Shake Shack

Occasion: Combined review - brunch with Catherine the Sunday before last (8/2) and frozen custard with Sylvia last Saturday (8/8)
Location: Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, at Madison and 23rd (shakeshack.com)
Edibles: double cheeseburger with Catherine; bellini-flavored frozen custard with Sylvia

Musings: Shake Shack (and I mean the original location, not that newfangled UWS one) is a true NYC institution. Yes, the burgers are amazing. But the real experience is waiting in the long-ass line in the shade of the park's trees, catching up with a friend, enjoying the urban outdoors.

Or so you hope. It started to pour just as Catherine and I got to the park that Sunday. The silver lining was that the line was only 5-people long. Unheard of! We got our burgers to go and dashed across the street to the Subway, where we got some sodas for the privilege of using their tables - and their roof! Despite the rain, it was still good.

(If the line is your dealbreaker, you may be interested to know that they have a webcam on the website that shows you the line in real time. As it instructs, plan accordingly.)

I don't get the frozen custard often. Not because it's not good, but because I'm usually torpid from all the fries, cheese and beef. So it's nice once in a while to go for the express purpose of the frozen custard. I had the pineapple-passionfruit years ago and I still remember it fondly. Saturday's bellini was also lovely.

The moral of the story: GO!