Shake Shack Alternatives Day 4: The Promised Land

26th May 2006

burgersandcup05

I'd eaten the good and the bad , the big and the small , and paid dearly as a result.  The quest had gotten serious, and I was ready to admit defeat and bow at the altar of the shack if I had to eat another huge, dry burger.  A true alternative to the Shake Shack seemed like an idea too good to be true.

But like all quests, the best inevitably came last, far away, in a place...

Pop Burger

25th May 2006

pop 4801

Pop Burger
60 9th Ave, b/w 14th and 15th.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.81 miles
Travel Time: 24 minutes

of People in Line: 5

This place is way too hip for its own good, and you could walk by its meatpacking district location a couple of times before you noticed that it’s not just a club. In fact, there’s just a tiny blue “pop” stuck on the door and that’s all--incognito i...

Burgers & Cupcakes

Two things people like to wait in line for. Again.

25th May 2006

burgersandcup01

Burgers and Cupcakes
458 9th Ave, at 36th st.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.94 miles
Travel Time: 27 minutes

of People in Line: 9

Burgers and Cupcakes is humorous only to New Yorkers, who can't help but smile at the gall of building a restaurant that caters solely to the big apple's idiocy to stand in line for the most obscenely simple things.  I was spurred to undertake the odysse...

Shake Shack Alternatives Day 3: A Day for the Lazy

23rd May 2006

Most of the places we've reviewed for our Alternatives to...

dayforthelazy

Most of the places we've reviewed for our Alternatives to Shake Shack extravaganza of grease have been within a short walking distance of the Shack.  But few would allow you to order your food, receive your food, and still leave you enough time to walk back to Madison Square Park to enjoy the grub the real way.

Fortunately,...

Shake Shack Alternatives Day 2: Big and Beefy

23rd May 2006

americanburger3

As the quest continues , the well reviewed alternatives start disappearing, and things get a little more treacherous.  Big, greasy, disgusting, messes sprout up at every corner, making me want head back defeated into the line of shame at Shake Shack for some real food.  But thanks to some random posting on Chowhound , I was given a little guidance.  Today's search for the best altern...

New York Burger

23rd May 2006

newyorkburger01

New York Burger Co.
303 Park Ave. South
Travel Time: 2 minutes

of People in Line: 4

When the grease fumes clear on this little quest for Shake Shack Alternatives , there is really only one place that deserves the mantle, and that is the New York Burger Co.  A block away from the shack, NY Burger Co. provides the shortest walk, shortest line, and shortest wait, which all transla...

Eisenberg''s Sandwich Shop

23rd May 2006

eisenbergs01

Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop
174 Fifth Ave, at 22nd st.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.05 miles
Travel Time: 2 minutes

of People in Line: 7

You want close to Shake Shack?  How about half a block from Madison Square Park?  Charmingly vintage, Eisenberg’s is run by a big friendly guy who takes every order and scrawls it on a paper bag, sending it down to the far end of the restaurant...

Bruce''s Burger

23rd May 2006

P1010096

Bruce’s Burger
33th and 7th Ave.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.79 miles
Travel Time: 23 minutes

of People in Line: 2

Decked out in full 50's dinner kitsch, Bruce's Burger tries to conjure up the good times of the care free suburbs in the middle of Midtown chaos.  It's billed in neon as a drive-in, which of course is impossible considering it doesn't even butt onto a street, being t...

American Burger & Co.

23rd May 2006

americanburger1

American Burger
100 W 32nd St
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.53 miles
Travel Time: 16 minutes

of People in Line: 3

Once I'd scanned both New York Magazine's and Village Voice's online restaurant section a few times, it was time to delve into some of the less charted and less proofread parts of the web.  That usually involves a good Google scan and then devolves into hour lon...

The Burger Joint

22nd May 2006

burgerjoint01

The Burger Joint
241 Third Ave.
Distance from Shake Shack: 0.33 miles
Travel Time: 11 minutes

of People in Line: 4

Not to be confused with its definite-article-less famous namesake, Burger Joint , which is famously "hidden" in the Le Parker Meridien, this joint is just a short jaunt over from Madison Square Park on 3rd Avenue and 20th Street and is home to some serious sliders....