In a city that boasts some 24,000 restaurants—serving everything from “world famous” pizza to “world famous” bagels to “world famous” cheesecake, ad infinitum—it’s worth noting that one of New York’s most enduring exports began as a modest hamburger joint in the Flatiron District. Since launching in 2004, Shake Shack—today one of the undisputable champions of American fast-food—has remained a point of pride for New Yorkers, famous for its long, snaking lines through Madison Square Park, and revered for its cult-like status among burger fanatics.  

Over the years, the company’s founder, Danny Meyer, has opened 100 Shake Shack locations worldwide, setting up camp in countries throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. And while the chain’s rapid expansion has often meant new, regional menu items (Los Angeles’ French dip-inspired Roadside Double, Austin’s jalapeño sausage-stuffed Lockhart Link, and Boston’s mortadella-topped Coppa Burger), New Yorkers are still willing to brave the crowds for its classic, crinkle-cut fries and indomitable ShackBurger.  

The restaurant’s prominence has often been a topic of heated debate when it comes to burger supremacy, however, with fans most commonly pitting the chain against California’s In-N-Out Burger whenever West Coast-ers fly into town. But to truly examine what makes Shake Shack tick, one must carefully dissect the chain’s own standard, Manhattan menu, holding a magnifying glass up to each of the restaurant’s menu items.

While we could argue the merits and faults of the ShackBurger and the In-N-Out Double-Double all day, what’s more interesting is how Shake Shack’s ‘Shroom Burger stacks up against its Chick’n Shack. Sure, the fries are great, but are they better with or without cheese? Is a single ShackBurger enough, or should you make it a double? After much deliberation, First We Feast set out to answer these questions, and more, in a definitive ranking of the greatest Shake Shack menu items.  

Price: $4.59

Though the hype might lead one to believe that even a less popular Shake Shack item is worth seeking out, the truth is the restaurant’s chicken dog remains a blip on the radar for a reason. The problem isn’t just that this tube of slimy, ground-up chicken meat is masquerading as a healthy alternative to the classic, all-beef frank. Rather, the chicken itself is bland, chewy, and thrown haphazardly into a potato bun, leaving the slathering of relish, mustard, and ketchup in the customer's hands. Few self-respecting fast-food lovers would order this. 

Price: $3.30

There’s nothing wrong with Shake Shack’s hot dog, per se. Though over the years the restaurant has become increasingly known for its burgers and fries, the chain actually started off as a lowly hot dog cart in Madison Square Park, and the item has remained a source of pride for the company. Split down the middle and seared on the grill, the all-natural Vienna beef franks are juicy and flavorful. Still, at Shake Shack, customers have come to expect dripping sauces and leaning towers of meat, and the humdrum hot dog ends up feeling a tad too plain to really stand out.

Price: 4.29

Though it’s hard to imagine someone strolling into a Shake Shack and ordering an utterly plain, no-frills hamburger, the item does exist on the restaurant’s menu and is worth trying if only to dissect the power of the brand’s ingredients. Here, in it’s most basic form, is what has made Shake Shack so successful over the years: a perfectly grilled, quarter-pound patty of Pat LaFrieda brisket, chuck, and short rib, and a sweetly moist potato roll made by Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe in Pennsylvania. Diners have the option of adding lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion, as well as cheese or all-natural applewood smoked bacon, but at that point one might as well go for some of the restaurant's more iconic creations. 

Price: $2.99

I should preface this by saying as a rule I am not a fan of the crinkle-cut French fry. The crispiness around the ridges is all good and well, but when it really comes down to it, the uneven width of the fry allows for too much mushiness. Shake Shack, in an attempt to keep with the changing times, tried to switch over to fresh, hand-cut French fries in 2013, feeling that the frozen, crinkle-cut variety didn’t mesh with its all-natural ethos. But when Shake Shack devotees freaked out over the shift, the company issued a mea culpa and reinstated the original recipe. There’s something oddly commendable about that, and as far as crinkle-cut fries go, no one does it better than Shake Shack.

Price: $3.99

This is an easy one: Everything—and I mean everything—is better when it’s covered in a layer of melted cheese. Topped with a thick mixture of cheddar and American, Shake Shack's blend tastes a bit fancier than it actually is, transcending the lazy, nacho cheese-style sauce most fast-food fries come with, yet still gross enough to feel indulgent. To its credit, the crinkle-cut fry holds up remarkably well under the stress of the cheese, while other, more flimsy styles usually go soft and soggy. 

Price: $6.99

The ‘Shroom burger can be deceiving. Though the dish marks a rare, vegetarian option on an otherwise meat-filled menu, the crisp-fried Portobello—injected with melted muenster and cheddar cheese, and then topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce—is one of the more decadent options available. The mushroom is nearly twice the size of an average beef patty, and after taking the first chomp, the molten cheese oozes out in spurts, mixing with the restaurant’s secret, mayo-based sauce. “It’s only going to go on the menu if you would crave it even if you were not a vegetarian,” Danny Meyer once said of his struggle to find a meatless menu option. Well, it looks like he finally found what he was looking for. 

Price: $4.25

It’s a bold move for a New York-based fast-food chain—headquartered in a city that already boasts its own, beloved style of hot dog—to name a menu item after another locale’s specialty. To make matters worse, the restaurant decided to pay homage to Chicago, a city New Yorkers have historically clashed with over everything from pizza, to basketball, to skyscrapers. Still, having long marketed itself as a modern-day “roadside” burger joint, here Shake Shack continues to perfectly execute the old classics. The frankfurter comes loaded with onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, sport pepper, celery salt, mustard, and Rick's Picks Shack relish, making it one of the best Chicago-style dogs outside of the Windy City.

Price: $5.29

It’s no secret that the ShackBurger is the crowning achievement of Shake Shack. The item is what makes customers wait in winding, hour-long lines to get a bite of it. It’s what has allowed Danny Meyer to open so many restaurants around the world in just 12 years. The only problem with the single-patty Shack Burger—once again, 100 percent all-natural beef, topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce—is that there isn’t more of it.

Price: $9.59

A running motif throughout this ranking—as well as Shake Shack's menu as a whole—is that less does not equal more. In this game, there are no extra points awarded for delicate presentation or culinary restraint. At Shake Shack, more is more. That said, the Shack Stack—a hamburger patty flatted by a mammoth fried Portobello mushroom, then stuffed with melted cheese, and finally topped with lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce—teeters on the edge of gluttony and excess. While common logic might suggest this flavor-packed item should clinch the top spot, the only thing keeping the Shack Stack from the crown is the fear of a clogged artery.

Price: $6.29

When Shake Shack first began testing the waters of the fried chicken sandwich game in 2015, offering the Chick’n Shack at just three of its location in Brooklyn, the FCS was having a moment in New York City thanks to the arrival of Chick-fil-A and David Chang's Fuku. The dust has settled around the fried chicken wars, and the Chick’n Shack is arguably one of the best around. The restaurant makes a big fuss about using all-natural cage free chicken, and the truth is, its birds come out tasting juicier, more tender, and less greasy than most mass-produced poultry. Topped with lettuce, buttermilk herb mayo, and pickles, the sandwich is clearly an imitation of Chick-fil-A’s—just with less residual shame once its over. 

Price: $6.84

Slathered in chopped cherry pepper relish and ShackSauce, then topped with applewood smoked bacon from Niman Ranch in the San Francisco Bay Area, the SmokeShack is perhaps Shake Shack’s most flavorful, full-bodied burger. The item is dense and meaty, yet balanced out by the tangy sweetness of the cherry pepper and applewood. The decision to nix lettuce and tomato from the item—making the burger an unapologetic, all-meat affair—also deserves a slow-clap and a firm, Ron Swanson-style handshake.

Price: $8.09

The Double ShackBurger—not one, but two patties, topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce—is the platonic ideal of what a cheeseburger can and should be in 2016. Simple yet complex, innovative, yet classic, this leaning pile of beef is what all other burgers aspire to accomplish, yet ultimately fall short of achieving. The item harks back to the classic "smashed" style of grilling, with the patties squashed onto the surface and left to sizzle and brown in their own grease. In the vast spectrum of American fast-food, a landscape that boasts some 50,000 chains, dives, and burger joints, the Double ShackBurger simply cannot be touched.