Shake Shack, take two.

On Tuesday, I got a treat. My friends Lori and Liam came to visit me in New York. They live out in Connecticut and only make it into Manhattan a couple of times a year, so to have a full day in the city with them was tons of fun. Of course, I had a challenge in front of me: how to feed them in an appropriately memorable manner, given they only visit me once in a while?

Well, since we'd decided to make a pilgrimage to the Museum of Natural History (I wanted Liam to see the blue whale, who has entranced me since I was his age, and Liam wanted to visit the Horse exhibit), I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make my first visit to the new Upper West Side outpost of Shake Shack.

I began visiting the original Shack way back when it was just an over-the-top hot dog cart in Madison Square Park, and have made regular visits to the permanent Shack since it opened in 2004. When word came out that a new Shake Shack was opening uptown, I figured it would be a fortress of screaming children and aggressive Upper West Side stroller moms. It is.

But it's also got the same delicious food and friendly service you'll find downtown. There's not enough seating to go around (we snagged a table for two for the three of us, and Lori ate standing up, good woman), but you almost don't care. The burgers are flavorful, the pickles are thick-cut and refreshing, and the buns are squishy and soft without being tasteless.

Golden fries and thick shakes (the chocolate is particularly good) round things out. All in all, we were three satisfied customers on our walk over to the museum.

And the whale is as cool as ever.