The Picky Eater
a different sort of restaurant review

Quick Bytes

Steak and Shake
Maybe. Want to feel like you're on vacation? Satisfy that cholesterol craving.

location: Kingston Pike, across from WestTown

menu: burgers, chili, pasta, and desserts

decor: basic chrome and tile diner

July Fourth, late afternoon

Steak and Shake
Having eaten at many a Steak and Shake in Florida, I couldn't help but feel like I was on vacation when Andre and I drove up on the Fourth of July. The staff was cleaning up a lot of broken glass on the floor as we walked in. Maybe that was an omen. The quality of our meal was really mixed. Clearly much of the problem was somewhere in the service chain (which on that day appeared to be underage--maybe only those with low seniority had to work on the holiday).

My plain single cheese burger was thin and tasty with a good texture to the burger and a nicely toasted bun. The delightfully thin fries were unfortunately cold. Andre's double mushroom swiss burger was good. They forgot his coleslaw and gave fries by mistake (which they graciously didn't charge for). His chicken gumbo arrived as vegetable beef. My chili was acceptable but uninspiring. "Not homemade" was Andre's comment on both.

Then came time for dessert (why else would you go to a "Steak and Shake"?). I ordered the brownie sundae. It obviously sat a while because the ice cream was mostly melted, making it hard to locate the brownie. What was not melted was the creamy yellow of rich ice cream. The brownie was crystallized--hard as a rock, even steeped in the soupy vanilla. Andre's strawberry/fudge parfait was "so-so".

All in all, less than inspiring, but enough potential (the burger was REALLY good) for me to go back the next time I need a cholesterol fix.

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v4-7/11/98