Midtown Lunch

At the top of the year, this post went up about a really great salad from Mexicue, but I have to be honest, that day, I totally went out for a burger. At Steak ‘N Shake. And not for one second did I make any 2013 resolutions, much less ones about food. Also, as an aside, I have been curious, now that Steak ‘N Shake has been open for a year, would they start raising prices? Answer: So far so good … although I totally have my eye on you, so don’t screw it up!
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I haven’t been to Steak ‘N Shake since my original trip back in January, when I waiting on line in the freezing cold. Now, six months later, it seemed like right right time to revisit the burger chain to check in on the lunch lines and to try the one menu item I’ve been eyeing: the Frisco Melt.
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I grew up in the Midwest, in a flyover state not worth visiting or mentioning. And I grew up eating Steak N’ Shake. I indeed have fond memories of the place – I recall post game celebration dinners with my Little League team, and daring friends to eat the little sport peppers from the condiment jar and the like. But then as my taste buds matured, I visited less often, finding the burgers to be overly dry and the fries to be lacking. Since I moved away and grown into what I’ll freely admit, a food snob, I haven’t looked back.

I can understand the excitement that this place drummed up when it first opened. There were those that shared the same nostalgia for the chain, those that were genuinely curious, and those that bought into the hype. Early reviews have been positive – Rachel enjoyed her meal here (it would have been better without the wait), and the hamburger mavens at Serious Eats seemed to love it. But my visit last week was vindication for my dislike of this chain.

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On Thursday, Steak ‘n Shake opened its doors, and the Midtown masses descended in the rain, first for the free food for a year and then for lunch. Last week’s opening brought lots of media attention, including a New York Times article quoting Danny Meyer on growing up eating Steak ‘n Shake, which is the inspiration for our beloved Shake Shack. It’ll be interesting to see New Yorkers compare the two over time.

Luckily for us, Lunch’er Hightemp was on the scene on opening day, albeit for dinner, and wrote this review of the original double cheese burger (which is the most like Shake Shack), plus one of the dog options.

Since its in my ‘hood I went by for dinner. Waited outside for about 5 minutes around 8pm but I hit them right when the “perfect storm” of kitchen craziness hit so ended up waiting about 40 minutes inside to actually order. I got a free strawberry shake for waiting. The staff was all very friendly.

Got an Original Double Cheese ‘n fries and (since I had waited and felt like I had to justify the wait) a Chili Cheese Steak frank ‘n fries. Everything was good and came out fast. I can see how they get credited as the inspiration for the shake shack. Burger had that same crusty/salty thing going on. Frank was sort of a normal frank but the chili and the onions they put on was a nice touch…could have used more cheese. Fries were really good…thin and crunchy…though 2 orders was excessive even for me. Still I’m very glad to have it in the area.

When I was there, my wait was also longer than expected.

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Steak ‘n Shake is finally open, and the line is out the door, although not quite as out the door as Shake Shack on their first day in Midtown Does that mean Steak N Shake wins or loses their first head to head competition with the Shack?  An employee outside claimed the wait is about 10 minutes to the front of the line, plus 10 minutes to get your food-  so it looks like an infographic to determine your wait time will be unnecessary for this super-hyped new Midtown burger destination.  Did you brave the madness?  Let us know what you think in the comments.

Steak ‘n Shake, 1695 Broadway btw 53+54, 212-247-6584

Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., New York’s first Steak ‘n Shake will open its doors on Broadway between 53rd and 54th streets, right next to the Ed Sullivan Theater. The exact time is important, of course, because, as we mentioned earlier this week, the Midwestern chain will give their first 150 customers free Steak ‘n Shake meals for a year! (Public service announcement: Weather Channel currently predicts rain, so be prepared.) So what exactly can Midtown Lunchers expect?

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They were hiring two months ago, and now it looks like Steak ‘n Shake will open this week on Broadway btw. 53+54rd. There’s countdown signage in the window indicating they plan to open their doors in just three days, and a sign below announces that the first 150 customers will win 52 weekly coupons for any steakburger, fry and shake combo. That’s a lot of Steak ‘n Shake, but the franchse has a surprising amount of internet buzz for a burger chain, so it might be worth your time (and wallet) to be there early! (Thanks to Lunch’er Mike for the tip.)

Steak ‘n Shake, 1695 Broadway btw 53+54, 212-247-6584

Back in July, news broke that Steak N Shake was going to be opening near the Late Show theater in Midtown and whether you love it or hate it, it looks like Steak and Shake is getting set to open in the near future on B’way btw. 53+54th. The publicly traded (NYSE:BH) Midwestern chain serves modestly priced burgers, shakes, chili and other diner/comfort food dishes, and while I can’t stand the place it is AHT approved. Appropriately, they’ve chosen their location on Broadway right next to fellow Hoosier, David Letterman. So for those of you that like chain diners, start getting excited.