Ah, Queens Center Mall. A hang-out haven for high school students that make you realize kids are undeniably getting more obnoxious while you are undeniably getting older. What a joyous realization! Many people try to avoid this spot at all costs, but on Dec. 30, an angel came down from above and blessed us with the first stand-alone Shake Shack location in Queens.
The wonderful news doesn’t stop there: on Jan. 14, just two weeks after Shake Shack’s opening at the Queens Center Mall, they introduced the new Chicken Shack sandwich at the majority of its nationwide locations.
However, this isn’t the first time that the Chicken Shack is being sold. Over the summer, Shake Shack’s Brooklyn locations served it as a guinea pig when they first started offering the sandwich on their menu. There was a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the community, and with good reason.
The sandwich boasts a boneless fried chicken breast that is seasoned to perfection and topped with shredded lettuce, pickles and buttermilk herb mayonnaise. It’s often compared to Chick-Fil-A’s signature fried chicken sandwich, which has similar ingredients and toppings, but with a little less crunch. If you order the sandwich with a side of fries and one of Shake Shack’s signature custard shakes, you’ve got yourself a meal worth drooling over.
Adding chicken to the menu just gives Shake Shack another advantage to its already popular menu, including the fan favorite and vegetarian-friendly “Shroom Burger.” “I’m not much of a red meat eater, so offering a chicken sandwich will definitely make me frequent Shake Shack more often,” said Natalia Pompeo, a student at St. John’s University. “Even though I chose to wait a week to try out the sandwich, the line was still out the door, but it was absolutely worth the wait.”
Located at 90-15 Queens Blvd., the new Shake Shack sits directly across from Mama’s Empanadas. A bold, but powerful move would be to hit up Mama’s Empanadas, grab a Carne Y Papas, and then head over to Shake Shack and munch on it while waiting for the mouthwatering chicken sandwich. Some would call it crazy, but I call it utilizing your resources. After all, every meal should start with an appetizer.
Although no official date has been set, another stand-alone Shake Shack location is set to open this year in Forest Hills. Thank you Shake Shack, for finally showing some love to Queens!
