First Ever Shake Shack

I think it's been a couple of years since I first heard about Shake Shack, which I believe transpired during the days when The Girl Who Ate Everything  posted more frequently (yup, seems very likely). But on none of my NYC visits did I quite make it into Manhattan to give the burgers a try. I was curious, but I was also happy to hang out in Brooklyn and eat other things. So when Shake Shack opened a location in Philadelphia, I was happy about it and knew that I wanted to give the establishment a try. Unfortunately I've been a little strapped for cash lately. My finances and the purportedly long lines for a burger kept me away. I figured I'd let the hullabaloo die down and then try it out, which is pretty much what I did, finances be damned! So last Sunday I walked into Center City fully expecting an hour wait. Instead I had about a 5 minute wait in line and then perhaps another 10 for the food to come out. The place bustled, but it wasn't bat-shit crazy. I was even able to sit outside on quite a beautiful and sunny day in order to get my first taste of the well hyped burger. I ordered the SmokeShack, attracted especially to its chopped cherry peppers. And, hey, who doesn't love bacon? Lots of people, actually, but that's not the point I was trying to make. I also ordered a side of fries and a Arnold Palmer (which they simply referred to as a half n half).

So what did I think? Pretty good. My burger was a little sloppy in its construction, and the bun a little soggy. Now the sogginess was of a better standard than, say, McDonalds or Burger King, but I like my bun to at least have a moment or two of being relatively intact before going to the squish side. Good, but not quite the life changing experience of, say, a Village Whiskey burger. But they're not really trying to be the same thing. Shake Shack, as I understand it, is focused on being a high quality fast food burger, made with better produced ingredients than the average chain. And that they certainly have down. But as far as extra love and care? Or doing some sort of voo doo magic to the meat that makes you want to close your eyes, grab a table and just become one with the burger? Well that's still VW's territory, and it comes with a heftier price tag. It's good, too, that they serve slightly different purposes and markets, considering the fact that Shake Shack is located directly across the street from Village Whiskey. I didn't try a 'concrete' (ie: shake), but I also found it curious that they decided to open up a burger and shake joint across from the aforementioned VW and Capogiro, which specializes in gelato. It seems calculated. Like they could siphon off the people who get tired of waiting for either establishment. Makes sense, but is still a little weird.

The fries were nice and crispy with a lovely creamy center. I forgot to get ketchup, but enjoyed them regardless.

I had planned on going to Shake Shack and then meeting up with a few of my new dart team members (I am now the captain of my own team, of course I am). But due to the lack of line, I had far more time to kill than I expected, so I walked to Rittenhouse Park, sat on a bench, and read Tolstoy. Because I'm classy.

Barbeque Summer Fun Time

On the first weekend of June I threw a barbeque. The first in quite some time, as I somehow missed throwing one for the entirety of the summer of 2011. I invited pretty much everyone in the world, or at least everyone in the world of my social network. As is usually the case, I did very little prepping before the day of the barbeque. This prepping began at around 7 AM when I drove to north Philly to buy kielbasa from Czerw's Kielbasy. This was my first time at this meat establishment, and I had expected lines of Polish ladies, but I guess even the old ladies like to sleep in on Saturdays, so it was just me. Then I did any number of additional errands and grocery runs before returning home and getting down to the business of making an epic amount of coleslaw and dips, as well as making the deck a little more presentable. Here is a iPhone photo of the chipotle, lime, cilantro hummus/dip I created.

Here is a photo of the large amount of slaw I created. It was sort of Asian inspired, or at least had sesame oil and rice vinegar in it.

I perhaps slightly underestimated the amount of time it takes to make three dips, prep a bunch of veggie skewers and do other tasks, like showering and doing my hair. So it was good that my childhood friend arrived earlier than the barbeque's start time. She got to see me running around without my head, and generally talking nonsense and making a mess. I think she was entertained. She also helped by chopping veggies. 

The early set up. So pristine. Olives. Chips. Dip. As the day progressed into evening the table's aesthetic suffered.

Another view of the hummus, which wasn't quite as popular as....

This dip I made up is pretty much just amazing. And I am bragging, because it is that tasty. Tomato basil creamy goodness.

AS was kind enough to make that green bean salad I was so taken with at the lake and guacamole. This is in addition to the extra chairs that were desperately needed and willingly lent by AS.

CP was another great help in as far as lending me so many things (tables, chairs, stereo systems, buns!). And on top of all that she also said that she had all the ingredients for Sangria, and would whip up a batch. Here she is doing just that. I had a glass and a half. Tasty, sweet magical sangria. I abstained from further dipping into that particular beverage because I knew it packed a larger alcoholic punch than you might first think.

So the meat was a mix of an Omaha Steak Package I purchased at a discount (four pork chops, 2 filet mignons, 2 other steaks, four burgers, potato croquettes, cheesecakes). So on this plate is one of each steak, all four burgers and one of the pork chops.

AS and K. were in attendance.

A series of me with childhood friend.

She kept saying she was going to leave, but we kept hugging her.

And making her laugh.

See? More hugs.

And photos.

At some point L. and BM went to Wawa and returned with 44 ounce beverages. Well, L. did. Do it while you still can!

Childhood Friend brought delicious cupcakes. I was smart to hide one early on in the evening, which I was then able to enjoy the next day. These things went like hot cakes...or should I say they went like hot cup cakes? Moving on.

CP and R. really were great suppliers for the bbq. Three chairs, an extra table I was in dire need of procuring, the sound system. Oh man. And then later Brutus too!

MMc made his way to the bbq from Jersey. We are friends on Facebook, and I invited most all of them, but I didn't really expect anyone to come very far, so it was a pleasant surprise when he actually showed up (he said he was going to, but I didn't really believe it). And with him he brought Brooklyn Lager, here I am after not making a proper spectacle of popping the cork.

Brutus! CP! Look at all the heads and body parts! I worried that no one would come, but plenty of people came. I was pretty pleased.

This is me looking pretty pleased. LW was the event photographer. At some point I handed her the camera and she pretty much documented the entire evening. I am so thankful to her.

The high school contingent was strong at the bbq: Mr. Ass, AS, Childhood Friend, BC, BM, MMc, LB and LS all made appearances, and maybe that's it? Am I forgetting someone?

One of the two coolers of booze.

LW and me.

Again, after we instructed MC to focus less on the wall behind us and more on our actual faces.

I guess LW needed  a refill.

Again, quite pleased with myself and all the people.

I was glad that B. was able to come from Jersey.

The kielsbasa, some of the skewers (which I marinated in a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar and a touch of sugar and lemon juice). I went with the fresh kielbasa and the 'jalepeno poppers'...which were brats/kielbasa stuffed with jalepeno and cheddar cheese. I also made additional burgers, which of course included green olives.

Mr. Ass came bearing chopsticks.

I also made a bastardized chimmichurri sauce, which was heavy heavy heavy on the garlic. The potato croquettes weren't a huge hit, perhaps because I didn't advertise them enough. They were kind of like huge tater tots. Or a tater tot/mashed potato hybrid. Which I guess is the definition of a croquette.

TDoc took pity on me after I noted that I had made a whole heck of a lot of skewers, and that no one was eating them.

The night, it comes.

MMc and CP look into the secret deck door and are amused by what they find.

Then MMc punched LS in the face. Not really.

I'm not sure why or how this happened, but I was amused.

Just for the fun of comparison. This is MMc and me at my junior prom. Neither of us remember my asking him to come with me, but we both remember that I wouldn't dance. 

And now.

The evening went wonderfully late. As the crowd thinned, those of who remained played some Apples to Apples until 1 or 2 in the AM. I didn't get any nasty letters in the mail from neighbors, so I'm hoping that we weren't too unruly or noisy. Though this is the first time we could be anything close to unruly or noisy since S. moved out (he threw some loud and noisy parties and had a tendency of bringing people home and out on the deck at all kinds of crazy hours). Look at what a great photo LW took. The card has left my hand, but hasn't quite hit the pile. I forget who won...but it wasn't me.

And that concludes my documentation of the bbq. I'm so glad that so many people were able to make it and all seemed to enjoy themselves. I felt a really warm feeling in my heart. Sometimes I worry that my social circles are too limited, or that somehow I don't have enough friends in Philly. And maybe sometimes that is true, but on this particular night I felt really glad about the different folks I know and how they can come together and overlap. A great thanks goes out to all who brought anything (I'm still working on finishing all the leftover beer) and helped out. It really made me think about having another one. Maybe in September. Ha.

Cheese, Tomato and Meat Plate

The Sunday after the barbeque I had all sorts of half-cocked plans...mainly that, since I was taking Monday off, I would drive to the Delaware shore, camp in a state park and swim in the ocean all day. The major flaw with this set of plans was that reserving a beachside (or near beachside) campsite in the summer time is not something one does at the last minute. And, it seems, hotel rooms in that same area were going for $150 to $200 a night, just too rich for my blood. This fundamental setback to the beach/camp/swim plan, coupled with the EX-treme heat of Sunday, led me to not do much that day...other than agonize over how little I was doing.
I did, however, eat a bit. If you can believe it. Slices of tomato, thinly sliced honey ham, hard salam, relatively fresh mozzarella and the end bit of truffle cheese I found on sale at Whole Foods. While I was seriously disappointed with myself and my lack of getting out of the city, this was a nice snack.

Our Lady Of Perpetual Sweat

These are some photographs mousehead took whilst we were in Tennessee a few weeks back. Immediately below is the bug we found in the house...at first we thought cicada except for the moth like wings then we thought moth except for the cicada like body. The boyfriend weighed in on the photograph and declared it a freshly born moth. It was leaking. I put it outside and wished it well.
This is a photograph of the house during a rain storm, note the torrential stream of water making its way off the roof. This storm, like most in Sewanee during the summer, lasted no longer than forty five minutes.
We barbequed twice while there, how could we not with a wonderful natural rock patio and not so awful heat...speaking of awful heat, it's awfully hot in Chicago...has been for three (two?) days, today the heat index will make us feel like it is 104-109 degrees. Clearly we're not as bad off as some of the western states or southern states but nonetheless man it's hot.
The boyfriend mentioned how sad it was that the camera is still out of commission as we've had quite a few meals of note lately. There was the porkroast with sauerkraut, the Hama Matsu sushi extravaganza, chili and other such things. Soon, or at least that's what they said when I called last week.

In other news the boyfriend and I signed a lease on a new apartment this weekend. The place is on a quiet street in a three flat building (I think I've said all of this before, sorry) with a nice front porch made of cement (hello barbeque how are you?) and a back porch that looks out at a little lawn. Included in the rent is a parking space, heat and, generally, a kick-ass apartment complete with proper kitchen pantry and bathroom linen closet....mmmm, linen closet. It is very very hot. I tried offering Meow Cat an ice pack wrapped in a pillow case that she could lie on and keep cool but she didn't get it and there was no way for me to explain it to her. You can usually find Meow Cat at a certain corner in our apartment, I can only assume she feels a cool current running by, my feet never feel any different in the spot. Ugh.