november in a flash.

Once again I find myself at the end of a month, wondering where the previous weeks went. It’s the end of Thanksgiving break, and the beginning of the end of the year known as 2007. Thanksgiving was awesome, having been spent alternating between family, friends and girlfriend, and it’s been a good month, though anti-social.

Anyway, in honor of the original intent of this new dkoo dot net blog (of writing about things in which people might have a vague iota of interest), allow me to wax ecstatic about Shake Shack. If you live in or around the tri-state area, there’s almost no doubt that you’ve heard of this place, probably even waited 40 minutes in line at least once to get your hands on one of their renowned cheeseburgers. During this summer, Frankie and I established a somewhat irregular tradition of visiting Shake Shack as much as possible (this amounted to about five times in total, but that’s more than most invented traditions that my friends and I establish). If you’re not convinced, I will state that Frankie was a vegetarian for most of time I’ve known her — but she abandoned the veg lifestyle in favor of Shake Shack’s messy, beefy goodness. Anyway, this Saturday marked what is likely to be the final Shake Shack outing this year, as they’re about to close for the winter.

You see, for you uninitiated, Shake Shack is strictly an outdoors eatery. If you’ve ever been walking around Madison Square Park minding your own business, and you’ve suddenly and unexpectedly sensed the heavenly fragrance of grilled beef, you’ve experienced Shake Shack. A truly remarkable place, it’s basically this mod burger bar that’s been plopped down at the southern end of one of New York’s prettiest parks inside one of New York’s most picturesque squares. They are tight with the park’s conservancy authorities, you see, since they run exclusively on renewable electricity, and donate part of every sale to the park’s upkeep. For this exchange, they’re allowed to hawk a $4.75 Shackburger and pints of local beer in an actually nice setting. You have the big faux-Baroque fountain, the iron tables under the tall trees and neoclassical buildings of Madison Square, and some truly excellent food and drink provided by the unpretentious hand of Danny Meyer (owner of the nearby and also excellent Blue Smoke). At night during the summer, it’s the closest thing in spirit (as opposed to trappings) to a European beer garden as you’ll find anywhere near midtown Manhattan, and blessedly, it’s almost always empty after work hours. By some stroke of cosmic luck, the masses of dayworkers in the area seem to think of the Shack as being only a lunch place. Thus, you can head to Shake Shack during a Wednesday afternoon and find hour-long lines to get a burger, and then go back four hours later to find it pleasantly empty.

So, my advice is this: bookmark their website, so that you know it as soon as they reopen next March. Download their calendar and pick a day (preferably a weekday) with your favorite custard flavor. Then, order this as your base: a single Shackburger ($4.75), which is basically just a very good 6oz. cheeseburger with mayo, ketchup and crisp romaine lettuce, with a side of their regular and supremely crunchy fries ($3). Consider ordering one of the following dogs as a supplement: the second-city bird wurst (a sweet and smoky chicken and apple bratwurst topped with all sorts of garden vegetables — $5.50), or the Sheboygan brat (excellent Bavarian-style veal wurst cooked in beer and topped with pickle, mustard and onion — $4.75). Then, add a beverage: the black and white shake is my favorite, but feel free to get your drink on with a pint or three of draught Brooklyn lager (they usually have a seasonal brew on tap as well). Top it all off with a concrete with your favorite custard and mix-ins. After your buzzer thing lights up, triumphantly bring your cardboard trays back to your table and enjoy your surroundings: admire the elaborate architecture of the old Madison Avenue skyscrapers which tower over the park, engage in some people (and dog) watching, listen to the live music which sometimes spontaneously appears at the fountain nearby, sip your beer while musing about the fact that this is one of the only places in New York where you’re able to drink a draught beer outdoors in a public park. But above all, chow down, for the food is largely worth the wait that you just skipped by coming for dinner.

Sure, the impossibly juicy and massive burgers at Blue Smoke and The Stoned Crow are undoubtedly superior to the Shackburger. Yes, the burger at Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien is just as good, with a much more luxe and surreal setting. Indeed, I have not had the rare opportunity to sample the legendary burger from Corner Bistro, having been twice discouraged by 30-minute waits in their cramped pub quarters. But none of these other places have what the Shack can offer: the freshest of air and a canopy of tall trees instead of low ceilings and dim lighting.

-D