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This morning, a wonderful new smell will begin wafting its way through Penn Quarter. And if you follow the heavenly aroma of smash-griddled beef and crinkle cut fries, you'll find yourself at the corner of 9th and F Streets-- the outpost for the newest Shake Shack in Washington, D.C. With existing spots in DuPont Circle and Nats Park, Danny Meyer's NYC-based burger joint opens its third District location today at 11 a.m. next to the Spy Museum on F Street, in the museum's former cafe space. We got a sneak peek of the new digs last night during a special preview event and we're happy to report that all the greasy, beefy burger goodness that we've come to know and lust for over the past two years is in full effect in Penn Quarter. The new space is smaller than the DuPont Shack, with just a single level of seating but in a similar L-shaped layout. And also like Dupont, there's window-counter seating around the restaurant, with tables and booths filling the rest of the space. There's a handful of outdoor tables too, but we think a good deal of visitors will choose the grab-and-go option when dining here-- especially the pre- and post-game crowds from nearby Verizon Center. The menu has all the signature grub --the OG ShackBurger, the spicy, bacon-topped SmokeShack, the beef and cheese-stuffed mushroom combo ShackStack, cheese fries, griddled hot dogs-- but when it comes to the sweet front, today's opening marks the debut of three new concrete flavors exclusive to the Spy Museum location. With a nod to its espionage-themed neighbor, Shake Shack has teamed up with D.C.'s own Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken for the Doughnuts Are Forever concrete made with vanilla custard, Astro's coconut doughnut, strawberry jam and rainbow sprinkles. Continuing with the covertness, the SMORSEcode... marries chocolate custard, marshmallow sauce and graham crackers from the local Pollystyle and the Beltway Blonde hooks up vanilla custard with cheesecake blondie, salted caramel and banana. The SMORSEcode comes with a feel-good bonus too, as 5% of its sales goes to Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. And what would Shake Shack be without any booze? There's wine by the glass and bottle and a lineup of beer including PBR tallboys, DC Brau Penn Quarter Porter and the Shack's own Shackmeister Ale. We've openly lamented the lack of burger options around the whole Chinatown/Verizon Center/Penn Quarter* area, but with Shake Shack's arrival, the neighborhood instantly becomes a bona fide burgering destination. The newest D.C. Shake Shack is located at 800 F Street NW, next to the Spy Museum and across the street from the National Portrait Gallery.

Shake Shack | 800 F Street NW | DC | shakeshack.com   *we still can't call it NoPa