It’s no exaggeration to say that Shake Shack changed perceptions of what fast food actually is. This is the place that propelled ShackSauce, Concrete desserts and the Roadside Double into the culinary lexicon. It’s at these no-frills dining spots that, in almost unprecedented fashion, customers happily queue for more than an hour, sustained by the thought of the spoils at the end.
What started out as a humble hot-dog cart in New York’s Madison Square Park in 2001, is now an international success story: there are close to 100 Shake Shack outlets in the United States, as well as franchises spanning the globe, from London and Moscow to Istanbul and the UAE. New openings are shrouded with anticipation, an alternative lingo is associated with a trip to the Shack, and fans tend to have their own highly specific go-to orders and list of meal add-ons.
In short, people don't just like Shake Shack food, they go glassy-eyed at the thought of Crinkle Cut Fries, and suffer withdrawal symptoms from wax-paper-wrapped 'Shroom Burgers. If all that sounds even a little bit familiar, the news that the Shake Shack cookbook recently went on sale in the UAE, with a promise to bring some of the brand's signature flavour into our kitchens, could well be considered a boon.
First, though, let's question if we really need this cookbook in our lives. After all, there are several Shake Shacks dotted around the region, and isn't some of the joy of eating out tied up with the knowledge that the restaurant is producing the sort of food that eludes the home cook? Part of the appeal of Shake Shack is surely the anticipation, the careful gauging of just how long the queue might be, and the excitement when that little buzzer jumps to life, signalling that there's piping hot food ready and waiting to be collected.
The next issue to ponder is whether we – amateur cooks without access to professional equipment – are really going to be able to produce the desired results? Is it not likely that crispy, crunchy, non-greasy, crinkle-cut French fry perfection will prove elusive? Is it possible to whip up a One-Stop Choc Concrete at home, and do we really want to face reality and get better acquainted with the ingredients list? Ignorance is bliss, after all, and while those desserts do taste blissful, they're definitely not light on calories or fat content.
The book is called Shake Shack Recipes & Stories, and the "& Stories" element is worth noting. At least one-third of the pages is dedicated to the origins of the company, its founders and the evolution of their idea, as well as stories and snippets from staff members, information about suppliers and producers, and the company's mission statement and community work. While much of this is commendable, given that the majority of people cooking from the book won't be able to source the specific tomatoes from Florida used in the Shack Burger, or have much of an interest in its expansion plans across America, it feels a little self-indulgent. You can't help thinking that there could be a little less preamble and a few more recipes.
Moving on to the recipes, the book is divided into sections based on the menu items (burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fries, shakes and desserts), with each one accompanied by information about where the recipe came from, the anatomy of the base dish and an annotated image breaking it down into its component parts. A picture-led step-by-step guide to the recipe and spin-off recipes follow.
From the outset, there are a couple of issues: the book uses American cups and the imperial systems for its weights and measurements, and doesn’t offer a conversion system, which will prove frustrating for many. Perhaps more vexing, though, is that not all secrets are revealed. You won’t, for example, find the exact ingredients and ratios for the much-loved, highly additive, pour-it-over-everything ShackSauce in here. The company is far too savvy to give those details away, noting that some years ago they “threw away the key to the secret recipe for ShackSauce”. Instead, they offer an approximation with a note that it’s “close-enough” to the real thing. In reality, the combination of mayo, Dijon mustard, ketchup, pickling brine and paprika is undoubtedly moreish yet, sadly, it doesn’t taste like the real thing.
It would be remiss not to attempt to make a burger when trying out this book, so that’s exactly where we started. What quickly became clear is that despite a note in the introduction stating that “you can master burger perfection in five minutes”, this doesn’t tally with the processes and attention to detail called for.
The classic Shack Burger requires a combination of three cuts of beef (brisket, chuck and short rib), which need to be diced by hand, then passed through a grinding machine twice over, before being formed into pucks and dusted with a pre-measured amount of "our Salt & Pepper Mix" to ensure that the seasoning is entirely on point.
The same precision is required when it comes to accompaniments. As well as the aforementioned ShackSauce, the recipe calls for potato rolls to be reverentially brushed with pools of melted, unsalted butter, and toasted until golden and starting to colour around the sides. And don't even think about grating Cheddar on top of a hot-from-the-griddle patty: creamy American sliced cheese, ideally from Wisconsin, is the only option here. Even cooking these burgers isn't as simple as you might expect; to achieve Shake Shack's trademark thinner-than-average smashed patty complete with craggy brown edges, there are processes to be followed, sturdy equipment to be used and timings adhered to.
So is it worth it? On balance, yes. There's no denying it: these burgers are better than the ones I usually make at home. Thanks to the quality of the beef and its well-considered ratio of lean to fatty meat, they taste great; the potato buns soak up all that juicy, caramelised flavour very well indeed, and the ruffle of crisp lettuce and tomato slices add a nice freshness. This isn't a burger to make when time is tight and dinner needs to be on the table in 30 minutes, but if you fancy a weekend project, you'll be well rewarded.
Whether the same can be said for the Crinkle Cut Fries is debatable, though. After being cut by hand, the yellow-fleshed potatoes need to be rinsed, simmered in water until tender, drained, cooled and patted dry. Then they are deep-fried in canola oil, drained once more and transferred to the freezer to dry out. After that, you need to fry them again. In truth, it’s a whole lot of faff for an end result that tastes fine, but doesn’t quite achieve glistening French fry perfection. If you plan to make burgers from scratch, our advice would be to make things easy for yourself and accompany them with frozen supermarket fries; take them up a notch by drizzling ever so lightly with oil and dusting with salt when 10 minutes’ cooking time remains.
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Read more:
Burger bars struggle for UAE supremacy as competition heats up
A different dining experience: 8 cooking classes to try in the UAE
Restaurant openings: your guide to what's new on the UAE's dining scene
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In other areas, the Chick’n Shack and Chicken Bites recipes are simple and tasty, and the buttermilk marinade tenderises the chicken an absolute treat (if you struggle to get hold of buttermilk, just add a tablespoon of lemon juice or white grape vinegar to the same quantity of whole milk).
Turning to all things sweet, if you want to follow the instructions for those famous milkshakes and high-octane Concrete desserts to the absolute letter, you'll need to make a super-rich custard base and have access to an ice-cream machine. The book does handily note that if this feels like too much effort, premium, shop-bought ice cream can be subbed instead. Do that, and whipping up the peppermint, chocolate and vanilla Shakes becomes a cinch. While these do taste pretty good (so they should, you're drinking liquid ice cream), the result is just not up there with an actual Shake Shack Shake. And that might just be the issue with this particular cookbook: when a craving strikes and you're prepared to blow some serious calories, why be satisfied with an imitation, when you can have the real thing?
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
HAJJAN
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The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Handicap (D) Dh165,000 2,200m
Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The five pillars of Islam
THE%20SPECS
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
Scorecard
Scotland 220
K Coetzer 95, J Siddique 3-49, R Mustafa 3-35
UAE 224-3 in 43,5 overs
C Suri 67, B Hameed 63 not out
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
RESULTS
ATP China Open
G Dimitrov (BUL x3) bt R Bautista Agut (ESP x5)
7-6, 4-6, 6-2
R Nadal (ESP x1) bt J Isner (USA x6)
6-4, 7-6
WTA China Open
S Halep (ROU x2) bt D Kasatkina (RUS)
6-2, 6-1
J Ostapenko (LAT x9) bt S Cirstea (ROU)
6-4, 6-4
ATP Japan Open
D Schwartzman (ARG x8) bt S Johnson (USA)
6-0, 7-5
D Goffin (BEL x4) bt R Gasquet (FRA)
7-5, 6-2
M Cilic (CRO x1) bt R Harrison (USA)
6-2, 6-0
Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
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DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20and%20Alex%20Pastor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGeorgina%20Campbell%2C%20Mario%20Casas%2C%20Diego%20Calva%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.