Battery Park is now a mini-Danny Meyer Empire, complete with Shake Shack, Blue Smoke and North End Grill.  Shake Shack was the first to arrive Memorial Day weekend of 2011. I am proud to say we’ve only succumbed to the food 3-4 times in that year!  Our first time was the
Best Burgers in NYC Smackdown.  We had not previously gone to a Shake Shack because of our extreme aversion to waiting in line for anything, much less a burger.  It seems to be possible to find lull times here in Battery Park, generally after the work crew from Goldman has filed out during the week and before the families hit it.  The window is from 6-6:15.   This has been consistent for each of our visits.  However, the line has been out the door by the time we get our burgers.

The decor of this Shake Shack BPC is of course not as cool as sitting in Madison Square Park, but you can move your party to the waterfront promenade at World Financial fairly easily.  The outdoor seating has been covered with scaffolding since its opening.  Maybe this summer it will finally open up.  The interior is modern and clean with plenty of seating.  It certainly isn’t the worst option.

We’ve now tried the Double Shack Burger, Double Cheeseburger, Single Shack Burger, Shack-cago Dog,  New York Dog,  French Fries,  and Hand Spun Shakes.

The Shack Burger is a cheeseburger with special sauce and it comes with lettuce and tomato. The special sauce is a mayo based sauce with a bit more pizzaz than Russian Dressing (and less of the ketchup part).  This is the way to go if you are not opposed to mayo on your burger.  It is quite flavorful.  There is a hint of pickle flavor in there as well, thus no pickles on the sandwich itself.  However, the Double Cheeseburger was pretty fantastic as well.  I got it with the works, which was green leaf lettuce, plum tomatoes, onion and pickles.  We added a touch ketchup at home, although it is great without any additions.  The doubles are a bit much of a good thing, but you have to do it once!

The burgers are cooked on the griddle and they serve them cooked through.  Normally I would prefer medium-rare, but this is not that kind of burger.  It’s more on the thin burger side.  And the beef was tasty.  The roll is soft and dense, almost like a potato roll, but definitely white bread.  It gets soft with the juices.  It is billed as one of the top burgers in town and we are inclined to agree for its category, which is more the fast food variety ala Five Guys, Goodburger, Burger Joint and Corner Bistro.

I am partial to the Shack-ago Dog, as the fine people of Chicago really know how to properly load a dog.  They call it ‘dragged through the garden’ with  mustard, relish,  onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport peppers and celery salt!  The dog must always be a  Vienna all-beef.  Shake shack serves it on a potato bun.  In Chicago, it goes on a poppy seed bun.  That’s the only difference I can discern.

The New York Dog comes with kraut on a potato roll.  Eh, so what.  The dogs are tasty, but not very filling.  If you order a single, supplement with fries.   They are delish and Shake Shack claims they have 25% less fat than other fries.  If that works for you, order em up!

And finally, Shake Shack is names for its Hand Spun Shakes.  Steve is a big chocolate fan and I love a black and white malt.  These remind me of when I worked in an ice cream shop in college. They are nice thick shakes made with quality ice cream.  You can barely get it through the straw.