I have a special place in my heart for chain diners. Not quite fast food, not quite real restaurant, these in-betweeners have the freedom to present tasty treats that drive-through joints can't, all the while ignoring the niceties of sit-down eateries. The best of the bunch? Steak 'n Shake.
Where else in the Bay area can you get a classic Cincinnati three-way (except perhaps, at 3 a.m. behind a gas station on MacDill)? It's overcooked spaghetti topped by chili and shredded cheese, perhaps with a chocolate and vanilla side-by-side (another back alley MacDill specialty). Unlike real, pureed Cincinnati chili sauce, though, Steak 'n Shake's is actually tasty, with chunks of meat, beans and a bit of roasted chile spice.
The S'N'S patty melt is a necessity, buttery fried rye bread balancing out two cheesy beef patties impregnated with grease. Need to cut through the heavy food? That's why the French fries are so salty! The sodium acts as an abrasive, scraping the cholesterol right off the walls of your arteries, as far as I know.
Steak 'n Shake does have a drive through, but it's a fool's game to wait that long in your car. And you'll miss the clever Amex Halloween marketing campaign on the placemats, as well as the dichotomy between the depressing older people and chirpy teens manning the joint.
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2007.