Shakin at the Shake Shack

If you don't know it yet, Danny Meyer's Shake Shack in Madison Square Park is serving up the best damn burger in The US of A, and the concrete is hot, too. Located at the southeastern tip of a glorious Manhattan city park, The Shake Shack is a gourmet burger joint serving up the ambience of a European outdoor cafe and the food of a master grill freak. You can't go wrong with a Shack Burger and an order of cheese fries, and get a chocolate concrete (frozen-egg-custard-style shake--INSANE!) just to complete this high-end yet still All-American meal. After you order, hold onto your buzzer-thing; stroll over to the dog run to say hi to the neighborhood pooches, or take a walk around this amazingly restored and beautifully well kept jewel of the east side--statuary, lush flower beds, trickling fountain and remarkably friendly squirrels. When your buzzer goes off, take your grub to a cafe table under the trees hung with lights. Take a bite, look up: there's The Empire State Building.