Shake Shack September 2011 Flavors - Any Must-Haves?

[uwsgrazer]

Sunday: PB&J

Monday: Cinnamon Spice

Tuesday: Chocolate Banana

Wednesday: Figs & Honey

Thursday: Thin Mint

Friday: Coffee & Donuts

Saturday: Red Velvet

Kinda scary that I'm starting this thread. (I didn't find another one when I searched.) I don't even want to be eating this stuff, now that summer is winding down.

I really enjoyed Coffee & Donuts when they had it a few months ago. Figs & Honey, Thin Mint and Red Velvet all sound very tempting.

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Shake Shack
Madison Ave and E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010

[loratliff]

Forgot to mention that I also had the thin mint a couple weeks ago. I think it was my favorite. Not overly sweet, nor too much mint or chocolate. Nice and smooth too.

[uwsister]

Tried Thin Mint and Coffee & Donuts last week - liked both, especially Coffee & Donut. I love soft mix-ins like cake pieces, so that was right up my alley. I thought about buying a pint, but I've been addicted to Baskin Robbins' (I know, I know) French Toast flavor lately so I decided not to since I've been eating so much of that ice cream. I may go back though for another serving this Friday.

[ellenost]

My sister raves about the French Toast flavor at Baskin-Robbins! I think she bought a quart of it. Too bad they closed the nearest store. If they're still selling the flavor, I'll try it when I visit my sister on Saturday (we're planning a day of "fun" food).

[uwsister]

Do try it! I think it's fantastic, I've been addicted the whole month. And I don't even usually eat BR ice cream, at all.

[ellenost]

Too bad I missed the French Toast at BR; they stopped selling it yesterday.

[uwsister]

Bummer! BR manager told me the flavor was quite popular & they were thinking about making a full-time flavor. I hope it happens! I'll keep an eye out for sure.

[FoodDabbler]

Before September ends let me record my encounter with figs and honey. The fig favor is fairly distinct, and in one spot I hit a bit that was thicker then the rest and very distinctly figgy. I enjoyed that. The aftertaste is of honey, but with an underlying mustiness that I found disagreeable after a a few spoonfuls.

[uwsgrazer]

Thanks for the last-minute posting, FD! I doubt I'll make the effort to stop by tonight. Too late now. Maybe they'll have leftovers for sale tomorrow. But now you have me wondering if I should go for the Coffee & Donuts this Friday. Hhmmm, doubt I'll have time, but I do like that flavor.

Not to be a downer here but my last few custard visits proved disappointing (two pie oh-my's, one blueberry, one peach, I think, and then a peaches & cream custard). Now that fall is here I think my appetite for Shake Shack custards has waned. Maybe I'll revisit come spring.

[LNG212]

hmmm, I wonder what the aftertaste was. Do you think it could be from the honey? I had their fig flavor last December (or Jan?) - the figgy pudding. That fig custard was simply delicious. But it had no honey in it and it did have lots of bits of figs throughout.

[FoodDabbler]

I've been wondering that, too. Occasionally very old honey will have an "old" aftertaste, but I don't know if this was that.

[ellenost]

I tried Cinnamon Spice tonight, and I liked it. For me, the spice level was just right. Interested to read what others think about it.

[loratliff]

I'm a sucker and went back last night to try the Coffee & Doughnuts. It was great! Reminded me of the coffee and doughnuts at Per Se, actually. Super smooth coffee custard with chunks of non-soggy, cakey donuts folded in. Very good.

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

[hungryinmanhattan]

I bought a thin mint cup this week (E86 st.) and it had big hard ice crystals in it.

[uwsister]

Gonna stop by tonight to either try Coffee & Donuts or Peachy Pie Oh My. Thanks for the reminder!

[tpigeon]

I don't think you can get the pie oh my anymore - was a labor day weekend special.

[uwsister]

Oh well :(
I'll just have to wait for Pumpkin Pie Oh My!

[loratliff]

I had the Fig & Honey this week and liked it a lot. No chunks of figs or anything like that, but plenty of figgy flavor and not overly sweet.

[tpigeon]

All Points Bulletin.

Run, don't walk, to shake shack to get the Peach Pie Oh My. This flavor rivals Pumpkin Pie Oh My and I would not say you were crazy if you thought it was better. Labor Day Weekend Special so only lasts until Monday.

[FoodDabbler]

Damn. I was toying with the idea of getting it last night, but went with a scoop of red velvet instead. Right now I'm on an Amtrak train out of Manhattan. Should I pull the cord and return?

[tpigeon]

I would seriously consider it if it isn't too much trouble. This flavor is really good.

[FoodDabbler]

The penalty for frivolously pulling the cord is a stiff fine and possible imprisonment. Is the flavor worth 6 months inside?

[tpigeon]

I would have to say no on that one. There is always next year. There is no shake shack in prison and you would miss pumpkin pie oh my.

[kathryn]

Wow! Sounds amazing. It's a concrete, right? I'm several hundred miles away from NYC, alas.

[tpigeon]

Yes it is a concrete.

[FoodDabbler]

A slice of peach pie blended with vanilla custard, I believe. Was there anything else mixed in to give it the solidity of a concrete? In response to a query on another food board I once turned one of their standard concretes upside down. A stray bit of pretzel fell off the top/bottom, but everything else stayed put. Is the Peach Pie Oh My similarly concrete-like?

[ellenost]

OK, you've got my interest. What's in it? Are the peaches canned or fresh? Anything else in it? What flavor is the custard? Sorry for so many questions.

[tpigeon]

Vanilla custard with peach pie blended in. It is really good. It was a little less solid than other concretes I had now that you mentioned it but it was great.

[uwsgrazer]

Sorry, tpigeon, but just following up on ellenost's question, which I also had: could you tell if the peaches were fresh? Not sure I'm game for the calories if it's canned, especially considering all the eating I've done already this weekend.

[tpigeon]

Tasted fresh to me.

Best I could tell was a peach pie ground up into vanilla custard. All I can say beyond that it was fantastic.

[ellenost]

OK tpigeon, I'll stop by Shake Shack today to see if they still have it. I may also buy a pint of Cinnamon Spice.

[ellenost]

Disappointed to report that I struck out on both fronts: long line (about 40 minutes) at UES Shake Shack and the flavor of the day was Chocolate Banana (not Cinnamon Spice). Will have to finish my Coffee and Donuts instead.

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Shake Shack
154 East 86th Street, New York, NY 10028

[uwsgrazer]

Doesn't the UES location have a "C" line, just for custard orders (and maybe one or two other items)? Hard to believe that line would have been 40 minutes long?

[ellenost]

There was no one on the "C" line, but I wasn't sure whether I could get the special concrete from that line. I usually get only the pint of soft serve from the "C" line, but I wasn't interested in the Chocolate Banana flavor. The regular line was 40 minutes which was much longer than usual, but not surprising since today is a holiday.

[uwsgrazer]

I've used the C-line at the UWS location several times to purchase custard only, either cones or concretes.

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Shake Shack
366 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024

[uwsgrazer]

I just tried Peach Pie Oh My. The amount of actual peach fruit was slight, it was a lot of pie crust. Having also tried Blueberry Pie Oh My, I guess it was over the Fourth of July holiday, I find there's way too much crust in the dessert, though my recollection is that the blueberry component was greater than the peach portion today. Still, in both cases the pie is too sweet, for my taste.

Note: We did ask for the pie to be placed on top of the custard, as the person I was sharing with was interested in peach pie, not really the custard. I don't think this should have made a difference in the actual ingredients we were served. If anything, it gave us the ability to see how much peach was used.

[tpigeon]

BTW the Peach Pie, in the Oh My was provided by a local bakery in Miami's shake shack so the Miami one is definitely not the same as in NYC. I just found that out today.

[uwsgrazer]

Interesting -- and kind of surprising to me, actually. I would think they would want to maintain tighter quality-control to ensure greater consistency.

[FoodDabbler]

The sign advertising the peach pie concrete stressed that the pie was "freshly baked". That's hard to reconcile with shipping it over a distance, but I suppose they could fly pie to Florida in a few hours several times a day.

[uwsgrazer]

I would just expect the same recipe to be used in all locations so that someone going into a given Shake Shack can expect comparable quality and ingredients in each restaurant. That doesn't mean everything has to be specially flown in from one location!

[FoodDabbler]

You're quite right.

[tpigeon]

PB&J was a disappointment. Not enough peanut butter and not enough jelly. I remember last year's flavor being much better. If management reads this thread, you guys are entering into a disturbing trend and you need to amp up your flavors on the monthly specials.

[ellenost]

Tried Coffee & Donuts, and I found large donut pieces in the mild coffee flavor soft serve. Very pleased with it. Hope to try Red Velvet tomorrow after my lunch at Momofuku Ko. I may also stop by Milk Bar to try their creamsicle soft serve.

[ellenost]

Disappointed with the Red Velvet--not much flavor. Even though they were handing out samples with good size pieces of Red Velvet cake, my pint has pulverized cake in a vanilla base. BTW, stopped by Milk Bar on my way home from Ko, and tasted a sample of their creamsicle soft serve, and it has a distinct creamsicle flavor (should have bought some).

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Momofuku Milk Bar
251 E 13th St, New York, NY 10003

[tpigeon]

I had the same feeling when they had red velvet a few months ago. I also thought that the coffee doughnuts was good but had no synergy when I had it a few months ago (Kathryn first pointed that out). To me, the best flavors work together to make something greater than the sum of its parts (I am sounding like an investment banker now...).

[FoodDabbler]

I had the red velvet myself tonight and I share your disappointment.

[ellenost]

Cinnamon Spice; Coffee & Donuts; and Red Velvet sound good to me.

BTW, where's tpigeon?

[tpigeon]

Here. I know you hate peanut butter but the PB&J last year was awesome. Thanks uwsgrazer for starting the thread.

[FoodDabbler]

I was going to wait till today for you, then post the list. Thanks uwsgrazer. I had thin mint yesterday. I rather liked it. Nice chocolate flavor with a clean mint aftertaste. I, too, am intrigued by figs and honey. Unfortunately, yesterday being September 1, the leftover flavor from the day before was from August, not September's Wednesday flavor. Another week.

[uwsgrazer]

Can you pretty much always expect to get the prior day's flavor at a sale price? I like the idea. Or maybe you live nearby to a Shake Shack and can just swing by?

[whitneybee]

Did the mint ice cream come with any mix-ins, or was it just plain custard? They had a mint ice cream a few years back that came with peppermint patty pieces, but I don't remember exactly what it was called.

[FoodDabbler]

The thin mint comes as a plain, smooth custard. I don't know if you can get peppermint patty pieces as an extra mixin.

Uwsgrazer: they have been out of the previous days flavor on one occasion at Madison Square Park, and nearly out on another. I've had better luck at 44th where they've always had some even at night.

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Shake Shack
691 8th Ave, New York, NY 10036

[uwsgrazer]

Thanks, FoodDabbler. Wow, I just realized that if I went early tomorrow I would have a chance to pick-up a pint of Coffee & Donuts on sale -- plus buy myself a Red Velvet cone! Boy, that's really dangerous.