vip in the city

Fall Plant Market

The Madison Square Park Conservancy’s annual Fall Plant Market — one of two that take place during the year — was set up on the southern plaza, near the park’s fountain, this afternoon. After our burgers, we waddled over to take a peek at the seasonal flower and plant offerings. Proceeds benefit the Conservancy.

A group of pre-schoolers, picking out their Halloween pumpkins:

Pretty mums, if not as extravagant as the ones that will be on view at the New York Botanical Garden’s flower show beginning October 20.

I picked up a “Bella Palm” (Chamaedorea elegans) for the office — a popular (and hopefully: hardy) houseplant, originating from the rainforests of Latin America.

Also on view in the park, daily 8AM-8PM, through October 28: “William Wegman: Around the Park“, a new 7 minute video by the artist, starring his signature Weimaraner-headed figures enjoying a fall day alongside their human counterparts, screened on four monitors near the Shake Shack.

Shake Shack attack

Since its highly hyped debut in July 2004, it seems that Shake Shack has been constantly in the news, making just about every best burger list in NYC (and a few around the country), so I don’t need to add anything more here about how tasty these burgers are, or how long the lines can be.

HH had just started a new gig near Madison Square Park, and since I hadn’t ventured it in a couple of seasons, this afternoon seemed as fine a time as any to attempt a visit back to the Shack. At peak times, I’ve known the line to stretch 40-50 deep, but this afternoon, we “only” had to delay our burger gratification — from arrival to eating — by about 40 minutes. It may have been just good luck, or perhaps after three years the Shack has become so crowded, nobody goes there anymore.

We were a day early for Shacktoberfest, so without the “special Shacktoberfest offerings” to distract, our choice was clear. We put in an order for a round of Shack burgers and fries and repaired to the picnic tables to wait. Last year, due to popular demand, the Shack installed a live ShackCam (rendering the ShackWatchers photo posting service obsolete) so that would-be visitors could monitor the order line and plan their food runs accordingly. This year, they introduced what has been dubbed the ShackWand, which buzzes to let you know when your order is ready for pick-up. Beats the old system of hovering by the window, straining to hear your number called out into the park.

Not everyone is a fan: earlier this year, The Post‘s Steve Cuozzo snarkily deemed Shake Shack’s “the most overrated burger in New York.” Maybe, but as I sat with my friends in the warm Autumn sunshine, burger juice and special Shack sauce dribbling down my chin, I had no complaints.