There are few things in this world that I lose my mind in excitement over.

Corgis.

The OA.

My wife telling me that I was right.

A behind the back, no-look basketball swish.

Riding the Hogwarts Express at Universal.

And the belief that one day I’ll open my minds eye to discover that Poemander has blessed me and given me a cool staff and I’ll be able to make Pyramids and stuff. Or something. #OnlySevenOfYouWillGetThat

But want to know what gets me more excited than all of those? Burgers.

But not any burgers.

We’re talking Shake Shake, people.

The time has finally come. Sound the horns. Let fly the doves of victory.

SHAKE SHACK IS IN KANSAS CITY.

So all that to say, we love Shake Shack. We’ve been waiting a LONG time for one to be here. When we got an email inviting us to swing by early before it opened to take a sneak peek, we changed our Labor Day plans to accommodate it. It was just that important. And yes, it was a top 10 highlight for me being asked to come eat burgers and take photos before opening. Does that make me a simple person? Probably. But happiness comes in many forms. Mine is exclusive burgers.

So the new space is down in the Plaza (in the old Talbots space). It’s clean, modern and great. Although maybe too small to handle the inevitable deluge of hungry people that it will attract. BUT DON’T LET THAT DETER YOU. The pro-tip here is to order ahead online. That way you skip the lines and can grab your food ahead of the peasants.

As for what to order? Our go-to has always been the Double Shakeburger with cheese fries. Although, they did introduce us to the Shack Stack (seen above) — a cheeseburger and a ’Shroom Burger combined and topped with lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce. I don’t like mushrooms but I loved this burger. So good. They gave us a Shroom Burger to shoot too. It’s really cool because it’s a crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheeses. Very cheesy. Way better than a mushroom burger has the right to be.

The Shake Shack taste is fantastic. It’s juicy. Cheesy. Has a hint of tang from the sauce. The tomatoes are crisp, not gooey. And everything is perfect. I love it. Never once have I gotten a dry burger. These things have flavor.

For those of you yet to be initiated in the cult of Shake Shack, I envy you. You’re going to go here expecting another fast food burger. But you’d be wrong. Oh, so wrong. There’s something different about this place. Maybe it’s their juicy, superior meat. Maybe it’s the buns. Maybe it’s just that these burgers look like they were engineered to look great on Instagram. I don’t care. It’s my favorite burger and you need to go eat there later this week (it opens this Thursday, September 6th). Oh, and I almost forgot, they’re including some great local beer on tap there too! Boulevard, Torn Label and Crane are all going to be there. It’s gonna be great.

And one last thing. The first 100 people there this Thursday (doors open at 11am) will get a custom Charlie Hustle shirt. Which is pretty awesome. Good luck.

Shake Shack –

239 w 47th st.

Kansas City, MO 64112

And now, just for the fun of it, here is a series of burger picks. Oh, and a bathroom shot.

Bathroom is single stall, very private, nice and clean!