Steak ‘n Shake (Oshtemo Township)
5371 W. Main StreetThursday’s are going to be long days for the kids this summer. They get dropped off at the ice rink around 2:00 and we’re not going to get home until 8:00.
Last week was our first one of these long Thursday’s. J texted me and said she was just going to order dinner for her and the kid’s from Burdick’s. She said she could order me something but it was going to be a while before I got there so I just told her I’d take care of dinner myself.
I had a couple of ideas. One was tacos. The other was a chain restaurant. I was actually planning on tacos the next day so I went to the chain I haven’t been to in quite a while.
I picked the Steak ‘n Shake on West Main in Oshtemo Township. The 24 hour restaurant is on the southside of West Main east of Maple Hill Drive in a very commercial section of Oshtemo Township. The restaurant shares a pretty long parking lot with several other businesses going from the First National Bank to the east and Maple Hill Drive to the west. The white building with a black and white striped awning and red lettering is easily recognizable from a distance.
Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a Steak ‘n Shake. This blog post from 2011 may actually have been the last time I went to one.
Most of my trips to Steak ‘n Shake actually happened when I lived in Peoria, IL for five years in the early aughts. The restaurant chain was actually founded in nearby Normal, IL (home of the Illinois State Redbirds) a little over 90 years ago. We also considered Steak ‘n Shake a “local restaurant” just because it’s origins were so close by. I knew it was a national chain but I did those mental gymnastics to justify it to myself.
The last time I went to a Steak ‘n Shake, it was still a full service diner. That’s not the case anymore.
There are a number of order kiosks on what used to be the old lunch counter that looks in to the kitchen. I started making me way through ordering when an employee came over and asked if I was comfortable with the kiosk ordering. I’m not only comfortable, I prefer it.
I really didn’t know what I wanted because I’m not super familiar with the menu. I scrolled through until I found a burger that looked good. I upgraded it with some bacon and added on a shake. I could have got by for around $13 but my uprgrades pushed me closer to $20.
I took a seat in the dining room to wait for my order. The very recognizable theme from the outside continues to the inside. Steak ‘n Shakes have a very retro diner feel to them with subway tile floors limited to black and white which is stark contrast to the very bright red pleather on the booths and barstool seating.
It wasn’t too long before my name was called for the first time. This was the shake. I got a Reese’s Peanut Butter shake. It comes in a Styrofoam cup with a lid that makes it look like it’s just a pop. The straw that comes with it was much wider than a typical straw so you can get those candy pieces through it. I did clog it up a few times though which was easily rectified by just pulling it out of ice cream and blowing on it. It has been so long since I’ve had a good milkshake like this and it was the first thing I finished off on my ride to Wing West.
The burger I ordered was the Triple Steakburger with Cheese combo. I threw on some bacon because, why not. The three steak burger smash patties have a slice of cheese in between each patty and the whole thing is topped with the typical burger toppings. I was kind of amazed at how good this burger was. I never really went to Steak ‘n Shake because I really don’t like drive thrus and I wasn’t going to sit down to eat a burger. The kiosk ordering just opened up a whole new world for me because this burger was really good. I went a little overboard with the three patties but I hadn’t eaten lunch so I was really hungry. I don’t think I would need to do three in the future.
The thing that really brought Steak ‘n Shake to my attention was all of the billboards for “Beef Tallow Fries.” Listen, I grew up in the 80’s when beef tallow was still a thing. I don’t remember being the fast food French fries being so amazing that I was disappointed when places switched to other frying oil but now it seems we have to own the libs and bring beef tallow back just because…so yeah, I was curious to see if beef tallow did make a difference.
I was never a huge fan of Steak ‘n Shake fries anyway. They’re shoe string fries which really aren’t my favorites. That hasn’t changed. I ordered the large serving because, again, I was hungry. My first bite…I was really impressed. They tasted like fries. I would probably have to have fries fried in beef tallow and fries fried in vegetable oil side by side to notice a difference. There was literally nothing that made thing “oh crap! These are so much better!” There was nothing wrong with them. They’re exactly what I remember fries being from Steak ‘n Shake tasting like. The whole beef tallow thing is a GREAT marking gimmick because it absolutely will bring people who will claim they can taste the difference. Beef tallow. Vegetable oil. I don’t really care. If you’re putting frozen fries in to hot fat, there’s only so much flavor you can impart on them.
This is a much better meal than I can ever remember having at Steak ‘n Shake. I really didn’t need the shake but it was really tasty. The burger was way better than I remember. Maybe it’s because I was really hungry or maybe it really is just a really tasty burger. My kids got mad at me when I told them I stopped at Steak ‘n Shake for dinner so I’m sure I’ll have to make it up to them and go back soon.
SW Michigan Dining 
Steak and Shake was always a great, budget option pre-Pandemic. The food was good enough and price was great for families. Somewhere in the pandemic they got into their head that wait staff was unnecessary and that kiosks were the way. In conjunction with that, they also then raised prices. The combination of the two has killed their business IMO. They used to be so busy you couldn’t even get in a lot of the time. Now, I never even see them half full, and my personal family is turned off by them. They’re no longer the good value, plus the service is so much worse on top of that. It’s a shame. They were a go-to, and now they’re not even an option.
I’m the exact opposite. I hated the full service restaurant. I love the idea of the kiosks ordering. And to be fair, everything has went up in price. I could have gotten a meal for $13 if I had stuck to a pop and didn’t add on the bacon which, in today’s world, is a fairly cheap meal.