#6 – GREAT WHITE WAY CONCRETE at SHAKE SHACK

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

I’m a big fan of themes. I enjoy Christmas music (in moderation, of course) on Christmas Eve. I want to watch scary movies on Halloween. And I love making themed playlists (for example, all songs about rain or something like that). It’s not too dissimilar to my obsession with lists. Must have something to do with my ADD or OCD or one of those neurotic abbreviations.

So I love that Shake Shack, Danny Meyer’s blossoming burger joint  names their concretes (custard sundaes) after whichever neighborhood the restaurant is situated in. Shake Shack started as a small stand (with long lines) in Madison Square Park and continues to expand and expand and expand. A Brooklyn location was just announced and a Shake Shack just opened in both Miami and Dubai(!)

They serve the Shark Attack concrete in Miami, the Upper West Slide on Columbus Avenue and the Pineapple Upper East Side Cake on the… well, you can probably guess where. But the only location to offer the Great White Way concrete is at one of the newer locations – in the Theater District, of course.

I know I’m in the majority when I say that I’m not a huge fan of the burgers at Shake Shack. I think they’re rather bland and reminiscent of certain national fast food chains, which they are slowly becoming. I don’t understand how and why it’s the most waited for burger in the city. I think they’re just mediocre.

But the concrete we got from Time Out’s list, the aforementioned Great White Way, was worth waiting in line for (although you can use the faster B-line for ice cream treats). It doesn’t sound like anything too inventive (unlike their daily special custard flavors, which rotate and include everything from pumpkin to concord grape to pancakes and bacon)- this is vanilla custard with marshmallow sauce and rice crispies mixed in. Obviously it’s a re-creation of that childhood favorite: the rice crispy treat.

Now I was never a huge fan of those gooey squares. They had to have enough marshmallow for me otherwise I thought they were rather dry. But here it works on a whole different level.

The marshmallow flavor is subtle enough and the creamy vanilla custard sweetens up whatever the marshmallow sauce misses. And those rice crispies are snapping, crackling, and popping in my mouth. They make for a crunchy texture that manages to hold on throughout the dessert.

I never made it to Shake Shack on my official ice cream search (mainly because they’re technically a restaurant that serves ice cream as opposed to an ice cream specialist). And I’m not sure that they’re custard is the best. The vanilla flavor is a little too sweet for me and the other options tend to hinge on the gimmicky side. But when you mix in some interesting and appropriate ingredients (like these), they seem to elevate the custard to be one of the most intense and enjoyable desserts in the city. And giving it a themed name makes it that much more appealing.

Would Shake Shack’s Great White Way Concrete make my Top 100 of the year? The liquid rice crispy treat is better than the real thing and gets an 8 out of 10 because I could (and would) eat it after every meal.