**** According to the Food Lovers Companion, The name “hamburger” comes from the seaport town of Hamburg, Germany, where it is thought that 19th-century sailors brought back the idea of raw shredded beef (known today as beef tartare) after trading with the Baltic provinces of Russia. This is what I found at Wikipedia. Over the least several weeks, we have been trying lots of burgers. It seems that in addition to those that started the ball rolling (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s et al) there are a lot of specialty restaurants where” Burger is King” ( not to be confused with the place called a similar name).Tonight, Frank, Jane, Cary and I went to Vernon Hills and visited the Shake Shack location at Route 21 ( Milwaukee Avenue) and Route 60. For those who have never heard of them, they are a fast-growing chain that has every type of burger known to man ( and even burgers that are NOT burgers). The shakes are “to die for”- think and creamy made with a special custard that can also be eaten as a dessert.
We were greeted by the Senior General manager ( this store and Skokie) who made us feel right at home. We had some knowledge of the menu as our grandkids have been regular customers, BUT,
we were unsure of just what might be our fancy- Kyle made that easy for us, bringing us a sample of the entire menu so we could taste everything they had to offer, including the VERY SPICY items. He did place those on a different tray so we would be more cautious with our delicate selves. HA HA!
FYI- we did skip a few items: Grilled Cheese on a grilled potato bun would have been fine with me, but since we were doing burgers and chicken and a non-burger-burger, we let that one slide.
The veggie Shack is a veggie burger packed with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, farro, and quinoa. I must tell you, I thought it was terrific and would satisfy the vegetarian easily.
The burgers are all angus beef and the buns are potato buns ( sesame, milk, wheat and gluten). The Bacon -Cheeseburger is topped with Applewood Smoked bacon and I am unsure of what the ShackSauce is composed of, but it is amazing!
One of the menu items is called the Shack Stack- it is a cheeseburger topped with a mushroom burger giving you the best of two worlds and great flavor. The burger that truly got to us was the Spicy Shackmeister- a special pepper blend topped with crispy fried onions and chopped cherry tomatoes. HOT, SPICY and YUMMY!! The only question is “Can You Handle the HEAT?”.
There is also a version of this HOT one for Chicken lovers: crispy white meat breast spiced with the hot pepper blend, pickles and cherry tomatoes that will make your sox curl. If spice is not your thing, do the Avocado Bacon Chicken sandwich- crispy chicken breast, fresh sliced avocado, Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce pickles, and delicious. The chicken is the freshest I have ever tasted in a “fast food emporium” even the chicken bites were yummy and there are several sauces to choose from.
The fries are freash and they offer several varieties. I suggest you ask for them well done so you get the most crunch for your bites.
Of course, we did shakes. The chocolate was rich and creamy, and Frank had the strawberry, which he loved and the ladies enjoyed the special “Oreo/Funnel cake mix ( I took a sip and wanted to change my mind). For dessert we had several dishes of custard, chocolate and vanilla and even tasted the vegetarian version. You would have fooled me, but it tasted very close to the dairy version.
Shake Shack is a wonderful spot for the family. They have plenty of seating and a great atmosphere. This location is wonderful, but no matter where you go, this company promises that you will experience the same service and Quality. Kyle Bauman will not be available, but they are very sure whoever takes care of you will make sure that your experience is one that will be memorable…and very tasty. Hours 10:30 am- 9 p.m.
For those of you who are true Chicagoans- they do have a Vienna hot dog ( grilled just right)
I think our exploring days in the world of burgers might be over. We certainly finished with a bang!
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