Sokolov on the Shake Shack

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/01/sokolov-on-the-shake-shack

The Wall Street Journal's Raymond Sokolov reports on running what he calls a "Danny Meyer Marathon," eating his way through all 10 of the Union Square Hospitality Group's New York restaurants. He writes that he did so "within reason—I opted to visit only one of the two Manhattan Shake Shacks, given their identical menus." As the author of the authoritative article on the Shake Shack, and as a customer of both the Madison Square Park and Upper West Side outlets, I can say for certain that the menus, while similar, are not identical. To cite just one subtle but nevertheless significant difference to those who care about such things, the Madison Square Park Shake Shack offers Valrhona chocolate chunks, while the Upper West Side Shake Shack offers Valrhona "chocolate crunchies." The "crunchies," which are good, and crunchy, are nonetheless, to the taste of this particular chocolate lover, inferior to the chunks. I am tempted to make this into some broader point about the future of capitalism or how you can't competely trust the reporting even when it comes from a veteran of the largest and most trusted newspaper in America. But that would probably be a stretch. Consider this just a bonus bit of reader service; if you like chocolate and have a choice between the Madison Square Park and the Upper West Side Shake Shacks, go to Madison Square. Another service provided by FutureOfCapitalism.com; we sample the chocolate toppings on frozen custard that the Wall Street Journal critic thinks it's unreasonable to go through the trouble to test for his readers.

by Editor  |  Jan 9, 2010 at 8:15 pm Related Topics:  Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list