Back in 2013, Kim, Lucas and I headed to Munich for Oktoberfest. We had a lot of fun jumping at the festival. With Lucas coming along, I answered the questions, should you take your toddler to Oktoberfest.
So, you can’t make it to Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest, why not celebrate at home?
My favorite fast- casual burger joint Shake Shack likes to celebrate by hosting their very own Shacktoberfest!
The event includes a special menu. (You can also still choose to order from the usual awesome Shack menu.)
During our first visit to Shacktoberfest, the special menu was a bit bigger.
This year the menu included a Brat Burger, Shackmeister Brat, a couple of German-inspired shakes and a new Bavarian-Style-Soft Pretzel which I definitely had to try. They also have a great offer to get a Shake Shack beer stein filled with Shacktoberfest Beer!
Here is what we ordered for Shacktoberfest 2016.
Like I mentioned above, I definitely had to try the soft pretzel. Since we weren’t starving, Kim and I shared a Brat Burger. Otherwise, we ordered regular menu items which I won’t be writing about here.
Bavarian Style Soft Pretzel
I don’t recall Shake Shack ever offering a soft-pretzel before so this was a definite must try.
The pretzel is described as a “Toasted soft pretzel topped with Bavarian spices.” At $2.99, it seemed like a fair price. You could also add Shack cheese sauce for $1.00.
When the pretzel came out, I didn’t think that it looked so exciting. Regardless, I still expected a really good pretzel. Well, boy was I disappointed.
The Shack pretzel seemed nothing like the Bavarian pretzels that I’m used to. To start, It didn’t have that huge size that makes you say wow… More importantly, it really didn’t taste so good. While it didn’t look huge, it was very dense and heavy. We’re talking lots of chewing to swallow each bite. The one thing that seemed good was the seasoning, however the pretzel we were served had very little on it.
If you decide to try the pretzel, definitely get some cheese sauce to dip it in.
If Shake Shack brings back the pretzel for Shacktoberfest next year, I hope some changes are made to make it worthy of being on the Shack menu!
Brat Burger
I remember liking the Brat Burger in years past so I really looked forward to it this time around. The Brat Burger is a big burger and I wasn’t starving so Kim and I decided to share one.
The Brat Burger is described as a “Hamburger topped with a flat-top griddled Usinger’s cheddar-stuffed bratwurst, crispy Shackmeister Ale-marinated shallots and ShackSauce.” The burger costs $7.59, while not cheap I feel it’s a good deal considering what a burger and sausage on their own would cost.
We had Usinger’s sausages during our trip to Milwaukee a few years back so I expected the Brat Burger to be really great and…. it was!
(The only hiccup was that when I got my order, the burger came with only the burger and brat- they had left off all of the shallots and ShackSauce! I had to bring it back to get the burger prepared the way it was described.)
A Shack burger on it’s own is delicious but when you add an awesome sausage it raises it to another level. The cheddar-brat was awesome- juicy and flavorful with a hint of spice. I’d love to see it on Shake Shacks permanent menu.
I’m also a big fan of the Shackmeister Ale-marinated shallots. When you add all of the components together, the Brat Burger is one delicious package.
Overall, I really enjoyed our visit to Shake Shack for Shacktoberfest. Yes, the pretzel disappointed but the brat burger more than made up for it!
If you haven’t tried Shake Shack’s special Shacktoberfest menu yet, there’s still a couple of days left. Shacktoberfest ends on Sunday, October 2.
Find out more from Shake Shack here.
