Dining Out: Shake Shack

This is my 16th and final post from my New York City trip! I hope you have enjoyed reading these posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

When I first started visiting New York regularly (summer 2006) I always walked by Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. My cousin lived just three blocks away and we passed it constantly walking to and from other places. I would always say, "We have to try that sometime!" but we never did.

While I was in the city on this trip, I was attending a conference for work and one of the featured speakers was Danny Meyer, the founder and creator of Shake Shack (@dhmeyer on Twitter if you want to follow him). He was a fantastic presenter and I was hanging on his every word. Of all the stories and advice he shared there was one comment that really stuck with me. He said that each time he opens a new Shake Shack location, that exact location has to have "Shackness." In his words, "When I go scout a new place, I sit down, imagining myself as the diner with their burger, fries and shake and I ask myself - does location make me feel relaxed? When I look around am I taking in scenery that feels amazing, inspiring and like classic New York? Does this location help me escape from my life for just five minutes and have a genuine, uplifting experience? That's Shackness."

Wow. After that comment, I am a Danny Meyer believer! I left the conference that day determined to make it to Shake Shake on this trip. No excuses.

Lucky for me, on the second to last day of my trip I was staying with a friend who lives just a few streets away from a Shake Shack! Monday night (MLK Day) we zipped up our winter coats and headed over.

This particular location of Shake Shack is at 77th Street and Columbus Avenue, directly across the street from the Museum of Natural History (Shackness!).

When you first walk in there is a menu board right in the entry way so you can decide what you want before you get in line. I was impressed by how much of the menu is devoted to ice cream!

Shake Shack offers something called a "concrete" which is basically a thick milk shake. Each Shake Shack location has flavors based on their location. For example, in this location one of the choices is the "Natural History Crunch-stellation."

They also have a custard calendar! I am telling you, this is my kind of place! We were there on a Monday and the flavor was Cinnamon Cream Cheese.

We made a game plan and hopped in the line. The set up for ordering felt kind of like a mall food court, but hey, if it's efficient for them, I'll let it slide.

While in line I noticed the Shake Shack gear including two baby onesies that were just too adorable! One said "Small fry" and one said "I'm Crying, Insert Burger". I have a nine month old baby cousin, so I'm always on the look out!

After you order you are handed a buzzer so you can claim your order when it's ready. The buzzer says, "When I'm shakin' come on up to the shack!"

At this particular Shake Shack you can stand at a counter that overlooks the museum (notice the burger design on the counter).

Or you can sit in the atrium. When the weather is nice, all of these windows are open. I smile just thinking about that!

Our buzzer started to shake so we went up to the shack to claim our goodies. They give you your meal on a tray, cafeteria style.

My friend's boyfriend ordered the Shacky Road concrete (a cute play on Rocky Road), the french fries with cheese sauce and two Shackburgers. This food looks so good it almost looks fake, right?

The concrete was so delicious! It had chocolate truffles in it!

The cheese fries were an awesome, side dish creation. The combination of the crispy, crinkle cut french fries and the creamy cheese sauce made each bite taste like mashed potatoes!

My friend's boyfriend ordered two Shackburgers which are burger patty, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Shacksauce on a fluffy bun.

I ordered the vegetarian option, the 'Shroom burger, which is a cheese stuffed, fried mushroom. Yeah.

I took one bite and here is what happened:

In a word, amazing. This was one of the best, most delicious vegetarian options I have ever had at a burger place!

To go with our meals, my friend ordered the Arnold Palmer which was the perfect ratio of lemonade to tea and came with a heathly heaping of ice to keep it chilled.

In the spirit of this fun outing, I ordered a root beer float! It came in tall cup and the ice cream was already beginning to melt into the root beer by the time I took my tray to our table.

Because I had a long straw the first half of the drink tasted like just root beer (which was perfect to go with my burger) and the second half tasted like a root beer milk shake! It was soda shop perfection.

Shake Shack is such a blast. The spirit of the place is just straight up fun and as Danny said, all of the locations are scouted and approved for their Shackness.

Though I can technically cross this off my New York City "to-do" list, I still want to experience the Madison Square Park location in the summer.

Have you ever been to Shake Shack? Could you feel the Shackness?

Explore: Zabar's

Admittedly, I had never heard of Zabar's until the episode of "Sex and the City" where Charlotte prepares her first Shabbat dinner and goes to Zabar's to grocery shop. When my New York City hostess suggested we go on a culinary expedition to the store, I couldn't resist.

It was Monday night at the end of a long weekend and Zabar's was packed!

Right when we walked in we entered the olives section. There were so many kinds! The olives were in deep, construction zone-like buckets.

Next up was the cheese counter including this case of cheese spreads. I love spreads and dips. Had I not been an out of town guest, I would have stocked up!

I also noticed the mozzarella "salad" which is simply a giant ball of mozzarella cheese with two basil leaves for garnish.

Around the corner we found the candy and dried fruit section where I discovered dried kiwi! I'd never seen that in my life. Cranberries, apricot, pineapple, guava - sure. But kiwi? I felt I'd spotted an endangered species.

Around another corner, the desserts! I was tempted buy these chocolate rugelach, a Jewish grandmother staple.

I also found a more classic, American treat - rainbow sprinkle topped cupcakes. The best part? They come in individual packages.

Around another corner, I stumbled upon the prepared foods section including cheese blintzes and giant knishes! The knishes have their own wall.

Apparently Zabar's has their own coffee blend and people stand in line waiting for it. It was fun to watch the staff toss, weigh and bag the beans.

Near the coffee I discovered jam from New York City brunch spot Sarabeth's. Don't want to wait there for a table? Take this home for a taste of the restaurant at your own table.

After perusing the entire downstairs, we headed upstairs to the housewares section. Zabar's has dishes, glassware, pots and pans, utensils in every color of the rainbow and fun kitchen gadgets and toys.

We walked up and down every aisle. I loved these rocket ship shaped popsicle molds. They reminded me of my favorite ice cream truck treat, the red, white and blue firecraker popsicle!

I also discovered this chart that helps you decide what frosting accessories to buy based on what type of cake decorations you want to make.

Walking around Zabar's felt like an anthropological expedition. If you're craving Jewish comfort food or need to buy something for a bridal shower, this is the place.

Sugar Fix: Levain Bakery

My second to last day in New York City I headed up to the Upper West Side to stay with a friend who just relocated to New York in August. She was so excited to show me around her neighborhood.

It was a very chilly day so we bundled up and headed out to explore. The first stop on her neighborhood tour was Levain Bakery. She said, "How do you feel about paying $4 for a cookie?" I was intrigued.

We opened the door to Levain and walked down a flight of stairs into the basement. Levain has a counter and a very small seating area with two narrow counters and two stools at each.

The line was four people deep so I anxiously bopped from side to side trying to peer around people to get a peek at the goods.

When I got to the counter I saw rolls, scones and of course, Levain's four signature cookies!

The flavors are chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and dark chocolate peanutbutter chip.

I decided on the chocolate chip walnut cookie. The man behind the counter turned around, took a cookie out of the oven and then put it into a bag for me.

I walked that bag right to the counter and opened it! Look at the size of this cookie!

I bent the cookie in half and the chocolate chips were melting all over my fingers!

The cookie is lightly crisped on the outside, but super warm and doughy on the inside. I love doughy, bendy cookies.

After my photography, I put the cookie back in the bag so we could walk and nosh.

If you're a cookie person, make time to stop at Levain. Worth every one of those 400 pennies.

Dining Out: Cafe Delectica

My New York dining adventures continue! On Monday morning of my trip (MLK Day) my hostess wanted to take me to an Israeli cafe a few blocks up from her apartment. She raved about their traditional Israeli breakfast and the European cafe vibe.

We arrived at Cafe Delectica and as we walked down the steps toward the entry way, look who greeted us! Too cute!

Cafe Delectica has very Parisian looking tables and chairs and a large counter displaying basket after basket of drool worthy goods.

A sample of what's behind the glass counter:

We stood staring at the menus above the register for a at least five minutes before deciding to split two breakfast options.

Our first choice was a breakfast sandwich with egg whites, tomato, avocado and chipotle mayo on multigrain bread.

The tomato was fresh and juicy, the avocado was creamy and buttery, the egg whites were nice and hot and the chipotle added an awesome kick to every bite.

The multigrain bread was toasted, hearty and delicious. My friend said, "I love how seedy and nutty this is - great for bread, not for people." Ha!

Our second plate was the traditional Israeli breakfast which came with an omelette, slices of cheese, a ball of cream cheese, a whole avocado and Israeli salad.

The plate also came with a side of bread basket. Yes, an entire bread basket.

We spent the next half hour spreading egg, cheese, cream cheese, avocado and Israeli salad across pieces of this fantastic bread. My friend said, "This tastes just like Israel!"

The nice thing about Cafe Delectica is that they don't rush you. You can read the Sunday New York Times, respond to email on your laptop, browse the web on your iPad or just hang with family and friends and no matter how long you sit, they're cool with it. Just one caveat, they don't have a bathroom, so if you drink too much coffee or tea, you're out of luck!

On a side note, while dining we spotted one of the most beautiful twentysomething man I've ever seen in real life. He was fashionable dressed (well fitting, not trendy), drinking from a metal water bottle, eating yogurt and granola and reading the New York Times and TIME magazine, both of which he brought with him. Ladies, I have a feeling this could be a good watering hole!

If you can't hop a flight to Tel Aviv, enjoy a taste of Israel at 38th Street and 3rd Avenue.