Shake it

During my trip to the US last week I went to New York and finally got to eat at what is reputed to be one of the best burger bars in America. I was not disappointed. I heard about the Shake Shack from the Heston Blumenthal series 'in search of perfection' where the chef takes a single classic food each episode and tries to make the best possible example. He visited the Shake Shack as part of the programme. The shack itself is a medium-sized hut in the corner of Madison Square Park, just opposite the flatiron building. There's nowhere to eat inside, but there are folding tables in the park reserved for customers. The queue is long - everything is cooked to order and we had to wait about half an hour to get our burgers on a sunday evening around 9pm. You can get a hamburger, cheeseburger or 'shack burger' which is just a cheeseburger with the house sauce. I had the shack burger, and it was indeed perhaps the finest burger I have ever eaten. The main difference is the quality of the meat. They use some blend of sirloin, chuck steak and brisket, freshly ground every day. You also get a crisp boston lettuce, slices of ripe roma tomato and a toasted potato flour bun which is lightly buttered just before toasting to give a slight sweetness. I took a plate of trans-fat free fries (big deal in NY) and a pint of the house draft, the bill was just over $12.