Steak 'n Shake (1 Viewer)

[David Baird]

Jarod:

You're correct. The first Steak 'n Shake opened in Bloomington, Illinois in the late 1930s. I've been frequenting these establishments throughout Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Florida for more than 50 years. The burgers are so good that a friend of mine who had a radio show in NYC chartered a jet to pick up several hundred at the Danville, Illinois location; had them flown back to NYC and gave them away during some kind of promo. The Champaign, Illinois location near campus no longer exists. Nor does the one on University Avenue near Carle Clinic. For any Indy 500 race fans, there's one right across the street from the Speedway. Double cheeseburger, fries and black coffee. HMMMMMMMMM good! The malts are wonderful and the orange freeze is another fine drink there. Much better than TGIF, et all, IMO. NOT fast food. Best damned burgers on the planet!!

 

[KeithH]

David, I had a suspicion that the Steak 'n Shake on Green St. in Champaign, IL, closed down. I had a vague recollection of it closing down while I was there. In a way, I am surprised. What college student doesn't like burgers, fries, and shakes? Maybe the location was a problem. I don't know. Anyway, I don't remember there being one on University Avenue near Carle. Maybe it closed down before I got there. I was a grad. student at UIUC from '93 to '97.

 

[David Baird]

KEITH H:

As I recall, the one on Green was near IHOP. S & S was the location for many 1957 Chevy Rallies up until it closed.

The only one now located on North Prospect amid the exploding commerical developments: Best Buy, CC, Lowes, Menards, and MANY other restaurants. I forgot: Pickle, onion lathered with thousand island on the burgers, please!!

 

[Ryan Peter]

Are they better than Whattaburger?

 

[Charles J P]

I think steak and shake are the best burgers ever. Having grown up on a farm where we raised our own beef, I can tell you that it is the fat content that makes a burger stick together and gives it that flavor. I think the 98% lean stuff that they make burgers with at Chili's, Applebees, TGIF, etc. is dry and tastes like shit. I wont eat beef at a restuarant becuase it never lives up to what I'm used to so I just order chicken. Unless I'm at one of the few steakhouses left that knows there are other methods of cooking beef besides charred to a crisp. :frowning:

 

[Clinton McClure]

We have one in North Little Rock. Very tasty eatin'.

 

[PatrickM]

Hmmm, too bad there isn't one up here in Vancouver. Speaking of heart disease, went to Morton's of Chicago last night. Mmmm, 24 oz.'s of prime grade A Porterhouse. Man was that one tasty steak.

Patrick

 

[Jon_Are]

The cheese fires are disappointing

Yeah, I got burned on them once too.
Jon

 

[Derek Miner]

And we wonder why Heart disease and obesity is killing more people than cigarettes.

Forget Steak N Shake! A local eatery once served a concoction called a Frankencheesy...
A footlong hotdog, split down the middle and filled with cheese, wrapped in bacon, put in a bun and DEEP FRIED!
I wonder why they stopped selling them?

 

[Shawn Shultzaberger]

Forget Steak N Shake! A local eatery once served a concoction called a Frankencheesy...
A footlong hotdog, split down the middle and filled with cheese, wrapped in bacon, put in a bun and DEEP FRIED!
I wonder why they stopped selling them?

Frankencheesy!!
I don't know why but I nearly choked on my cup of water when I read this! Tooooo funny!

 

[Van Patton]

A close friend of mines dad owns 5 Steak N Shakes around here and they are all really popular. He makes a fortune off of them. The food rates above Burger King and McDonalds but below Applebees or Chilis. They make the best milk shakes I've ever had.

 

[Ken Wagner]

Double Steakburger platter, fries and cup of chili with a cookies and cream shake. I went to one of those S&S in Champaign way back in '71 when my girlfriend (now my wife) was going to school at U of I. Guess I should have invested in S&S stock.

 

[Will K]

i refuse to ever eat there again.

Yep, f*ck a bunch of Steak 'n Shake. I don't know about anywhere else in the country but the Steak 'n Shakes in my neck of the woods have smashed-down, razor-thin burgers, overcooked fries and slow, lousy service...all for the same outrageous price I might pay for the same thing at Chili's or Hop's. I'll stick with the Double Bacon Cheese E-Coli burger at Jack-In-The-Box.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Well they kick butt in Indy and are rather popular.
You had to love the Blair Witch star starring in all the Steak n' Shake commercials even after BWP got huge. She still does them I believe.
Price and quality they are better than McDonald's but less than Chilis/TGIF. They are along the lines of a 50's diner type them, a the hamburgers are STEAKburgers.
The fries are shoestring style which some love and some hate. Their chili 3-ways and such are pretty good too.
Great thick shakes. My g/f loves the taco salad.

 

[Anthony Moore]

Double Chocolate Chip Shake...mmmmm

 

[NathanP]

Steak N Shake?!?!?!?!?

I love it!

I eat there 8 out of 10 times!

Great Shakes!

and the burgers are made out of STEAK cuts, not other cuts you'll get at Burger King and other places..

Double Platter, Chili & Fries, and a Chocolate shake.

Only thing that makes me mad is that they use fake crappy-tasting cheese in thier cheese fries, just like White Castle..

Yech!

 

[Michael Caicedo]

Superb made to order burgers and great shakes too, but alas, I've stopped using the drive-thru due to long waits. Hate the fries though, they're like potato toothpicks. I'd love to see them start dishing out steak fries.

 

[Eve T]

I don't really care for Steak N Shake. I don't think I would ever "wait" at a Steak N Shake to place an order. As far as fast food goes it's really not that fast (of course it is better than the likes of McDonalds) blaaaaackkkkk. As Seth said their fries are shoe string style and some love em and some hate em...put me on the list that hates them
I guess everyone has different taste when it comes to food.
Peace,
Eve

 

[ikiru]

Well, I got to try it out this weekend. Here are my thoughts/experiences.

We went at around 12:30pm on Superbowl sunday. Church had just let out and the crowd at Steak and Shake was pretty big. The decor was very reminiscent of the new Dennys style. We waited about 25 minutes to get a table. We didnt wait too long before we got a waiter (from the reviews, I was expecting another 10-20min wait). I ordered a Phillidelphia. It was basically a double steak burger with green bell peppers, onions, and cheese. Also, I ordered regular fries and a strawberry milk shake.

Service wasnt too slow and before long our food came out. The shake was interesting. It was very smooth and sweet, but it had a faint cherry taste that didnt quite belong IMO. However, I quickly got used to it and I would rank it in the top 3 shakes I have tried (dont take too much stock in this, Im far from a shake conniseur). The burger was met with mixed feelings. The meat itself reminded me of "Steak-umms" (a thin steak sandwich meat that you can find in grocery store freezers). While very tasty, the portions were very small, especially for what I paid for it. The bottom bun came out very soggy (I had to use a fork to eat it). I could have done without the bell peppers and cheese (and if there is a next time, Ill just keep it simple). Overall, my feelings toward the burger was: "Good, not spectacular, and too pricey". The fries were probably my most favorite part of the meal. They were thin strings (maximum fried part to potato ratio).

I would probably go back through the drive-through window if I happen to notice it was not busy. Next time, Ill probably skip the burgers (tasty, but not good enough for the price) and get me a shake and fries.

-ikiru

 

[nolesrule]

I dfind the burgers much better than McDonalds or Burger King, and really, they aren't that much more expensive, especiall when you add the fact that you can get lettuce, pickle, onion on the regular burgers for free. It only costs my wife and I a couple dollars more to eat at Steak'n'Shake than at McDonalds or BK. And the food's much better (other than McD fries, which are the best).

Chili's/Friday's burgers they are not, but they certainly don't cost nearly as much either. You can get a double or triple steakburger platter for less than the cost of a Chili's burger and fries, so it really isn't all that bad.

As for the soggy bun, I've never had that problem at a Steak'n'Shake.