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Shake Shack, the cult-favorite burger joint in New York City, has finally made its way to the Bay Area.
Fine-dining guru Danny Meyer’s enterprise — a hot dog cart in New York’s Madison Square Park — started out in 2004 as a fundraiser for a museum, and since has become a restaurant company with more than 200 locations worldwide.
The first Bay Area restaurant, at Palo Alto’s Stanford Shopping Center, will open to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. We got a sneak preview. Here’s what you need to know before you head over for a bite:
THE VIBE: With its locavore emphasis and tech touches, this place feels like it was born in Silicon Valley, not New York.
The menu board touts all the local ingredients served, from Berkeley vintner Chris Brockway’s Broc Cellars wines to Los Gatos baker Avery Ruzicka’s Manresa Bread goodies.
And customers will spot the tech emphasis when they walk in the door: You order at one of seven kiosks, enter your cell number, then pick up your food when they text you it’s ready. But, as with self-serve grocery checkouts, human help will be standing nearby. And naturally, you can order in advance via the Shake Shack app.
The look? Fast casual meets reclaimed wood here. The tables are made by CounterEvolution of recycled wood — from bowling alley lanes. (No, there aren’t any planks from the old Palo Alto Bowl or Moonlite Lanes, but we can pretend.)
THE FOOD: Meyer’s original park venture, despite the lure of the hot dogs, quickly became known for its all-natural, hormone-free Angus beef burger, the ShackBurger ($5.89), served with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce. However, there’s still an all-natural Vienna beef dog ($3.79 or Chicago style, $4.99) on the menu, along with cage-free, buttermilk-brined Chick’n Shack sandwiches, regular or spicy ($7.09, $7.19).
Of the chain’s famous french fries ($3.09), culinary director Mark Rosati says they are crinkle-cut both for the “nostalgic vibe” and because “this shape picks up cheese sauce and ketchup better than any other fry.” (BTW, that sauce is made with two cheeses, cream and onions.)
The special burger, created just for this market with local ingredients, is the Golden State Double ($10.99). This one loads two certified grass-fed patties from NorCal’s Richards Grassfed Beef, McVicker’s bread-and-butter pickles, white cheddar and smoked garlic aioli on a sweet-potato bun baked by Tartine Bakery. (Read more: 4 things to know about this new burger.)
Frozen custards are spun fresh all day long from non-GMO ingredients. Then there are the “concretes” ($4.89 single, $6.99 double), a term most locals might associate with Caltrans crews, not dessert options. These are custards with mix-ins from local purveyors, and they are incredibly rich: The MB Malt is made with Manresa Bread’s whole-wheat chocolate chip cookies; the Shack Attack with dark chocolate chunks from San Francisco’s Dandelion; and the Pie Oh My with seasonal pies from Pie Dreams of Fremont.
DON’T MISS: The surprise hit at the preview event we attended was … the vegetarian offering! The ‘Shroom Burger ($7.49) features a bun-sized, crisp-fried portobello mushroom that oozes ooey-gooey cheddar and Muenster cheeses when you bite into it. Think of it as a farmers market version of the Juicy Lucy, that Minneapolis-born burger with the cheese inside instead of on top.
PERFECT FOR … Burger lovers who also adore easy, nearby parking.
DETAILS: Shake Shack will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 180 El Camino Real at Quarry Road, the southern corner of the Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto. www.shakeshack.com
