On a rainy Friday morning, I arrived in New York City for the first time as a meat blogger with one goal: to eat. Most importantly, I had to eat at the Shake Shack. I had heard much about the Shake Shack from the New York-centric food blog known as Serious Eats, yet there are plenty of good burgers in LA, so I never felt an overriding desire to get a burger at Shake Shack. Then I heard that Shake Shack was run by none other than Danny Meyer, the famous New York restaurateur. More importantly, though, is that Meyer is a fellow alum of Camp Nebagamon, the greatest place in the world (if you don’t believe me, read this). No doubt, his restaurant skills draw upon his experience at Nebagamon and I made sure to get to Shake Shack as early as possible to see what those skills had created.

Due to the inclement weather, we headed to the Shake Shack on the Upper West Side, since the original at Madison Square Park only offered outdoor seating. Even though it was Friday, there was already a short line of school children waiting outside for the place to open at 10:45. This was a good sign that Shake Shack was at least better than school cafeteria food. As soon as the doors opened, we headed in and checked out the menu. I chose the double ShackBurger, cheese fries and a peanut butter shake. The only way to pack more cow products into that meal would have had required veal (which I chose to hold off on until the next meal). The ShackBurger came with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and the special Shack sauce. I ordered without those pesky tomatoes and lettuce and then found a seat to wait for my meaty feast.

As soon as our buzzer went off, I sprinted to the counter in excitement. Before I ate, I took a minute to revel in the beauty of what lay before me. Then I dug in. The burger was different from the usual fast food burger, but certainly not gourmet. It overflowed with cheese and sauce, but was held somewhat intact with a wax paper wrap. Grease, also known as flavor juice, turned the paper clear and was a sure sign of greatness. It was juicy, cheesy and just as good as I had hoped. The fries were also great and were a definite cut above usual fast food fries. Per my order, they were covered in a creamy cheese sauce that avoided the usual plasticky texture while refusing to coagulate.

Finally, there was my shake, the namesake of the Shake Shack. Undoubtedly, the shake drew inspiration from the Portland Malt Shoppe in Duluth, Minnesota, about 30 minutes from the village of Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin. It didn’t have the usual thick texture you would expect from a peanut butter shake, but packed a solid peanut butter taste. In truth, I would have liked the shake to be a little thicker, but it wasn’t bad by any means. By the time I slurped up the last bit of shake, I was one stuffed and happy unvegan.

Although I’m not lactose intolerant, I think my body reached its maximum daily lactose intake halfway through my meal. A double cheeseburger, cheese fries and a milkshake is far more dairy than man is meant to ingest and I paid the price a couple hours later. As painful as that stomach ache may have been, it is far easier to remember the great taste of that burger, which means I would undergo those stomach pains again in an instant to get my mouth around another ShackBurger. Next time, however, I might choose regular fries and a glass of water to ensure that my stomach makes it to my next meal in one piece.

In the end, Shake Shack is definitely a must for any hungry meat eater in New York, whether they come from Los Angeles or the Yo Yo Islands.

Bridge’s Tavern in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin has no kitchen. In a lot of bars this can be a problem if I get the drunken munchies. Not at Bridge’s though, because despite their kitchen handicap they make Pizza Fries.

Pizza Fries aren’t too different from pizza, and they’re not really even close to being fries aside from abstract similarities in shape. Yet, Pizza Fries is the name that has been chosen for them. The closest thing they resemble is cheesey breadsticks, but this isn’t some gimmick to get people to buy an already existent product like when Burger King started making “Chicken Fries” (chicken tenders). There is just something about Pizza Fries that transcends any other nomenclature.

In composition, they are a thin, crispy dough with gooey cheese melted on top and a marinara sauce for dipping. Although these components are the same as a cheese pizza, somehow the Pizza Fries taste completely different. Picture yourself drunkenly enjoying a pizza. Great. Now multiply that by 10 and you have the happiness that is Pizza Fries.

Pizza Fries are a staple at bars throughout the Northwoods, but somehow seem to have failed to make it beyond the region. If an LA bar could offer me Pizza Fries (of course at a similar price of under 5 bucks), I would be one painfully happy man.

The transition from eating in LA to eating in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and Minnesota is pretty darn easy, especially for my tastes. While visiting the area recently, I found plenty of food (and beer) to make my tastebuds happy, while forking over a fraction of what I’ve been used to paying.

My first meal up there was at the Waterfront Bar & Grill in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin. After ordering two pitchers of Leinenkugel’s (the best beer in the world) for $6 each, I took a look at their food menu. What stood out to me the most on their menu was the double bacon cheeseburger. At $6, it appeared to be the most expensive burger on the menu. Not too shabby.

I ordered it and kept on drinking my Leinie’s. When it did come out, it was just as I had hoped, save for the glowing pickles. I offered them up to a friend, who quickly removed them from my sight and devoured them. The burger itself was really good. This could have been because I hadn’t eaten a real meal in ten hours and had already drank a few beers, but I think it just happened to be a good bar burger. Despite the trouble with the pickles, I was pretty content with my first meal in the Northwoods.