Shakin' at the Shack on a rainy afternoon

So maybe it was a little rainy out on Friday afternoon. And maybe I didn't need to head into work an hour early so that I could stand in Madison Square Park and eat a double cheeseburger ... then go back for a cone of the custard flavor of the day, red velvet.

But it was RED VELVET. Chunks of the best cake around mixed into Shake Shack's soft-serve vanilla. Available only on Fridays in May, and I don't work again on Fridays in May.

I went back and forth with the decision all afternoon. I could've used the extra hour at home to read or knock another show off the DVR, but when it looked like I might hit a pocket without rain -- or, at worst, a light drizzle -- by the time I got to the park, I decided to forge on. Once there, I got what I'd hoped for: no line and a quick order and dinner. With no place to sit (it did rain throughout the afternoon), I skipped the fries and allowed myself the extra patty on the burger.

Afterward, my intention was to take the M23 bus west to either Eighth Ave. (to take the subway down to 14th) or Ninth (and walk to Chelsea Market), but with no sign of the bus, the rain picking up and the ice cream making me cold, I decided to take another $2 off my Metrocard and take the R train down to Union Square, then hop the L over to Eighth Ave. Only, in my food coma I didn't think as I turned and descended the nearest stairs to the subway. It was only as I was finishing the swipe through the turnstile that I realized that this station has no access between uptown and downtown trains -- and I was on the uptown side, needing to go downtown.

But I wasn't about to waste the two bucks, so I took the W up to 42nd St., walked the stank tunnel over to the A/C/E line at the Port Authority, and took the E down to 14th and walked the block over to Ninth Ave. as on any other day.

Completely worth it, too. Looking at the photo now, I'm craving another burger.