Shake Shack and Madison Square Park

Below is a photo of the line at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, Manhattan. My Aunt was in town last weekend and we headed here for lunch. We'd heard a lot about how great the food is. It's mostly a burger and milkshake joint that's set up in the middle of the park. They also serve fries and some other diner food, as well as something I think was called a Poochini, a little meal for your dog for $3.50.

That's one long line, right? Well, I've waited in my fair share of lines in my life. Disney World comes to mind, although my family was usually pretty good at Disney World and we got through Splash Mountain's line in no time. We used all the tricks of the trade to avoid the lines.

Unfortunately at the Shake Shack there are no shortcuts. If you want a milkshake and a burger then this is the line you wait in. I imagine you can bribe and pay your way to the front, but we were in for the long haul (plus, anyone allowing people in front of them would promptly be verbally assaulted). The line you see in the photo took us 1.5 hours to get through (yes, you read that correctly).

We got in line with a bit of an appetite and by the time we reached the front we were hungry enough to think we could eat 6 burgers each. We all passed on the Poochini's and ordered cheeseburgers, bratwurst, milkshakes and fries.

They were all delicious, although the wait was a bit excessive! I think I'd wait 15 minutes in line, but I'll never do the 1.5 hour wait again if I can help it. It's hard work waiting that long. Thankfully it was a beautiful day and the park had plenty of nice things to look at.