When we discovered that NYC's long Shamrock Shake drought had finally ended, and sweet drops of nourishing green diglyceride were once again showering down upon our fair city, we were happier than a leprechaun getting Warwick Davis's autograph. But then a reader had to McHarsh the Vibewich and send us this photo of the shake's calorie. It would seem that the minty delicious holiday beverage is not specifically too nutritious. more ›

After years of bemoaning the paucity of minty delicious Shamrock Shakes in the NYC area, last year McDonald's finally gave us a taste with limited availability at select locations. But they repeatedly ran out, and it didn't help things when funnyman Jimmy Fallon bought Shamrock Shakes for his entire audience and plugged the product on his show. At times it almost felt like McDonald's was teasing us, and many New Yorkers chased the elusive shakes like so many mythical pots of gold. Well, it looks like this year we won't be reduced to pawning our wedding rings (we need those for Hooters) for a sip of that green elixir: the Shamrock Shakes seem to be popping up all over town! more ›

You'll recall how outraged we were last week when Jimmy Fallon handed out Shamrock Shakes to his entire studio audience, thereby depleting NYC's already imperiled supply of the minty frozen dessert beverage. Well, the thing is, now that McDonald's has delivered a big shipment of Shamrock Shakes to Gothamist HQ, we suddenly regret deriding Fallon as a privileged Hollywood insider who used his connections to 'rock-block average New Yorkers. Sometimes life isn't fair, which is fine as long as it's fair in our favor. Mmmm, entitlemint . more ›

Not to obsess about this or anything, but in other parts of Obamamerica consumers get weeks to enjoy McDonald's succulent Shamrock Shakes, sometimes as early as February and lasting through St. Patrick's Day. But here in the provincial backwater of New York City, we haven't had a taste of their minty goodness for years, thanks to some sort of byzantine decision-making process at the regional franchise level. Yesterday, finally, a few local McDonald's shocked New Yorkers out of their despondency by offering the special shake, but then ran out faster than you can say Mxyzptlk. Now whose head shall we mount on this sharpened stick? We're going with Jimmy Fallon. more ›

Yesterday's surprise appearance of the Shamrock Shake in New York City was as fleeting as Brigadoon (which was Scottish, yes, but anyway). The minty St. Patrick's Day delight, which had not surfaced at McDonald's in this region for years, was gone almost as soon as it appeared, amidst reports of hoarding at the Union Square location, where one greedy customer is said to have bought 100. A call to verify that claim dissolved into utter confusion, with the predominantly Spanish-speaking manager mistaking this blogger for the shake machine repairman. From what we were able to gather, the machine is broken, but they still have the capacity to make some Shamrock Shakes, and we think she said that if the machine is fixed today, there will be shakes this afternoon? more ›

Every St. Patrick's Day we obsessively lament the bewildering absence of McDonald's limited-edition Shamrock Shake in the NYC area. "New York region no longer stocks the Shamrock Shake," Jennifer Nagy of McDonald's regional marketing told us in 2007. "Our branches can vote region by region," and around NYC, they had not been voting green. Until now: Like a pot of glittering (edible) gold at the end of a high-calorie rainbow, the elusive Shamrock Shake has been sighted at the Union Square McDonald's (39 Union Square West). But don't stampede there just yet, the manager at the location just told us: more ›

ARGHH—look at that thing, it's headed straight for our arteries! Lock up your Deal-A-Meal, because this week marks the triumphant return of the Dunkin' Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich (500 calories), a button-busting invention that merges scrambled eggs, sausage and American cheese between two "maple-infused" waffles for just $2.99 (suggested retail price). Dunkin' has brought the sandwich back "by popular demand" for a limited time only, and later this month they'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day by reviving the "Lucky Dozen" donut, "a raised yeast ring with chocolate icing topped with white and yellow sprinkles and green clovers for the suggested retail price of 89 cents." Mmm, raised yeast. Now why can't area McDonald's do the same for the elusive Shamrock Shake?
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