Loading ...SquareBurger Round Up
Posted by Foobooz on July 16th, 2009
Today’s the official grand opening of Stephen Starr’s SquareBurger. But it seems everyone with a blog or keyboard has already been to the Franklin Square burger shack.
Metro Philadelphia was there on Monday for the soft opening, finding patrons already dedicated enough to get back in line for a second burger. [Metro Philadelphia]
Phoodie gives a rundown on the menu of SquareBurger salutes the Cake Shake and gives props to the concept, for not overthinking it. [Phoodie.info]
Unbreaded finds the Philly Dog to be the most enjoyable menu item. [Unbreaded]
The Secret is Salt got to sample just about everything and looks forward to returning for another shake. [The Secret is Salt]
Grub Street provides the tale of the tape on the sub-$5 burger. [Grub Street]
Grub Street also asks, is it ok that the SquareBurger uses frozen fries? [Grub Street]
And a third post from Grub Street? Turns out there’s no lines around 2pm, at least on Wednesday. [Grub Street]
Thrillist is there for the top to bottom rundown of the shack in the square. [Thrillist]
And just for good measure, KYW 1060 was there as well. [KYW1060]
And here’s the menu, in case you missed it. [Meal Ticket]
6tha and Race Sts, Philadelphia, PA
Related Tags: Center-City-East, Fast-Food, Hamburger, SquareBurger, Starr
July 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Um, yah – does anyone else realize that maybe the only reason there have been lines so far is because the food blog geeks (no offense!) have been lining up to sample & review? I’m sorry, this is destined to become nothing.
Fail.
And yes, I sampled – doesn’t hold a candle to the real Shake Shack (and yes that’s a fair comparison to make because this is nothing if not a rip-off of the Shack).
July 16th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
i’m mostly just amazed at the level of excitement a burger shack created in philly…is Starr’s brand that powerful for people? It’s a burger place in a park. it’s not a novel idea, it’s apparently good but not amazing, and yet it’s getting more food blog love than almost any other recent opening, it seems!
July 16th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
It’s a new food option in a shiny, relatively newly renovated park right around the corner from the Constitution Center. Maybe all the attention, during the summer and tourist season, is because of just that. Starr is just trying to bump up its profile, cause I imagine he wants it to be popular and profitable. Not easy during the summer in Philadelphia, lots of places actually just close rather than deal with summer doldrums. I have not tried the food and don’t have an opinion on it, just understand why people are talking about it.
Also, everything Stephen Starr does gets noticed in Philadelphia. I think this very blog had camera phone pics of him walking around 2nd st.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
It’s a decent burger that coudl be improved. MArtin’s are great rolls, just wish the burger had a little more flavor. It’s also a nice place to have lunch if you work in a nearby building. The transformation of the park itself is amazing. not five years ago did I traipse through there and see nothing but homeless. I think it’s great to see something like this in the park, and it’s more interesting than Cafe Cret.
July 16th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
well, as long as food blogs and foodies realize that they create/feed the beast, then go for it.
I’m not knocking starr for going for the press–it’s as any businessman should–but serious food blogs (is that such a thing?) got really excited about this place and i don’t get why.
July 17th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I think Rory hit the nail on the head. It’s just a burger shack in a park. However, I will stop by because I do think Steven Starr is a genius and this is one of his restaurants that I don’t have to save up to go to
July 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am
If you think Starr is a genius you should ask Masaharu Morimoto what he thinks about him. I had the pleasure to run into a sake-fueled tirade of Morimoto recently in a Center City bar. Lets just say if Starr has praise for Morimoto (he should since he made him tons of money) the feeling is not mutual. KANPAI Morimoto !!!!!
July 17th, 2009 at 11:31 am
You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone that works/worked for SS that has anything good to say about him. He’s a genius – to his own pocket. He’s got a boatload of bad karma coming his way one of these days.
It’s telling that a lot of kudos for the square burger go to the Martin’s potato rolls, not the burger itself. Oh, BTW, gee – shake shack uses Martin’s potato rolls.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Im not trying to rip on Starr I will let his employees do that.
People should really read Danny Meyer’s “Setting the Table”.
Very interesting book
I would say that is a genius at work.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
It may be a ripoff of Shake Shack, but what else would work in that location? I suppose he could have opened a taco stand, but that’s not as appealing to a broad audience or “American” given the historical surroundings.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Really? No one ever had a stand in a park selling shakes, burgers, dogs, and fries prior to Shake Shack?
This reminds me of a thread I saw somewhere wherein someone was complaining that Homeslice, the pizza place in Northern Liberties, was ripping off the concept of Slice, the pizza place in S. Philly. Come on.
It’s the hamburger and hot dog “American as apple pie” month of July. That every food blogger in Philly is giving some attention to Squareshack’s plain ol’ burger and dog menu is simply an obvious move, not a conspiracy. (Unlike hyping a burger at a Time/Varga/APO/Franklin Insurance “ripping off” restaurant that was supposed to open over a month ago but keeps getting pushed back).
July 17th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Is ShakeShack planning a suit against every single boardwalk and amusement park concession stand in the country?
July 17th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
@ Chunk: How about a cheesesteak stand?
It’s not that he’s doing burgers/dogs/shakes, it’s that it’s so obviously a copy of the shake shack, which was yes a homage to danny meyer’s st. louis childhood. Homage to childhood = ok, ripoff of someone elses successful idea, not ok.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Uh, how is a cheesesteak stand “more” original? There are only so many ways to do a cheesesteak that will appeal to a broad audience. A few basic types of cheese, onions… hmm, sounds like every other cheesesteak in town. Besides, in such a touristy area, why promote the cheesesteak stereotype? Might as well call it Rocky’s Real Philly Cheesesteaks.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:15 am
There’s no decent cheesesteak within shouting distance of Franklin Sq, but there are boatloads of tourists walking around the area. Hence, a cheesesteak stand would have worked. Would have pulled those tourists over the Arch St divide that none of them crosses now.
At least maybe they could have done it well. These burgers wouldn’t make the least of top 20 in Philly, at least the way they are executing them right now.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Despite some of its marketing, I don’t really think Franklin Square is a “tourists draw.” Tourists don’t come to cities for mini-golf, a carousel, and what is basically a snack bar “Sorry Stephen, No Dice” insists is somehow a theft of Danny Meyer’s intellectual property.
It is a draw for families in the city looking for something to do, and having a snack bar different from the cheesesteak carts or shops (I’ve never seen a cheesesteak ’stand’ outside of something like the Welcome America celebration) is a nice add on. Maybe when the PATCO station is re-activated you may get some families from the Jersey burbs as well, if you call them “tourists.”
July 20th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
It’s a decent burger, reasonably priced in a park that draws a lot of families both of the local and tourist kind. Really, how many mini golf and carousels are there for kids around center city? the burger maybe not the greatest in Philly, but it’s a definite step up from a vendor burger…or rather, what a vendor burger should be. There’s nothing stopping them from adding cheesesteaks and I’d say that Philly Dog, despite being an obvious ripoff of a chicago dog, is top five in the city.