Shake Shack

Why is Shake Shack so good? Can a hamburger be worth an hour standing in line? Throngs of New Yorkers say yes. I whole heartedly agree, but do not quite understand why.


When people mention that they have never been to Shake Shack, I always say I will take them. And I have never had a disappointed friend. If I may paraphrase someone, "Shake Shack was the first burger I've had in years and it simultaneously raised my quality of life and decreased my life span." Or something to that effect.

Indeed, it is glorious but for all its splendor, the presentation is humble. I mean, I had Sliders as appetizers that look bigger than this burger. I've ordered burgers in linen table-clothed restaurants that I don't care to remember how much I spent to add a slice of "Vermont aged organic sharp cheddar" to my half pound "Kobe Sirloin" patty. And yet, I'm never happier with a burger than sitting on a hard metal folding chair in the freezing cold or blistering heat, with this simple thing, adorned with only a leaf of green lettuce, a red tomato disc, and a few chopped onions. And I have never left unsatisfied or less than stuffed. If I lived any closer to Shake Shack, sometimes I think the walk wouldn't be long enough to recover from it.

How can something this unassuming be so...perfect?

Sometimes I think if I took the burger out of the shack, how I would feel about it. Would I be so attached? Would I wait anywhere else for this burger? It is hard to say. If this was some famous bar burger that had a similar line out the door, I might skip it and go elsewhere. Then again, I've waited more than a few minutes before for a booth at Corner Bistro (granted, I have usually just learned to avoid it at high traffic hours). Certainly though, never the proportions that I have for shake shack. In fact, the only place I have ever waited longer for food is Grimaldi's, and that is a similar legendary wait-experience. Maybe it's the distance, but even the quality of Grimaldi's pizza, though, does not have me running back as frequently as shake shack does.

I'm certain that my favorite part of any burger meal, the fries, are not the strongest at shake shack. Aside from obviously favoring the spuds at Pomme Frite, I think even places like The Sidewalk Cafe's cajun fries (certainly some frozen variety) are, objectively, tastier.

So, again, why am I constantly drawn back to Shake Shack? Why does everyone else perk up at the mention? Why does everyone love it so gosh darn much?

Perhaps there's some merit to the Gestalt principle, the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

As a side note, one day, to be adventurous, I got the hot dog instead of the burger. While not bad, just don't waste a trip in line on it. Not worth it. Unlike the burger.