To say that Shake Shack is slow to embrace change would be an understatement. Danny Meyer's specialty burger spots didn't add chicken to the menu boards until 2015, after all. But the chain's latest collab is definitely going for a specific foodie audience.
Michelin-starred chef Fergus Henderson is lending his culinary talents to Shake Shack for an eel burger.
GrubStreet reports that the eel burger may be the chain's most ambitious yet. Notoriously labor-intensive and difficult to source, eel hasn't really hit the mainstream food scene just yet, though the site adds that it's becoming a more common addition to menus. Aside from sushi joints, it's not a very commonly used ingredient. But for the burger, Shake Shack chefs will combine the slippery fish with "smoked Niman Ranch bacon, pickled red onions, crème fraîche, fresh horseradish, and watercress."
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Anyone looking to give the $10 burger a chance will have to schedule accordingly, however, because it'll only be available at Shake Shack's Madison Square Park location on September 15 and 16.
It's not the only menu item that Henderson — known for his work at London's St. John — is bringing to the Shack, either. He'll be toting his famed vanilla-custard doughnuts across the Atlantic with a few selections from his restaurant's wine list, including bottles made at a medieval winery in the south of France.
Past limited-edition offerings at Shake Shack have included a lobster burger, done in collaboration with Daniel Humm; David Chang's Shrimp Stack; and a Chick'n Shack dreamed up with L.A.'s Son of a Gun. Those all drew their fair share of long waits and critical acclaim, but seeing as how eel doesn't have the allure of lobster or shrimp, diners may find less hype when they get in line for this one.
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