Shake Shack Lived Up To The Hype

Libby Archer, Editor in Chief

For the first time in Archer’s Atmosphere history, I am not here to completely wreck your favorite new restaurant; I actually really enjoyed Shake Shack. I hopped on the bandwagon and went down to the Central West End to try out the new Shake Shack location. Shake Shack is not your run-of-the-mill burger joint; they have locations across the world and finally chose our city.
Usually greasy fast food is not my forte, but shake shack pleasantly surprised me.
Order online. I went on a Tuesday at 4 p.m., about a month after the grand opening, and still had to order beforehand. Thankfully, Anthony Zuanich informed me that I needed to download the app. I strongly suggest downloading the app which shows you all of the options and saves you so much time after you actually get there. While the rest of my party waited in the horrendous line, which stretched out the door, I was sitting there in my nice warm booth, chomping down on my burger. The rest of my group spent at least a half hour waiting in the line. This hopefully is not an issue for people planning their visit now, because it’s been a few months since the opening, but I would still suggest ordering beforehand.
I wish you could reserve tables, because after skipping the line and grabbing my premade food, I had to stand and wait for a table to clear. It’s pretty easy to move about the restaurant, but with that, there are fewer places to sit. I still would suggest spending the time to get a seat because the actual dining experience is quite cute. Every person there looked like a self-proclaimed hipster so I fit right in when taking pictures of my food. For some reason, everyone I saw was dressed in the same sort of outfits as Alex Kaiser.
We went around Christmas Time so the whole restaurant was lit up with fairy lights. Perfect place to express your inner basic white girl. We took a lot of instagramable pictures.

This restaurant is a must for my vegetarians out there. I got a Shroom Burger and it was amazing. It actually tastes like a burger which is very hard to find, especially in St. Louis. It had the greasiness that I’ve missed in the last few years that I’ve been meat-free. This also just reminded me why I am not a vegan. If you are in fact a vegan, you are screwed here because, along with mushrooms, the inside of the “burger” is filled with melty cheese.
Next I had a peanut butter shake. Whenever I see peanut butter anything on a menu I choose it, so my expectations were a little too high for this one. It was just your average shake, which was a little disappointing seeing that shake is in the name. These shakes were just as good, and took just as long, as Steak ‘n Shake. If you are a first time Shake Shacker, you still need to try out the shakes because their flavors and drink varieties were pretty good for fast food.
Fries were average. They were the kind that taste kind of soggy and look like crimped hair. They were similar to the ones you can get at basketball games. Jake Burstein, one of the people in my group, got the fries drenched in cheese but I was still unimpressed.
I believe that Shake Shack is worth the drive, but not the line. If you order online and skip the line, then I think you will really enjoy the experience. Vegetarians will really enjoy this. I am amazed by the shroom burger and since it was only about $7, it would be something that I would Postmate to my house.
The whole experience left me feeling full, warm and happy, and I’m in a rush to return. I suggest a run to Shake Shack but make sure you have plenty of time.
8.5 out of 10 stars. I would recommend.