As I’m sure many of you have heard, the popular burger and milkshake chain, Shake Shack, has recently opened up a new location in Newport News. This is great news for lovers of this fast food chain who have had to either drive to Richmond or Virginia Beach to fulfill their cravings in the past. My friends and I decided to take a trip to the intersection of Oyster Point and Jefferson to see for ourselves if the food was worth it.
The first noticeable thing when you arrive is the lack of parking in an already busy shopping center. Located in Jefferson Plaza, the same place as Costco and McDonald’s, parking spots at Shake Shack are few and far between, and we ended up having to park at McDonald’s and walk over even though we were eating at around 2pm. We then had to wait in line outside the restaurant, most likely due to being at full capacity, but the staff offered complimentary beverages while we waited and the wait was only about 10 minutes.
The actual ordering process was quick and smooth, with self-ordering kiosks that walked you through the menu and payment process. Everything comes à la carte, which for a student on a budget, was a little disappointing. However, I ordered the regular ShackBurger, six chicken bites, fries and a chocolate shake to top it all off.
The ShackBurger, (which comes with lettuce, tomato, cheese and ShackSauce), was a little dry and more toppings than actual meat. They offer a double patty, which is more expensive, but probably worth it to get the topping to meat ratio right. Ordering an extra side of sauce also wouldn’t hurt the burger. Next to review were the chicken bites, which looked similar to Chick-Fil-A’s nuggets. If you like your nuggets salty, these are for you. They were juicy and hit the spot after the disappointing burger. The infamous Shake Shack crinkle fries were perfectly crispy and salty and good for dipping in the chocolate shake, which was thinner than I expected, but taste-wise, rich and chocolatey.
Overall, would I come back here? The total for my meal was just under 25 dollars, which is expensive for a chain restaurant with a mediocre burger, but everything else I tried was delicious. I would say it’s worth it to go at least once, particularly for the fries, shakes and chicken. I’m not sure I would order the burger again, but that still leaves me with plenty of other options, including chicken sandwiches, fried mushroom sandwiches and even grilled cheese. Shake Shack receives a four out of five stars from me.
