Dining Spotlight
Shakes? Sure, and a lot more at new Vancouver eatery
By Toni Woodard
In April, the New York-based Shake Shack opened its first Southwest Washington location in East Vancouver in the parking lot shared with New Seasons. I recently wrangled a willing friend to help me check out the menu.
Sensing we might run into a lunch rush, my friend and I met at 11:30 a.m. to (we hoped) avoid the crowds. The hunch was right. By shortly after noon, there was a line out the door and down the sidewalk.
When we left a little before 1 p.m., the line was significantly shorter. We nonetheless commended our decision to have an early lunch. Despite the line, there was plenty of seating throughout our visit.
Shake Shack shares a new building with Starbucks where Shari’s used to be. It is bright, clean and gleaming, but also quite loud as the lunch crowd grows. All the surfaces are hard and the ceilings are quite tall, so those with hearing aids or other sensitivities to background noise might be happier enjoying the covered patio seating.
Although Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart outside Madison Square Garden, it is now more of a burger and chicken place. There is one hot dog on the menu ($4.49), with cheese sauce as an option (99 cents extra). The dogs are the Vienna Beef brand from Chicago; I plan to try one on a future visit.
My friend and I each ordered burgers. We shared cheese fries, and I also tried a shake since, well, it’s in the name. Our orders were delivered by a very nice young guy who had a quick smile and was eager to please. He happily fetched us napkins, condiments and water, as we did not see a way to serve ourselves.
My friend ordered the Shake Stack ($11.99). It’s a quarter-pound meat patty topped with American cheese and a ‘Shroom Burger ($8.99 if ordered separately). He anticipated eating half of it and taking the other half home for dinner, but he ended up eating the whole thing!
My friend described the burger as “not fancy but good” and appreciated that it tasted like lean, high-quality beef. He especially enjoyed the ‘Shroom Burger topper, a battered and fried portobello mushroom stuffed with oozy, melty cheese. I wouldn’t be surprised if his next visit to Shake Shack is for a stand-alone ‘Shroom Burger.
I ordered the avocado bacon burger ($9.99 single, $12.49 double). The first thing I noticed was the burger patty — which I later learned is 100% Angus beef — was irregularly shaped. I much prefer this over symmetrical, industrial, likely frozen patties. The avocado slices were fresh, bright green, and ripe. The perfectly crispy applewood-smoked bacon added lots of flavor and a little bit of fat to the burger. The ShakeSauce tasted both cheesy and a touch smoky. I typically don’t like “secret sauces” but I liked this one! I would consider adding it to fries as a dipping sauce.
Although I enjoyed the toasted potato buns (dense, fresh and a little chewy), I eventually removed one bun so I could better enjoy the flavors of the burger. At a quarter-pound each, two patties next time would be more satisfying.
Our shared order of cheese fries ($5.49; $4.59 for regular fries without cheese) arrived hot and cheesy. The fries are crinkle-cut and were nice and crispy on the outside, and hot and potatoey on the inside. They were very lightly seasoned. The cheese sauce was mild and tasted fine but not particularly memorable.
What was memorable was the fries arrived with a little wooden stick stuck in them. An employee had to explain to me that it was a fry fork! One end was cut into two prongs to allow one to more daintily eat fries without messing up one’s fingers. I’m not especially dainty, so I was more enthralled with the novelty of stabbing my fries with a stick. I will admit, I needed fewer napkins than usual.
I had the banana pudding shake ($6.49). All Shake Shack’s shakes are made with frozen custard made fresh daily. My shake was very tasty and had a good consistency. It was thick enough to feel like a shake but thin enough to suck through a straw. There were vanilla wafer crumbles mixed into the shake as well as on top.
The shake tasted very fresh and well-made; however, it was a little too sweet and not quite banana-y enough for me. I think next time I will try a more traditional Black and White Shake ($5.99, $0.49 extra each if you want to make it malted or add whipped cream), which is vanilla frozen custard with chocolate fudge sauce mixed in.
Overall, I enjoyed Shake Shack. The ingredients are fresh, the food is well-prepared, and the service is super friendly. While burgers are the dominant food (with vegetarian and gluten-free options), there are also a few chicken sandwiches ($8-$10), a hot dog, a variety of shake flavors, cups of frozen custard ($4.49 single, $5.99 double) and a variety of drinks including lemonades, iced tea and uncomplicated cans of wine and beer ($9.99 for 8.4 ounces).
While I probably won’t make a special trip to Fisher’s Landing (I live about 30 minutes away) for a meal at Shake Shack, it’s a good option for a somewhat fast lunch or dinner if I am in the area.
The menu has limited-time specials for burgers, shakes and lemonades. The corporate Facebook page and Instagram accounts provide information. If you anticipate being a regular visitor, there is also a Shake Shack app to make online ordering even faster. It also gets you access to discounts and freebies.
Toni Woodard is enthusiastic about food, fairs, llamas and writing. She is the author of “I’m Fine: A Practical Guide to Life with Chronic Pain.” Contact her at toniisfine@outlook.com.
Shake Shack
2100 S.E. 164th Ave.,
Vancouver (Fisher’s Landing)
360-800-5501
10:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday,
10:30 a.m.-midnight
Friday & Saturday
Facebook.com/shakeshack
Instagram = @shakeshack
