A Whole Lotta Shaking Goin’ On

Doesn't that look delicious?!

Met up with Heather for lunch today; she's a friend from my previous publishing life. We met in Madison Square Park at the now quite famous Shake Shack which was basically a hit the minute it opened in 2004. And how could it fail with the great Danny Meyer behind the concept and execution.

I’ve been meaning to try their burgers, as the last time I was there I was still a vegetarian. [It's a long story for another post]. Now at a burger joint, if all they're frying up are hotdogs and hamburgers, it *should* be nut free. The hidden issue here could be the use of peanut oil for frying fries.

Here's another thing you should know about me: I am NOT allergic to peanuts; I AM allergic to Tree Nuts. And there is a huge difference as peanuts are not actually nuts but legumes. Many people are allergic to one and not the other, or both, or none [lucky ducks].

But back to the Shake Shack: as a general rule, I'd rather not have any oil with nut in the title so I always ask.

Upon my inquiries, the manager came over and told me that they DON'T cook with peanut oil at all but they DO make peanutbutter milk shakes and so I shouldn’t have ANY SHAKES in case of cross-contaimination. Good call, I thought.

My double burger was delicious and totally gluten-, dairy-, and nut-FREE. And I was pleased that even though the staff was crazed in the back of the Shack, the manager took the time to talk with me *and* was knowledgeable about her food processes: not something to be undervalued. Excellent.

The only slight downside, even though I got on line for lunch at 11:47am, we didn’t eat until 12:30pm. Here's the line at 11:47am. But on a beautiful day like today, it was almost a pleasure.

Line at Shake Shack