There are three words that all human beings long to hear; three words that sustain us, fulfill us, and help us better understand our truest natures: free Shake Shack. I'll give you a moment, since seeing those three magnificent words in that specific order is enough to throw any unsuspecting burger lover for loop, and then I will inform you that you can get a free burger at Shake Shack, from now until Jan. 2, 2019. All you need to manifest this delicious destiny is to have an internet connection and a dream.
OK, it's slightly more involved than that, but only slightly. Per Shake Shack, to obtain your free burger, you can either head to the website or download the Shake Shack app (assuming that you haven't already, and put it in your "NOM NOM" folder the way I have categorized it on my phone), and then place an order for a minimum of $10. If you haven't already done that, the process is super intuitive and easy — not only can you order Shake Shack on the app or online to skip the lines, but you can give your local store an exact time you want to pick up your order hours in advance (a thing that greatly appeals to me, a person who starts thinking about dinner while I am eating lunch). Once you hit the $10 minimum, you can add a burger to the order, go to checkout, and add the code THANKYOU18. At that point, the burger will be taken off of the total charges, and you will ascend to a higher state of free burger being.
So yes, while you won't be eating completely for free, you will be eating for cheap — especially if you know how to take advantage of the system. One foolproof way to get your bang for your buck is to use that $10 minimum to get your friend a burger and fries, then split the overall cost; another is to use that $10 minimum to go ham and get yourself the accompanying fries and shake to your burger and live your fully-realized dreams. They don't call this place the *Shake* Shack so you can forsake its frozen masterpieces, y'all — and with specialty shakes changing on a weekly basis and mainstay shakes in chocolate, caramel, black & white, strawberry, and coffee, you really can't go wrong. Especially when you consider the "Concretes," or the mix-ins available at each store, that let you customize your shakes.
Anyway, now that I have finished waxing poetic about ice cream, let this serve as a reminder that Jan. 2 is a heck of a lot closer than you think, so you should take advantage of this one-time deal while you can. Ring in the New Year (or soak up whatever you did to ring in the New Year) with a free Shake Shack burger — nothing sets the tone for 2019 quite as well as living your dream, and living it on the cheap.
