No Line? So Fine.

The problem with the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park is that the lines are almost always ridiculously long.  When it opened in 2004, I was working nearby and managed to get in on the ground floor of the phenomenon.  The frozen custard "concretes," which are like Blizzards, and cheese fries were my special loves.  But as the lines grew longer, I stopped going.  I wasn't going to give up most of an hour-long lunch break waiting to place my order.  The food is good, but not good enough to justify the wait. 



Now, Shake Shack is expanding across this city and into others.  Until today, I had yet to try any of the new locations.  I guess I assumed the long line in Madison Square would be replicated at each.  But, happily, I see that I was wrong.  After an early afternoon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (closed to the public on Mondays, but I have a hook-up!) seeing, among other things, the Alexander McQueen retrospective, we walked over to the Shake Shack on 86th Street.  It was about 4pm, so perhaps the time was a factor, but there was no line at all!



Dan's burger was good, he reported. My fried mushroom burger, filled with gooey melted cheese and topped with crisp onion and tomato and lettuce and pickles, was excellent.  The cheese fries were fresh, warm, and swell.  Dan's root beer didn't disappoint.  My lemonade was perfect. Our Coffee Bean Brownie (coffee-caramel-brownie-vanilla) concrete was sweet and smooth.  And, to make things even better, there was outdoor seating in a public plaza adjacent to the restaurant.  And the bathroom had a changing station.  Golly! What an afternoon of happy flavors and thoughts!



So maybe I won't wait in line for it, but I will take the train.

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Ice Cream, Man.

My friend Nick keeps making delicious homemade ice cream. He sent me home with a jar of chocolate peanut butter cup (homemade peanut butter cups!) a few weeks ago, and we demolished it in one sitting.



I'm encouraging Nick in his idea to run a "CSI" (Community Supported Ice Cream) program in the neighborhood this summer.  At the very least, I think I need to commission some flavors when I start receiving fruit from my CSA.  Nick, I'll happily pay for more jars of ice cream.  Take my money, please!

To Each Her Own (Gelato).

Me: Vietnamese cinnamon and banana rum (pictured).

Willow: tangerine and blood orange.

Kate: chocolate hazelnut and straciatella.

Capagiro Gelati
Philadelphia, PA

Poetry Tuesday: "How Hot Is It?"

[We're deep in the steamy thick of summer here in NYC. Yesterday, I found myself home from work, sticky and cranky, eating butterscotch chips out of the freezer while all the fans in the house whirred at top speed. I was suddenly reminded of the first line of a poem I wrote in college, a little over ten years ago (during the month of January, oddly enough). Allow me...]


so hot the sunlight is wet - he, limp,
a rooftop landmark; turn left at the sunbather
from 3C-heavy head,
masses of hair groundcover pale flesh

He is his own roof garden.

moist ripeness, dewed with sweat.
hosed-down-reduced to
sodden melted sugars, pinkwhite fat
sopping starch, matted hair and tarpish skin

Nothing sprouts here, where this mess lies
Supine out of soil
Green plastic weave of lawn-chair raft
floats, mildewed, in that sun.

Quick! Someone give me a Genius Grant!

Hey, MacArthur Foundation! I just invented frozen, vegan jello. With organic juice.

Hey, Eddie Cochran! I think I found the cure for the summertime blues. And you said there "ain't no." You pessimist, you.

Hey, everybody else! This was an accident. But a very happy one.

To make:

1. Grease your jello mold(s) of choice with a little cooking spray.
2. Heat 2 cups organic juice or nectar to boiling. Remove from heat.
   
3. Add one packet Natural Desserts' (all natural, vegan, gluten free, and kosher) Unflavored Jel Dessert to heated juice. Whisk until combined. I found the Jel Dessert powder at Whole Foods.
4. Pour mixture immediately into molds (I used a lightly greased silicone muffin pan).
5. Chill in fridge until set.
6. Remove from mold(s) (I used a plastic knife to loosen one edge and they slid right out) and cut shapes if desired (I cut mine into half circles)
7. Store in tupperware (I would put waxed paper between layers), and freeze.
8. Gobble.

Next time, I'm putting it in the popsicle mold!