Last Sunday, while Rick and Bill were at a ball game, Kelsey and I decided to go to the Greenflea Market at MS 44 (middle school) on the Upper West Side. It is open only on Sundays and has been operating for more than 25 years. It is said to be the biggest flea market in the city and was among the first open air markets in NYC. We had lots of fun at the indoor/outdoor market and exploring along the way and back, but it was about a six-mile round trip, and we had walked. Rick got back from the ball game about the same time that we returned, and low and behold, we all laid down and went to sleep.
We woke up from our nap around 8:30 and decided it was time to dine. On our trip, we had seen a place called Shake Shack across the street from the market we went to. People were lined around the corner when we arrived and there was still a long line when we left. This intrigued Kelsey, so she finds a Shake Shack located only about 1/2 mile from us and off we go.
We knew the location was Madison Square Park, but for some reason, we were expecting a restaurant type building. Instead we found a circular building that looked just like it belonged in the park. There were strings of lights radiating out from the "shack" creating a canopy among the trees and night sky. There were also cute green metal tables and chairs flowing out from the "shack". It was absolutely gorgeous! The night was cool -- this was our break before the heat wave began -- and we had a wonderful supper.
The Shack is known for its burgers, hot dogs, fries, custards and shakes, but this IS NYC, so they have a vegetarian option, called the "Shroom Burger" which was a portobello mushroom stuffed with Muenster and Cheddar cheeses, coated in crumbs, then crisp fried (we are talking burgers and fries here, so the veggie can't be too healthy) and smeared with ShackSauce. This is what Kelsey and I shared, and it was just delicious. Their fries were crinkle cut and fried to crisp perfection (according to their menu, 100% free of artificial trans fats and 25% less fat than average fries). Rick had -- what else -- but a burger, which he thoroughly enjoyed. According to their menu, their burgers are created from "100% natural Angus beef. No hormones and no antibiotics ever. We grind our proprietary Shack blend fresh daily. Our burgers are cooked to medium and served plain unless otherwise requested." Rick chose the best shake, which was chocolate. It was a dark chocolate and so yummy. Kelsey and I shared a caramel shake, but it tasted like vanilla to us, so we're not sure if we got the wrong shake or if the caramel was just lost in the vanilla.
I liked this place so much that I had to check into it further and found that this location is its original. It started out as a hot dog cart in this park created to support the park's first art installation. It was such a success that it was re-opened for two more summers. Then in 2004, it was awarded a contract to create a permanent food kiosk in the park and the Shake Shack was born.
The setting as well as the food were equally amazing, and it was a great late-night supper for us country mice in the city.
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| The 'shroom burger. |
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