The New Retail Thread

davem said:
...I don't get it. I was sorely disappointed with my one Shake Shack experience. The quality was decent at best, the portion minuscule, and the price excessive. I feel the exact same way about Chipotle. How do they compete when our local chains are so much better. Tasty Burger beats the hell out of Shake Shack, and even B.Good and even uBurger easily give them a run for their money, not to mention the one-off places (Flat Patties, Burger Dive). Then of course the burrito comparison is even crazier. Boloco, Boca Grande, Annas, Felipes, and whoever else destroy Chipotle in every way.
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I know this is not a restaurant review site but I must offer a contrary opinion on Shake Shack. I eat more burgers in a week than most should consume in a month (a problem, not a brag LOL) and here is my hierarchy of the burger chains after many tries of each:

Shake Shack (best beef and toppings of the bunch but just average fries)
UBurger (by far the best fries of any of these places)
Flat Patties (wish there were more than 1 of these. Not a huge fan of the fries however)
Smashburger in Natick - Not bad at all and FAR better than Five Guys
Tasty Burger (they do everything ok but nothing great)
Wild Willy's (underrated in my opinion - solid burgers, fries just average)
B. Good (sorry, burgers are not healthy and trying to make them "healthy" takes the taste and fun away)
Five Guys (quantity does not = quality, I'm looking at you Five Guys fries)

have not tried Wahlburgers or Burger Dive

Cliff's Notes version: give me a bacon cheeseburger from Shake Shack (shack sauce on the side) with the fries from Uburger
 
I just ate a UBurger (no fries...guess that was my mistake) for the first time in a year or two and was left severely underwhelmed. At nearly $8 for just the sandwich it seemed barely a step or two above fast food quality. Still have yet to try Shake Shack though, looking forward to it!
 
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BosDevelop said:
I know this is not a restaurant review site but I must offer a contrary opinion on Shake Shack. I eat more burgers in a week than most should consume in a month (a problem, not a brag LOL) and here is my hierarchy of the burger chains after many tries of each:

Shake Shack (best beef and toppings of the bunch but just average fries)
UBurger (by far the best fries of any of these places)
Flat Patties (wish there were more than 1 of these. Not a huge fan of the fries however)
Smashburger in Natick - Not bad at all and FAR better than Five Guys
Tasty Burger (they do everything ok but nothing great)
Wild Willy's (underrated in my opinion - solid burgers, fries just average)
B. Good (sorry, burgers are not healthy and trying to make them "healthy" takes the taste and fun away)
Five Guys (quantity does not = quality, I'm looking at you Five Guys fries)

have not tried Wahlburgers or Burger Dive

Cliff's Notes version: give me a bacon cheeseburger from Shake Shack (shack sauce on the side) with the fries from Uburger
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Perhaps one day Boston will get SoCal import, Burger Lounge. They do get their root beer from Maine, after all!
 
kz1000ps said:
I just ate a UBurger (no fries...guess that was my mistake) for the first time in a year or two and was left severely underwhelmed. At nearly $8 for just the sandwich it seemed barely a step or two above fast food quality. Still have yet to try Shake Shack though, looking forward to it!
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I'm not a big fan of burgers, but I love chicken. The Phat Chick is wicked good. Chicken patty (grilled or crispy - crispy obviously), bacon, cheddar, and BBQ sauce. On nom nom.
 
I was a Shake Shack fan when it opened in NY years ago. It was a good burger that you got to eat in the park. The line was no big deal because you were in the park. I went in Natick and waited in line and there just wasn't the same ... soul. Same thing when I went in Harvard. The spicy burger (can't remember what it is called) was good, but just not worth the hassle. I think I would pop in again sometime if there were no line, but it is hard when it is across the street from my new semi-fast food love - Tasty Burger.

Tasty's burgers are super juicy and the cheese just the right kind of gooey-melty. There are about a dozen condiments on the table to suit whatever mood you are in. More/better beer choices that the Shack. The chicken nuggets with nitro sauce is another highlight. I usually get those instead of fries to go with my burger :)

I also eat at Burger Dive occasionally and I want to like it, but they are just missing that special something. All the sauces should be fun, but most of them are bland or overly sweet. The burgers are bigger than their rivals (I think), but the also fall apart into a mess while eating them.
 
I went to the chestnut hill shake shack as a destination with friends. It wasn't bad, I just felt it didn't live up to the hype. The burgers were good, but I expected to be blown away. They also seemed really small for the price. Maybe it was an off day, or was just too hyped up.

I'll probably give them another shot, the new location is pretty close to my school. And as noted, b'goods quality has severely fallen off.

I also learned something new yesterday, never get flat patties to go. They wrap it in foil, and the awesomeness of the crispy/flaky bun turns into a soggy mess. And I only had it in the bag for 90 seconds at most.
 
datadyne007 said:
I'm not a big fan of burgers, but I love chicken. The Phat Chick is wicked good. Chicken patty (grilled or crispy - crispy obviously), bacon, cheddar, and BBQ sauce. On nom nom.
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Duly noted -- I might pick one up tonight. And of course crispy! DUH
 
I know it's not much of a change given that they're owned by the same company, but I was walking down Huntington today and noticed that the Prudential Shaw's is now a Star Market.
 
The tragedy of the Shaw's becoming a Star Market is that Star is apparently dead-set against "self-serve" check-outs. They have been pulled out of all the Shaw's across the Commonwealth.

The good news is there are more "15-items or less" registers. And, I guess, that management probably had to hire more labor to staff the registers.
 
News to me, although I can never keep track of whether my local one is a Star or a Shaw.
 
JohnAKeith said:
The tragedy of the Shaw's becoming a Star Market is that Star is apparently dead-set against "self-serve" check-outs. They have been pulled out of all the Shaw's across the Commonwealth.

The good news is there are more "15-items or less" registers. And, I guess, that management probably had to hire more labor to staff the registers.
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Are all non-management employees at Shaws unionized? If so, I wonder if this has anything to do with pulling self-serve lanes.
 
kz1000ps said:
Shake Shack

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Excellent. Sick of being faced w/choice of tasty burger and shakeshack and opting for former b/c too lazy to drive to Chestnut Hill. Nothing against TB at all. I've heard a SS is going into 101 Seaport as well.
 
Not sure if this belongs here, but Crate & Barrel Furniture on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge closed last week after being open for thirty years. Not sure what's going in next or across the street at the now shuttered (moved to Somerville) City Schemes store. So much for Furniture Row!
 
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