Patrick L.
Yelp
Steak & Shake was something I've had bookmarked for awhile now. I found it just scrolling through some of the higher rated establishments in the location finder and it earned itself a bookmark when i saw how good the food looked in some of the photos.
The actual location of Steak & Shake is a surprisingly pleasant stop on Frankford ave in Kensington, with an eclectic grouping of small shops in what would otherwise be a residential strip until passing E. sergeant st. You have a small Grocery store, barbershop, a Comicbook / Hobbyshop / Coffee house, and a tattoo parlor directly across from it. Something about this grouping of establishments just appeals to me, i could easily see myself in the summer months eating at one of Steak & Shake's outside tables with friends before stopping into mingle and talk with the folks coming in and out of the comic shop and tattoo parlor. This area, is meant for men like me.
But the location and surrounding businesses aren't the focus here, S&S's food is, and luckily it didn't disappoint. We three amigo's were at it again and in typical fashion i didn't just get to eat my own meal, but was obligated to try some of theirs as well. I ordered a Baconator Burger with Chicken Finger Mega Fries. The Broseph went with a a Bacon Cheese steak, and King Hamburger- in his usual eccentric fashion made the bold choice of fishcakes- which are served with fries, macaroni salad, a normal salad, and a some garlic bread. Now i'm not a big fan of macaroni salad, or real salads, or seafood, so i didn't try those, but S&S had some consistent quality.
My Baconator Burger was fantastic, i saw some mention of tough meat in other reviews but had no such experience. Was cooked medium-well, extremely easy to chew, and had a decent amount of juiciness to it. The buns were potato-bread, a personal favorite of mine, and really rounded out the experience. Cheese here was clearly some kind of block cheddar that had been sliced and placed on the burger just by color and translucence after melting and cooling. Lettuce was very fresh here, absolutely bristling with moisture upon crunching into it. I opted out of the tomatoes, but with the state of the lettuce i'm sure they would have been just as fresh. Bacon was decent- with the potato bun and burger it was a bit harder to make out the notes but the bacon is smoked, but less thick cut than you would expect.
Chicken Finger Mega Fries from S&S are a meal unto themselves, if i'm being honest. I personally couldn't finish my burger + mega fries simply because of how dense these fries are. Think pound of led dense, not pound of feathers. This right here will fill you up.
Wiz in use, not whiz, not Kraft, but generously applied. If i had to grade the flavor id C+ average for the whiz, but, the mozzarella here however is pretty sweet and pairs well with the wiz with both flavor and texture. Chicken tenders were nice and crisp despite the smattering of melted cheese, and managed to still retain their flavor despite competing with cheese and bacon, absolutely solid.
Wedges had much more flavor than base fries here, but the texture was a little off. Everyone knows the best past about wedges is the crisp, well seasoned exterior, with absolute fluff of potato held between. Flavor was absolutely here, but the texture warrants a hand waggle of so-so.
Steak here is a bit on the pricier side for a single ($7.70), surprisingly affordable for a double ($12.60). Broseph gave a me a few bites to try out the bacon cheese steak he ordered so i could get a solid impression. Bacon's flavor comes out a lot more in there steak than it does the fries or burgers, you can taste the smoke, which i personally adored. Mayo here is also surprisingly good, not the best I've had, but certainly up there. Steak itself was okay texture wise but was completely bullied by the smokey flavor of the bacon and the solid mayo, ditto for the american cheese which managed to retain more flavor profile than the steak, but
still couldn't compete. Roll, was unremarkable.
Last but not least was the garlic bread, which surprised me. Flavor was excellent, but texture was far too dried out for my taste. If they upped the butter content on that baby, and got a more complete spread especially the edges, i'd be lining up to grab something like a chicken parm grinder to pair it with.
All in all id say Steak and Shake lived up to expectation, and i'm not going to include the milkshake i ordered (Birthday cake) which is made with Richmans ice cream, which is a personal favorite, so of course i enjoyed it. There's a little room for improvement and first impression may be a little off due to the frigid cold the night we all visited and ate outside. But i thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to stop by again, grab some grub, then hang out with some friends at the aforementioned Comic Shop~
Flavor & Presentation 4/5 | Speed & Service 3.75/5 | Pricing & Portions 3.66/5
Overall 4/5