Cold Day at the Shake Shack

Braving the early season weather

The thunder-stealer was that they actually were open the day before with no line, doing a “test run.” I would have been happy with a “test run” Shack burger. This would not have been a problem for me. The combination of freshly ground sirloin and brisket, their signature; the secret Shack sauce; the frozen custard shakes. Hailing from north of Chicago and therefore a temptingly close drive away from Milwaukee, WI, the current Custard Capital of the World, I’ve had a since-childhood acquaintance with said frozen treat. Though it was invented in Coney Island, it’s become a Wisconsin/Midwest hallmark. By definition, it’s richer than regular ice-cream because of its density (low “air-out” or “overrun” in the mixture) and it has some amount of egg-yolk. It’s like a very rich soft-serve. Did I mention that the clouds came out just as we arrived to stand in line? Or that it was around ten degrees colder in the shade?  I decided to wait on the frozen custard indulgence. From the minute we entered the line to the moment the food was in our hands? One hour. The time it took to consume the cheese fries and respective burger or hot dog? Three or four minutes. Status of my fingers? Immobile.  The weather resulted, in fact, in the consumption of cheese fries with gloved hands. At least it’s easy to lick it off the leather.