Stop #19: Emerson at 465, Indianapolis (#164)

On May 21, the quest brought me to the Steak 'n' Shake on Emerson at 465 on the south side of Indy.


It also brought some friends I don't see near often enough, as two of them live in St. Louis and the other two ... well, honestly, probably have better things to do than go to every Steak 'n' Shake in Indiana.

For the record, it is the friend from St. Louis who is mostly responsible for the sign for this trip.


Jen helped, too, but not before working on an anagram with her boyfriend, Joe.


Jen, who was once-upon-a-time an English major in college, said I was wrong about the anagram. It's the same one its always been, but she wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell her that

LAL UYO NCA TEA KENPCAAS

most certainly does not spell

ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES.

If they're not teaching English majors how to do anagrams properly these days, I don't know what they're teaching them. And then I wonder who is going to fill the pages of Word Ways in the future. Which is a sad wonder to have, indeed.

Thanks to the email shared in the last post, I decided to give the California Double Steakburger (and fries) a try. I also figured the Key Lime milkshake sounded tasty, and got one of those.

Verdict: Tasty. At least on the shake. So tasty that I will have to try it again.

On the California Double Steakburger, I have just one thing to say: messy. It didn't taste half bad, but wasn't worth the mess it caused, in my opinion.

And there you have it, one of the few times this blog will ever be used to review the food.

More often, I do silly things like review the differences I see from one Steak 'n' Shake to the next. Such as the table extension we had on this trip.


We were seated at a booth, but had six people. Normally, I would think this just meant that you push a table on the end, and that's actually what this looked like to me at first. But if that's what you thought, too, then you are sorely mistaken, as was I. Well, without the "sorely" part.


The table actually extended out. I know, coolest thing ever, right?

Okay, maybe not ever, but until I see another Steak 'n' Shake with a semi-circle booth like the one we saw on 96th at Keystone, I don't think I'll get truly excited about furnishings ever again.

What was really the coolest thing ever was our server, Jason. Well, I suppose he's not really a thing. He's a he. And what makes him so cool is that we filled him in a bit on the quest and he listened. Anne even added that he should Google it ("Around the State in 70 Steaks and Shakes! Google it!"). And then, before we left, he did. On his smartphone. As we were each paying our portions of the check, he came out brandishing a phone displaying something that looked strikingly similar to my Mishawaka post.

"Is this your blog?" he asked.
"Um ... yes! It is! You rock!" I answered, after looking more closely. I left, of course, with a ginormous grin, because now people who don't know me might be looking at this thing.

And so, Jason, you are now my favorite server. Or at least tied with Waiter Tim (the saga of whom will be shared at a later point -- I'm thinking August), which puts you pretty damn high on the list. I do hope you come back and check out my blog again, in part so that you can read this span of paragraphs dedicated to you, in part because it will drive my page view stats up and will make me at least believe that more people are reading my blog.

For all this excitingness that happened, there was only one sad part to the trip: that Brett could not join us.

So Anne decided to make him be with us in spirit. Or at least in pixels.


Also, if you're here to play Catch Caragher, that one doesn't count. I'm far too proud of my sub-par photoshopping skills to let that slide. You'll have to look elsewhere.

"Try the new California Double Steakburger!"

Another email from Steak 'n' Shake this week.


Dear Steak 'n' Shake,

I see your challenge, and raise you one California Double Steakburger email featuring a Crazy-Face Brett.


For the record, I really don't understand poker terms. But that's neither here nor there.

Stop #18: Mishawaka (#226)

Last week, I somewhat randomly and fairly spontaneously decided to take a trip.


No, not that far south. In fact, not even south, though where I did go may be deceptively named to make you believe so.

Where did I go?

South Bend, Indiana. Which is, as referenced, actually north.

So I went to the Steak 'n' Shake in South Bend?

No, I went to the one in Mishawaka. Which is close to South Bend.


More importantly: why?

Well, let me tell you.

I'm a member of the Seether forums, and received an email from the site mid-finals week saying that at their upcoming concert in South Bend (and at one in Cincinnati, but that's Ohio, so really, is it worth mentioning? Because it's Seether, actually, it is.), they would be making a live recording, available to fans and concert-goers almost immediately after the show.

And so I pondered.
Seether? A favorite band of all time? Yes please.
South Bend? Where awesome friend and long-time cohort, Kyanne, lives? Yes please.
Concert? Like I haven't been to since September? Yes please.
Recording? So I can listen again and again? Yes please.

And so I called up Kyanne and asked if she was game, and bought tickets. Well, after she said yes.

And so we (along with another friend I know through Kyanne, Ankit), went to see Seether:


... along with My Darkest Days and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

And following the concert (which was fantastic, I must add), we found ourselves at a Steak 'n' Shake, which Kyanne had initially thought was the South Bend Steak 'n' Shake until our waiter, Lawrence, clarified that we were actually in Mishawaka, and there was another Steak 'n' Shake nearby in South Bend, as well as yet another in Roseland. Or Rosemont. Rose something. And someday, I'll look at my checklist and verify which one it is, and go there. Probably with Kyanne and Ankit again.

We ordered our food (a Frisco melt and cheese fries for me), and got to our artwork.

First, Kyanne added the best bit of artwork of the night, to the Mishawaka sign:


Then the had to explain to Ankit that it was a weasel.


Why a weasel? Well, once upon a time, Kyanne and I wrote fantastic stories to keep ourselves entertained. The first one really was an attempt at writing something good. But ultimately, they really were just excellent entertainment for us while we got through high school only moderately scathed.

However, Kyanne and I really did make attempts at artwork.


First, I drew a picture of the concert experience we had just had.


That's Ankit, Kyanne, me, and a guy we've decided to call Creepy Scott, standing behind a really tall guy (the guy seriously had a foot and a half on me, and was as broad as a house) who was totally blocking the view of Shaun Morgan and John Humphrey. (The view of Dale Stewart was blocked by the fact that he wasn't included in this bit of art because I ran out of room.)

This is, perhaps surprisingly, not the first time that Seether has appeared in a bit of SnS artwork.

Jay's picture of Shaun Morgan for me as a gift preceding
our attendance at a Seether concert in the fall of 2008.

This picture, of course, has resided on my refrigerator ever since.

And, of course, there was additional artwork or our predicted rocking-out-ness at that show.

At any rate. Kyanne's artwork was far superior to mine.


She decided to draw the three of us at Steak 'n' Shake, drawing pictures. Which means the picture that art-Kyanne is drawing is a picture of us drawing, which contains a picture of us drawing, which, of course, also contains a picture of us drawing.

Finally, the night drew to a close. However, it was suggested in the previous post that that I photoshop Brett into group pictures from here on out, so here's an attempt at that:


Then Kyanne suggested that I actually photoshop Brett in as all of us, and so with some assistance from my soon-to-be-family Emily, that attempt was made also:


The final photoshop suggestion from the last post was to make it a game of "Where's Waldo?" but with Brett instead. Because I'm a fan of alliteration, we're going to go with "Catch Caragher!", and yes, Brett has been photoshopped into one of these pictures in a hidden manner, complete with Waldo hat. Find him first, and you get cheese fries or a milkshake or something on me at the next Steak 'n' Shake stop you attend. If you're with me, I mean.

But of course, we did have a normal group shot. 'Cause in addition to alliteration, I'm a fan of tradition.

Stop #17:: 96th Street & Keystone, Indianapolis (#572): The Last Hurrah of The Brett

Steak 'n' Shake Stop #17, or what will henceforth be known as The Last Hurrah of The Brett, took us to the Steak 'n' Shake on 96th Street near Keystone (also near the H.H. Gregg, which is probably better directional advice than an intersection in this case) in the wee morning hours of May 5, 2011.


I've got to say, this Steak 'n' Shake has by far the most interesting exterior I've seen so far in this quest.


Yes, my life is sad enough that I'm reduced to evaluating the exteriors of Steak 'n' Shakes. Point out any more flaws in my life and I may be forced to do something drastic. Like go to Denny's. Where I will consume something that will give me a heart attack about seven minutes after I've finished it.

This trip was slightly sad because it was, as the above indicates, The Last Hurrah of The Brett. Because on Friday, Brett moved to Wisconsin. So you will no longer see this face


or this face


or even this face


around these here parts anymore.

At least, not with any regularity. Unless I photoshop him in.

As mentioned, we went in the wee hours of the morning of May 5, meaning it would have been completely understandable if we decided to get our Cinco de Mayo partying on super early.

However, rather than celebrating the way it seems most people my age like to celebrate, I went for something different.


A Guacamole Steakburger and fries, complete with coupon!

Yes, I know -- this something different is actually totally the same for me. I also got a kid-sized chocomazing, so hey, that's sort of new. Considering I haven't had one since more than 40 days ago.

This Steak 'n' Shake trip was fun in part because Brett spent much of the time blaspheming. I imagine Wisconsin is getting to him already. It'll happen.

It was all right though, 'cause the blaspheming and religious talk gave me the perfect opportunity to bring up Lady Gaga's newest song, "Judas," which meant we got to talk about Lady Gaga, which somehow led us to Justin Beiber and then, inevitably, Rebecca Black.

And really, how can anyone's day get any better?

The other great thing about this Steak 'n' Shake trip was the awesome booth inside.


Our server didn't seat us there, but Zach and I snuck over shortly before we left because we were so excited about the semi-circle booth.


It was pretty much the coolest thing I'd seen all night, which is saying a lot because ... I take that back. It's not saying much, 'cause I saw a lot of nothing terribly interesting all night.

In short, it was a fun, but pretty uneventful, stop in the quest. And though it was slightly sad because Brett would be leaving for Wisconsin soon (and Zach for home, followed by grad school in Bloomington), we all know it's not the end of the world. Because Brett won't be able to resist coming back. And Zach's in a town that apparently has three Steak 'n' Shakes, all of which I still have to hit.

And so friend Zach, we will see you again, and soon.


I'm pretty sure as we took this group picture, Brett was staring at the Takhomasak 'cause he knew he would need to take home a sack. And by that I mean, a lot of sacks. Of a lot of food. To get him through the next year of being in Wisconsin, where they have no Steak 'n' Shakes.

Yes, Brett: I am going to keep reminding you of that major thing missing from Wisconsin, the WHOLE TIME YOU ARE THERE.

Steak 'n' Shake Stop #17 Interlude #2: Washington & High School (#233)

Friday night was supposed to be the ill-conceived yet totally-awesome Drunk 38th Street Steak 'n' Shake run.

You see, 38th Street is probably the sketchiest place we can think of. It used to be the go-to Steak 'n' Shake when I was an undergrad, up until we went one time and had our car parked in for a while because some sort of drug bust was going on out there.

At least, this is what we surmised, based on the fact that we were on 38th Street, there was more than one car with flashing lights, and it took forever for them to leave.

That's the kind of place this Steak 'n' Shake is.

Which is why it's really totally logical to go there at least a little tipsy. Hey, if you're not 100 percent sober, you can't really be that scared, right?

Fear not, my friends, we had a DD. This plan was well-thought-out. Brett and/or Fiance would both be sober to drive, and so Steak 'n' Shake Stop #17 would be the Drunk 38th Street Run.


So ... wait ... then why did the sign say "FAIL!"? And why does it also say "Washington & High School?"

The short answer, my friends, is that Brett is a wussy.

Thank you, Stacy-Keach-as-Ken-Titus, for helping me explain it.

And Brett, this response


does not change the fact that you are a

I know. Calling Brett a wussy doesn't exactly explain why, when the plan has been set to go to a certain Steak 'n' Shake slightly inebriated, we ended up not just at another Steak 'n' Shake, but at one that has already been hit on this quest.

But I'll get there.

Since Friday was my last day of class, it was a perfectly appropriate time to drink. So that is where the adventure starts.


Molly still has exams, meaning this wasn't so much a celebratory drink for her as a respite from studying.

We were enjoying our adult beverages, watching "Glee," and chatting about all things in life. Once it got to about time for us to head to Steak 'n' Shake, we wondered where Fiance was, as he was our ride. Before I had a chance to call him and find out, though, Brett called us to ask where we were (he was already at the 38th Street Steak 'n' Shake) and ask if we could go somewhere else because, and I quote, "There are some really scary people here."

At least, I'm pretty sure that's what Brett said, verbatim. But I was drinking at the time and more concerned with enjoying drinking with Molly for the first time than I was with remembering what exact phrasing Brett was using as he conveyed the message that -- and I'm paraphrasing here -- he is, indeed, a wussy.

After some phone tag between me and Fiance, me and Brett, me and Mizener, Molly and Brett, Fiance and Brett, and Brett and his soul (ha ha! that last one is a joke because one of those two just doesn't exist), we settled on a different Steak 'n' Shake and headed in that direction.

As Fiance drove, I tried to clarify which one we were going to for questing purposes, and he said we were going to one that had not been a part of the quest before.

Lies!

Because when we pulled up to this Steak 'n' Shake


I realized that I had, indeed, been here before.

With my sister, sister-in-law, adorable nephew, and soon-to-be-cousin-person.

Of course, I didn't make this realization until after spending a few moments being excited about Breakfast Tacos. After all, one of my anagrams came up with an advertisement for Taco Pancakes -- this is at least sort of close 'cause you're taking the Taco and making it a breakfast item, like Pancakes.

You're almost there, Steak 'n' Shake. Almost there.

So I got frustrated. 'Cause this stop actually doesn't count for the going Around the State in 70 Steaks. And Shakes. Though it does get a post because it is a Steak 'n' Shake adventure. It just means there will be 70 +1 posts in this blog.

... Okay, there were already going to be 70 +1 posts because I sometimes post with no actual stop having occurred. Like when I get Steak 'n' Shake emails. Or when we have epic Facebook conversations about Steak 'n' Shake.

The good news is, despite the fact that this trip was a repeat stop, it was still a fun time. Or at least turned into one.

When we first arrived, we were sad because Brett had ruined Drunk 38th Street run.


Yes, these are their sad faces.

But then our server came over, and the night got much better. Her name was Alyson, and she was awesome. And not only 'cause I was vaguely tipsy and in that state I have a tendency to think highly of everyone. She was really friendly and joked around with us, was impressed by my box of crayons and the "free gift!" that came with it (a crayon sharpener), and she brought me a breakfast placemat so I could use the back to make the sign.

Then she crumpled the sign up before I even finished it, 'cause she didn't understand that part of the joke was going to be to cross out the 38th part and write in our correct location. She asked if I knew where I was, and she may have thought I was an idiot, but she still brought me back another placemat so I could do it right.

She asked what was wrong with me when she saw my second sign, also complete with a crossed-out "38th."

In short, Alyson was awesome. One of my favorite servers to date in the quest. 'Cause let's be honest, it's not fair to compare any of the servers from the quest to people like Waiter Tim and Ella and Salo, who were fantastic because they got to know us. Though Alyson struck me as the kind of person who would be equally fantastic if we frequented that particular location.

I ended up ordering my new favorite, the Guacamole Steakburger. And then I felt obligated to take a picture of it. From the menu.


Thanks to Codee, who allows me to take a bazillion pictures, and being tipsy, which allows me to be completely indiscriminate about what those pictures actually are, you get images like this.

Though, thanks to my current sober state, you won't actually be bombarded by such images.

Along with my Guacburger, I had fries and chili, and it was fantastic.

As we ate, we goofed around a bit.

The anagram had a new meaning this time.


Instead of LAL UYO NCA TEA KENPCAAS translating to something about taco pancakes, this time it was about NCAA pens, with a statement proclaiming "LOL A YUCAN ATE NCAA PENS!" I'm not really sure why a Yucan eating NCAA pens is laugh-out-loud funny, but hey, I guess it is to the people who make the Steak 'n' Shake placemats.

It's probably really fortunate that this anagram, which for sure has never spelled "ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES!", does not have an "I" in it. Sadly, neither does it have an "M," meaning we can't spell "TEAM," either.

I also stole Mizener's fedora again, so I could look cool.


Then I stole Fiance's glasses, so I could look for a moment like I'm maybe the type that sometimes enjoys recreational pharmaceuticals.


No worries, I don't even sometimes enjoy recreational pharmaceuticals. I hate it every time.

Ha ha, jay-kay! I don't actually even use recreational pharmaceuticals.

Although I do, apparently, need an updated contact prescription. Again. 'Cause Fiance's glasses actually made me better able to see. Damn my eyes.

Too late.

Overall, it was a fun night, even if it brought me no closer to my goal in this quest.

And even Brett seemed to have a good time, as he smiled.

I know, I know. "Pics or it didn't happen!"

Well my friends, prepare to be shocked:


Other acceptable responses to my claim would have been "If it's on Facebook, it must be true!" -- 'cause eventually, this picture will make it there, too.

Also, Alyson was awesome -- but I don't think anyone's ever tried to take the group picture vertically before. It just seems so strange.


Moral of the story: If you make plans while sober to do something later when you've had a bit to drink ... stick to those plans. Otherwise you might make stupid decisions you will regret later. Or, worse, go to a Steak 'n' Shake you've already visited in your epic Steak 'n' Shake quest.

A Steak 'n' Shake Plot in the works ....

This post will not have anything to do with the tales of a recent Steak 'n' Shake excursion. Though I promise that another post is coming.

Instead, I want to use this opportunity to highlight what is probably the most epic conversation I've ever seen on the Facebook status platform (which is saying a lot; one week, I spent countless hours reading all the way from page one through page 189 on Failbook).

Most epic conversation ever, AND it involves Steak 'n' Shake.














































































An apology, because they're all individual images -- I couldn't figure out how to merge them into one once I got my screencaps. Also, I realize that they're too small to read without opening them individually. I apologize. I don't know how to fix it. If you do, please let me know. :)

Anyway, the epic awesomeness of this conversation is twofold. First off, apparently we're now going to possibly/probably have a pseudo-bachelorette party the night before my wedding. In Warsaw. At Steak 'n' Shake. I don't think there is any way to top that, quite honestly.

And secondly, if you actually read it all (I hope you did!), you'll notice that I mention having spoken with Brad Stevens. Yes, THE Brad Stevens. It was fantastical. And also slightly mortifying.

On the day of this particular Facebook conversation, we had a tornado warning for our area. So my student worker and I had to let everyone in the building know that we were under warning (for what few didn't know), and that they were encouraged to go to the basement (because college students sitting in a 90-percent-glass-walls building need to be told that in the event of a tornado, any above-ground floors are unsafe ... no, seriously, they apparently do need to be told).

So I took the second floor, and the first table I approached in the music quad contained none other than Brad Stevens.


Yes, that Brad Stevens, THE Brad Stevens, of Butler Basketball and Fear-the-Glasses Friday fame.

He was sitting at a table with three students, and I got to talk to them thanks to a tornado warning!

"Just to let you guys know, there's a tornado warning covering our area right now. It goes until 7:45, so you're encouraged to head to the basement until then."

I said this all with a pleasant smile that I only realized after the fact was probably creepy (" *GRIN* Hi there! Tornado on the way! Potential for much damage! Maybe you should go to the basement! *GRIN* 'Cause me grinning like this and pressuring you into the basement sounds totally normal!").

Though frankly, that's not what I'm counting as mortifying.

What I'm counting as mortifying is that I forgot to turn my phone to silence when I got in on this particular evening. That wouldn't have been a big huge deal, except that the university weather alert system now sends you an email, a text, AND a phone call to warn of inclement weather.

When I departed to share the warning news with everyone, I had only received the first two of these three.

And so it happened that as I finished grinning like a crazy person, telling Brad Stevens and Crew that the basement would be a smarter location for them, my phone rang.

And my ringtone is still the chorus from the Charlie Sheen "Winning" song.



So just as I turned to step away and tell the next table of kids that, that blared out of my phone. While I was still right next to their table.

And now Brad Stevens thinks that I-I-I-I-I bang seven gram rocks, 'cause that's how I roll.

*sigh* Totally NOT winning.

On the other hand, it was probably marginally better than if I had had, say, "Too Big Yo" as my ringtone instead.

And yes. I just spent a good chunk of a Steak 'n' Shake Quest blog post talking about my brush with celebrity. However, it started with a conversation about Steak 'n' Shake, the night before my wedding, in Warsaw. Which would not only be winning, but would be EPIC winning.