I know. I’m getting bad. We’ve been going to a lot of fast food chains for lunch recently. It’s not that there aren’t places we want to go, it’s just that we’ve been lazy. We’ll be laying on the couch watching The Price Is Right and one of us will say “I’m hungry.” Since my girlfriend needs to get ready for work, we really can’t drive somewhere and have a sit down meal, so we debate for twenty minutes on which greasy fast food we want. Today, we were almost decided on Wendy’s when I said “Hey, what about Steak ‘N Shake?”
Steak ‘N Shake is one of the few places that make me think of home in Eastern/Central Illinois. Growing up, the 24-hour options were either Denny’s or Steak ‘N Shake. I didn’t really like Denny’s. While living in Central Illinois, I grew more found of the place because of it’s history. The original Steak ‘N Shake was in a gas station in Normal, IL (the home of Illinois State University), so there were Steak ‘N Shake’s all over the place.
Steak ‘N Shake is not quite fast food. They don’t put anything on the grill until you order. The restaurants are set up like a 50’s style diner. There’s a lunch counter when you first walk in (a throwback to the original restaurant that only had a counter) then a dining room where a hostess seats you. We actually chose to the drive-up today just because we wanted to get our food and get home. I ordered the Takasakhom #1 meal (If you’re trying to figure that out, it’s pronounced Take A Sack Home). The meal consists of the Original Double Steakburger, regular fries and a coke. The burgers aren’t very thick which is why they can wait to throw them on the grill when you order. It only takes a few minutes. The sandwich is much better than what you get at the other chains. The steak meat is much leaner and therefore, much less greasy. The fries leave a lot to be desired. They are small shoestring cut fries. Really hard to eat. You just kind of pick up a handful and shove them in your mouth.
My girlfriend ordered the Original Single steakburger and a large order of fries. The burgers come plain, but when you order, you can have them add condiments. This is where we started to run in to trouble at the drive thrus and why I absolutely HATE them. She’s pretty sure she got onions when she didn’t order them. When we got our order, we were short an order of large fries. Good thing she checked the bag because I just threw it in the backseat and started to drive off. There were problems with the speaker where we couldn’t hear a word they were saying. All we were hearing was a beep everytime they’d key the mic, so if we had trouble hearing them, I’m sure they had trouble hearing us. My girlfriend ended up having to go back inside and ask for the order of fries we didn’t get.
Other than the drive-thru fiasco, our meal was great. I keep forgetting there’s a Steak ‘N Shake right around the corner. Most people think it’s too pricey, but our meal was only $12. That’s really comparable to most other fast food places. It seems everyone else has raised their prices, but Steak ‘N Shake hasn’t. I can’t write a review without mentioning the shakes. We didn’t get one this time, but usually, that’s the reason we go. The shakes are to die for. You won’t find a better shake at any fast food or chain restaurant. The hand dipped shakes are thick and delicious. If I’m going to eat at a chain, Steak ‘N Shake is on the shortlist. It isn’t always filling, but the food is good and worth it if you have a little extra time.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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