Steak 'n Shake - Shake Your Buns and Chili Up to the Table
Written: Sep 05 '04 (Updated Sep 12 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Open 24 hours. Cute decor. OK food.
Cons: High priced for what you get. Slow service.
The Bottom Line: I doubt I'd tell any of my buddies to go here, but some of my college students might want to check it out.
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| CyndiA's Full Review: Steak 'n Shake |
I was really expecting some kind of sirloin steak like the Foster’s low-price steak house here in town or, at the very least, steak-um type thin sliced steak on a bun when I went to Steak ‘n Shake.
From the outside, I had gathered that Steak ‘n Shake is fast food, so I didn’t think I was going to have a real sit-down meal. But, the name included “steak,” so I figured they had something related to steak.
They didn’t.
This is a burger joint—plain and simple.
The décor is 50s diner with bright colors and jukebox music, or that’s how it is here. If you’ve ever watched “Happy Days,” then you get the picture.
I don’t think they have figured out at Steak ‘n Shake whether they want to be up town or down home. The first thing I saw when I went in was a sign saying: “Wait to be seated.” That brings to mind something a bit fancy. Then, I looked around, and it was kind of like a Hardee’s with nicer lights hanging down from the ceiling.
Several people in the S&S uniforms walked right by as we waited for the seating mentioned on the sign. I was tempted to get my own table, but I figured it might confuse this crowd at S&S, because they seemed a bit harried and during off hours and with only a few customers.
Finally, we got a table after about 5 minutes in an almost empty restaurant. One girl took us to the table, another took our drink orders, and a third took our food orders. I never did figure out if we had a waitress or an assembly line at our table.
I looked over the menu. The meals included two sides. I didn’t really want two sides in addition to a burger, but when I totaled the pieces individually, it made sense to go ahead and get a dinner with 2 sides. The cost was only a dime or so difference.
Since I thought I was going to get something besides a burger given the name of the place, I decided to get one of the burgers on toast-like bread. I picked French fries and chili for the sides.
The chili came out like an appetizer before the burger and fries, and my friends with a salad with potato salad also got early dishes. I can say that the chili is really great. I think I would just like a nice bigger size bowl of the chili next time as my meal. It’s odd to me to have chili and then a burger. That’s like two meals here at my house.
When lunch arrived, I was surprised that my friends had little skimpy buns that look like the ones in McDonald’s Happy Meal. Really now, when a place is called STEAK ‘n Shake and they don’t have real steak, then they ought to have decent buns. These were wimpy little buns, and I was glad that I got the toast version though the toast did not look near as good on my plate as in the menu. Some of the low cost burger quick stops have better toast burgers, so I can’t rave on my toast hamburger though it was good and looked better than the baby bun burgers.
The fries are shoestring, and I do mean shoestring and about the size of those lacing up your shoes. One of my friends loved those, but I can tell you that McDonald’s has much better thin fries and Wendy’s rocks out on thicker fries. The fries were not bad, but they were nothing special.
By the time I ate two sides and a toast burger, I could not hold a shake. My friends (both male) did have shakes and said they were excellent. Next time, I may just go and get a shake, because I can’t eat all that food and a shake too at the same time. I had a little taste, and I can say based on a sample that the shakes are better than other fast food places.
I asked around to find out why Steak ‘n Shake seems to be on the hot list in town. The college kids told me that the reason it’s a good place is because they stay open 24 hours. They go with friends and get some food and study. Since it’s not crowded, they can stay a long time and in the middle of the night and have hot food (though not what I would call home cooked by any stretch).
I would say the meat is above average but not as good as the new Hardee’s angus. The fries are fair but not great. The buns are dreadful. The toast is OK. The shakes would probably be the best bet and what I’ll go with next time even if I have to pass on a meal to suck one down.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
CyndiA
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 in Home and Garden |
 - Top 50 |
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Member: Cyndi
Location: out in the yard grilling
Reviews written: 1158
Trusted by: 634 members
About Me:
Get some sleep and dream of rock 'n roll - Bread.
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