Stop #22: Illinois & Getz, Fort Wayne (#230)

Stop #22 took me to Fort Wayne, on a weekend I was visiting my family.


The Fort Wayne location on Getz and Illinois, specifically. Which is awesome in part because it is protected on the west by none other than Chuck Norris.



Well, a building design to bear the resemblance of Chuck Norris.

"But wait," you say. "Buildings are not designed to bear Chuck Norris's resemblance. Buildings are designed to have Chuck Norris imprint his face upon them. And then they bear his babies. Which turn out to be werewolf babies. Because we've spent one-too-many-days reading Twilight."

Seriously, though, there is a Chuck Norris joke in there somewhere, and I'm simply not clever enough to actually make it work.

Also, I'm not totally sure that that is supposed to be Chuck Norris on the building. But I like to think that it is. Because, really.

After passing Chuck Norris, we made it to the Steak 'n' Shake on Illinois and Getz. "We" being me, my sister, my sister's friend, my sister-in-law, and my nephew.

That's right, my awesome nephew. The one that Steak 'n' Shake should pay to model for them in advertising.

Seriously! Last time, he just looked like the happiest kid ever to get a Steakburger. This time he's actually striking a model pose.

Not Blue Steel.

Not even Magnum.

But the model pose that says, "Hey baby, I know that when I act like I'm not interested in you, it makes you that much more interested in me, so I'm gonna keep sitting here, being not interested in you, 'cause it does make me so cool."


Yeah, that first picture he looked way too happy. This one is sure to get Steak 'n' Shake to want him as a model. I mean, look at that, he's not even interested in Steak 'n' Shake. So now they MUST have him.

Speaking of models, also joining me in this trip were my sister and a friend of hers that I met at her wedding, who apparently actually is a model. I really had no idea until my sister was telling me that she's been modeling wedding dresses lately, and had to make sure that she didn't model the wedding dress that she will actually be wearing in her own upcoming wedding.


I love this picture because she is a model, and she still eats. Even with a wedding coming up. Jamie, you make me feel like it's okay for me to not starve myself between now and my own wedding. Which is good, considering how many Steak 'n' Shakes I still have to go to, and how I don't want to cram them all in when I "let myself go" after the wedding. And which is good, because I think it's a positive message, that eating is okay. Anyone else remember the scene from "Little Miss Sunshine" and how the girl's dad made her feel like crap for wanting her breakfast a la mode on the way to the pageant? Did anyone else feel like pumping their fists in un-Jersey-Shore-like victory fashions after she met Miss California, who not only told Little Miss Sunshine (I forgot her name, sorry, but I know the real girl's name is Abigail Breslin) not only that she did eat ice cream but what her favorite flavor was?

Yeah. I'm all in favor of people who look good for a living, also eating, and letting others know it.

Speaking of ice cream, along with my meal, I had a crafty and creative idea for my milkshake on this stop. Fiancé is always complaining about how the cookie's 'n' cream milkshake used to come with a ginormous chocolate wafer cookie in the top, and they don't anymore.

However, Steak 'n' Shake does sell chocolate chip cookies now.

So I put on my thinking cap ...


Ta-da! Hey, Steak 'n' Shake, I fixed that for you!

And it gets better ...


The cookie, believe it or not, gets even tastier this way!

Only modification to make: Cookies 'n' Cream milkshakes are Oreo-based. My concoction should be Chocolate Chip Cookie-based. Therefore, for full, delicious effect, next time, I need to order the Cookie Dough Milkshake, which is Chocolate Chip Cookie-based, so that the Chocolate Chip Cookie I stick in it isn't competing with Oreos -- despite how tasty both are.

In addition to this shake (which was the highlight of the stop, let-me-tell-you), I tried the Royale Steakburger.


It was ... okay. I don't know that I'd order it again, 'cause I'm not the biggest fan of the egg on my cheeseburger, and on top of that, I can't figure out what it has to do with James Bond, which is all I think about when I see the word "Royale." (Nice marketing, guys-behind-"Casino Royale".)

As you can see, I also had fries, but they warrant an additional picture ...


... mostly because I think we look a bit silly. Between the look on my face, and the look on my sister-in-law's face, the feeling this picture gives me is "Angie, eat the fry! Open wide, here comes the choo-choo train!" Well, that, and its constant companion, "Wah, I don't wanna eat that!"

Oddly, this reaction is not sparked by Rais's presence in the photo, despite the fact that he's the only one pictured who would be making such a fuss, or receiving such encouragement.

And thus ends our journey to Steak 'n' Shake #22. All in all, it was a good time, sandwiched between a humorous time of going to see the movie "Bridesmaids," and a fun time of making bags for Jamie's flowergirls.

Dear Steak 'n' Shake,
Thank you for making a fun sandwich possible.
Luv-n-such,
Marcy


Dear ... weirdos,
No thank you for making "fun sandwich" something that probably carries a dirty double entendre.
No love,
Marcy.