're curious, best hamburger discovered so far: Zip Burger at 300 E 52nd. They have Belgian fries too, and non-perfunctory veggie options.
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(1) Wed Nov 29 2006 16:44 Shake Shack:
Today I went to the Shake Shack on my way to the farmer's market. I went because it's supposedly a New York tradition, and pretty soon it closes until spring. I had a hamburger and a "concrete", which is a sort of thick milkshake made from frozen custard and extra stuff.
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