NYC: Shake Shack Midtown and Meatopia BBQ Festival
I just got back from LA this morning on the red eye and have mixed feelings about being back in New York already. While it is home sweet home and I LOVE seeing the Manhattan skyline as I approach in a cab, the 87 degree weather at 6am in the morning just didn't seem right!
I also regret not being able to blog very much while in LA (going out to do stuff + hours of traffic left no time to write about what I did!), but I do have many posts lined up including a more thorough review of the LA food truck scene, a comparison of Korean spas in NY and LA and visits to an Orange County restaurant where you eat shellfish out of a bag and maybe more -- stay tuned!
Anyway, to cope with being pulled back down to reality, I have been planning away the next weekend's festivities and found some exciting NYC events I wanted to share!
Shake Shack Opening In Midtown Manhattan
Today, my MD pointed out to me that Shake Shack is opening on 44th and 8th Ave in the very near future (exactly when is being debated as it was supposed to open last Friday). This is a completely awesome outcome since it would make our Friday Funday lunches at work much more easy to execute. It's also timely because during my visit to LA I went back to In-n-Out Burger, which is often compared to Shake Shack (both simple, no frills West Coast style burger). I used to think this too and even put In-n-Out a little higher on my list since you only have to wait ~10 minutes in the drive through instead of the 45 minutes - 1 hour in the sweltering New York heat. But alas, I was disappointed with In-n-Out's quality and it just doesn't match up to Shake Shack.
Here is a photo comparison:
In-n-Out Cheeseburger with animal style fries.
I noticed the lettuce wasn't as green and the tomatoes were not as juicy as the shake shack burgers!
Shake Shack cheeseburgers.
Look how red those plum tomatoes are and how green the lettuce is! I guess you can't really see how delicious the bun and patty are from this pic
What makes Shake Shack so awesome?
Try the 3 different cuts of premium beef used to make the hand-formed patties, or the potato buns or the slightly well done crinkle cut fries. They also have AWESOME shakes (of course) and the place isn't really a "shack" (it's much nicer =). A must try for tourists and locals alike! Currently two locations: one in the southeast corner of Madison Square Park (23rd and Madison) and one on the UWS near the Museum of Natural History (77th and Columbus).
Meatopia BBQ Event on Governor's Island
(Sunday, July 11th from 11:30am - 4:30pm)
This 4th of July weekend made me wish I knew how to BBQ so I could devour delicious marinated meat cooked on an open fire... Since I can't, why not go to a festival and pay professionals to cook it for me? =P
Meatopia is a BBQ festival where 30+ chefs and BBQ teams will cook up a storm at tasting tables along with beer and live entertainment.
If you want to taste, there are 4 different types of tickets ranging from $25, where you can get 3 tastes to $125, where you get up to 12 tastes + unlimited water + other perks. The $25 and $45 tickets are good deals since you can share those tickets with people (good for those on summer diets!). I will definitely be buying my tickets soon and hope to see you there! Get tickets at the event website.
Hope you guys are all having great summers so far -- I know lots of people have been taking vacations, especially Europe and Vegas! Do any of you guys have fun local activities planned for these upcoming weekends or any ideas of things to check out?