Jen W.
Yelp
Never been to a Shake Shack, and tbh, I don't remember ever hearing of it! (Yes, I live under a rock.) But, while doing research for a trip to NYC, it came to my attention, and after one of my friends who has visited NYC a few times said he goes for a burger every visit, I made sure to stop in before leaving town. Hence, while at GCT, I stopped in at this location to get my Shake Shack experience. I must say, I'm glad I did!
Located in the food court of GCT, it's an open dining area. There is a small sign pointing the way to 'order' (not where the cashier is) and a menu is on the wall. NYC dealing with Covid appears to have made a lot of changes to this dining operation, so lets start with that. First, we had to show our vaccination cards before they would even let us order. She told us to 'keep the cards out', but not why. She then asked if we were paying with cash or card. When we replied card she told us to use the touch screen to place our order. (Cash would order with the cashier.) There are three monitors set up along a counter and they are fairly easy to use. Just scroll through, select the items you want, then hit the 'cart' icon top right to pay. You are asked for your cell phone number before check out and a text message is sent to you when your order is ready. I didn't see any hand sanitizer, but that may be because I carry my own, which we used after placing our order.
We then went to sit down in the dining area while waiting for the text, and a different employee asked us for our vaccination card. This is why she told us to 'keep the cards out'. Now you know too. Once he had reviewed our cards, he put a little table tent on our table to show we were 'OK'd' to sit in the dining area.
Customers had gathered around the counter (near the cashier) waiting for their orders to be done. Although not as fast as some fast food restaurants, it didn't take too long for the order to be ready. We were told by staff before ordering that our order would be packed 'to-go', but we are welcome to sit in the dining area if we are vaccinated.
The burger has a nice grilled flavor and I enjoyed it. The lettuce was crisp and the tomato fresh. The cheese looks like one of those individually wrapped yellow cheese food slices. I'm not sure what the sauce is, but it's mild. Maybe a mayo/ketchup combo? Really unsure. If you're not sure you'd like that, you can make a note when ordering to remove that, and just get some packets available where you pick up your food. The fries are crinkle cut fries and they are cooked crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Sadly, we did not try one of the shakes. Maybe we'll have another opportunity to stop by a Shake Shack to try one.
If you like burger joints, and have tried several of the other national brands, you will probably enjoy this burger too. Not like the one with the 'Scottish name', more like the one that you 'pop into and then leave'. In any event, it was a good burger.
One final note, as this is a food court, there are public restrooms at either end of the hall for all the businesses. The closest one is just past this restaurant, on the same side of the hall.