Steak'n Shake Signature in NYC, New York - Another Burger Place?

I am wondering how many burger joints New York City will need!!! Between the restaurants who try to surf on the wave of this popular dish and the chains that try to multiply like pickles, there will soon be a burger place in every corner of the City!

Well, I am not going to complain! What is funny is that in France, people associate burgers with McDonald's! Normal: burgers are not popular there, steak frites are!

The last chain I went to is Steak'n Shake Midtown. Smart people: they opened, back in January, next to the David Letterman Show!

This is not a new chain: it was founded in 1934 in Normal, Illinois. When it opened, it got some additional buzz when Danny Meyers told The New York Times in an email that Steak'n Shake inspired him to open Shake Shack. He wrote: “Spent a lot of my weekend nights as a teenager at Steak ‘n Shake (curbside service was awesome — especially after getting driver’s license at 16) and those parking lot experiences hanging out with friends were inspirational in desire to create a burger joint that would bring people together (unlike fast food which was designed to feed people pre-cooked food and get them out). I also loved how they smashed little disks of beef into delicious griddled burgers.”

So I decided to try it. First, the place is small and there are very few tables. It is also jam-packed! If you are in a hurry, this is not the place to go! I think for sunny days, it is fine because you can just grab and go, but in the Winter, it is going to be a problem.

The restaurant is pretty cool: modern decor (makes me think about a modern dinner) with very bright colors (red, yellow and blue). They even have soda machines with touch screens!

So, first you order and then they give you a buzzer so you know when your order is ready.

I decided to try The Signature burger: a 6 Oz patty made of 100% organic beef (USDA), specifically rib eye and NY strip. It is supposed to be cooked medium well (mine was medium) and topped with American cheese, onions and pickles. I also got some ketchup and mayo.

The burger was pretty good: juicy and tasty with a lot of cheese. There was also a nice ratio bun / meat.

With the burger, I got some fries. I like shoestring fries. They were crispy and slightly salted.

Last, was a vanilla milk shake.

The shake was very thick and I had to wait before being able to drink it. It had a good vanilla taste, but was a bit too sugary. They mention on the cup that the milk shakes are hand-dipped. I will be honest with you: I had no idea what they meant! Whose hand was it! In fact hand-dipped means that they do it the old fashion way, with scoops of ice cream, milk and syrup, instead of using milk shake mix.

I got all of this for close to $10. I would probably get the same price at Mc Donald's but for a much lesser quality. I though it was pretty good for the price. But still not as good as Five Guys...

If you tried it, let me know!

Enjoy (I did)!