Quick Write-Up – Shake Shack Long Island

By CS Hsia, on December 6th, 2012

In the ongoing debate between Shake Shack and In-and-Out Burger, I’ve always sided with the East Coast, Danny Meyer creation when it came to the actual sandwich. However In-and-Out has a definite edge…. outside of the restaurant.

Parking.

Since most Shake Shack’s are inside Manhattan and near busy transit hubs, trying to get a Shack Burger by car is a difficult proposition: Find parking, feed meter for the duration of the wait, and rush back to the vehicle.

Shake Shack, Garden City.

Therefore when Shake Shack finally opened in the suburbs, I was eager to experience it.

Localized concretes.

Inside the restaurant, Danny Meyer has certainly been keeping Pat LaFrida’s meat supplying business very busy. Even with the kitchen churning non stop, the line easily flowed outside the store. The concretes are localized with unique names, but other than that the menu remains the same. As you wait for your order, you’re drawn to the activities inside the very open kitchen, and admire the immaculate system that Meyer installed. Each person’s t-shirt describes their role, and every few burgers a meat thermometer appears for a spot check of the smashed patty.