Is This the Best Burger Place in the World?

Confession: I’ve never been to one, though I’ve heard a lot about the beloved chain. Early next year, we’ll all get a chance to bite into a Shackburger when Shake Shack opens its first Baltimore store.

Billed as a “modern-day roadside burger stand,” Shake Shack will be located in the Inner Harbor at 400 E. Pratt St. across from the Aquarium, according to a press release from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group.

To give you an idea of the eatery’s popularity, when it opened in Dupont Circle in DC in 2011, long lines formed before 11 a.m. to sample the all-natural Angus beef burgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, frozen custard, and more.

In Manhattan, a commenter on chowhound.com said he waited an hour at that store on one occasion, and “it was totally worth it.” Some even say the burger place has a cult following.

Shake Shake evolved from a hot-dog cart in Madison Square Park in Manhattan that was open summers from 2001-03. In 2004, a permanent kiosk opened, and Shake Shack was born.

In addition to many U.S. locations, there are Shake Shacks in the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, and London.

We’re definitely due for one in Baltimore.