Stop #53: Lloyd Expressway, Evansville (#4804801)

Now, of course, Jen and I didn't drive down to Evansville to hit up a lone Steak 'n Shake. Evansville contains a second Steak 'n Shake, on Lloyd Expressway.


But we couldn't go straight form lunch at one Steak 'n Shake to dinner at another. So Jen did some advance research and suggested we play minigolf to kill time between the two. She had found a place called "Adventureland."


And this is where we began to have problems.

Because as we approached the entrance, we saw a sign declaring that Adventureland could not accept debit or credit cards. Which was a slight problem, as that was how we were paying for most things on Saturday.

Jen whipped out her handy-dandy Smartphone-that-shall-not-be-named to locate another minigolf option. Fortunately, Evansville has a few, and within moments we were on our way to ...


... Midget Links, which ALSO did not take card.

Seriously, something is wrong with Evansville, that no one takes a damn card. At Midget Links, the employee explained that if they were to start taking cards, they would have to nearly double the price to afford the technology.

He said this, as I read the signs on the window, advertising that they had WiFi.

Seriously. If you can afford WiFi, I would think you should be able to afford a credit card reader.

So Jen and I were off again. To our last hope for the night: Walther's.


And, great success, they take cards! AND charged the same price as Midget Links! Take that, Midget Links! And Adventureland, who charged a dollar more than both other minigolf entities!

And so, Jen and I finally got some minigolf in.


Walther's didn't only have minigolf, though. There were also ... arcade games! With tickets! And prizes, prizes, PRIZES!

So we got some tokens to get some tickets, to get some prizes.

We made some attempts at SkeeBall ...


... and then a game called Jumpin' Jackpot.


But the highlight came when we discovered the DDR machine.

And preemptively worked off our dinner.

Although you wouldn't be able to tell it from the photos.


We actually did a video, but it was too long to upload, and besides, you don't really want to watch us jump around awkwardly while some guy says, "You're doing great!" and a crowd says "Boo!" (not simultaneously) (when Jen is the primary dancer and when I'm the primary dancer, respectively). So you will have to settle for screenshots of part of the video.


Once we were done with DDR, we hit the prize counter to maximize the benefits of the tickets we had earned (though, sadly, none of them came from DDR).

And from the prize counter, we then headed to Steak 'n Shake to re-energize.


Where we showed off our fabulous, fabulous prizes, prizes, PRIZES!

Jen walked away with ... a new car!

No, not really.


Jen was rewarded with a fan, dolphin stickers, pink vampire teeth, and a little green army man, presumably an escapee from the set of "Toy Story."

And me?


My winnings also included a fan, as well as bee stickers, green vampire teeth, a smiley face eraser, and a total loss of self-esteem.

... Okay, not really. I'm clearly pretty proud of myself.

We noted that, once again, we had come upon a Steak 'n Shake lacking a crane game. Strange things must be afoot in the Evansville, that all the crane games were taken (come to think of it, I don't remember seeing one in the Walther's arcade, either ... strange indeed, Evansville).


Additionally, we noticed that the tables and booths all seemed to be new.

Pictured: New tables and booths.

Also pictured: Goofy girl trying to be subtle
in acquiring a photo.

Turns out, the new furniture is because last winter (right around the time I started my quest, in fact), an SUV drove through this Steak 'n Shake. Not the Steak 'n Shake drive-thru -- through the walls and windows and into the dining room.

To be fair, it didn't drive all the way through. Just, you know, far enough in that the entirety of the vehicle was inside the restaurant.

A waiter gave us some of the "deets," including the fact that that was partly why all the furniture is a different style than most Steak 'n Shakes' furniture.

After enjoying our surroundings a bit, Jen and I finally got down to business: food.

Specifically, a 3D Grilled Cheese for Jen, and a Guacamole Steakburger for me.

I vant to suck your blood!
But first, I vant to eat your delicious guacamole.

We didn't stay at this Steak 'n Shake long, as we did still have a few hours' drive to get us back to Indianapolis, and (a surprise, I can assure you, to us) a time-change to consider.


Thanks for the fun times, Evansville! P.S. Seriously, invest in some credit card readers! We may want to come visit again.

Stop #52: East Division, Evansville (#4804802)

Just hours after our breakfast at the Bedford Steak 'n Shake, Jen and I made our way to the first of two Steak 'n Shakes in Evansville.


Of course, when we first arrived, we weren't terribly hungry. After all, we had just had breakfast a couple hours prior -- it was too soon for lunch. We killed some time at a nearby TJ Maxx, followed by a Target, before heading back to the Steak 'n Shake for the lunches we'd planned since we first got into town.

It was pretty warm, so I decided to go for some cooler options: a grilled chicken salad and cottage cheese.


Jen ordered a Wisconsin Buttery Burger and, when done with that, decided she wanted dessert.


I got jealous. I wanted dessert too!

Tasty, tasty crayons!

Unfortunately, before I could actually enjoy my crayon dessert, Jen swiped them away for a color comparison, since I managed to remember to bring my own crayons on this trip.


We came to the conclusion that the Steak 'n Shake black crayon is better than Crayola's, but Crayola's pinks definitely have something over the Steak 'n Shake one, something more than just the fact that there's two of them.

Then, just as we were getting ready to leave, I noticed something peculiar about this Steak 'n Shake.

That wall ... it's too red. Just too red. What, did you murder someone there?

Anyone else catch it? Something big, you've seen in pretty much all Steak 'n Shakes in this blog up to now?

The Crazy Claw. The Crazy Claw has been stolen from this poor Steak 'n Shake.

... well, not really stolen. We asked our server, Teresa, about it, and she said that they hadn't ever had one, to her knowledge.

Oh, poor Steak 'n Shake #4804802. (And for the record, that is NOT a typo.) You really do deserve a crane game. Any other Steak 'n Shakes out there care to lend a hand?

Unfortunately, Jen and I were to discover worse things about Evansville after this. Things much worse than a Steak 'n Shake lacking its Crazy Claw.

Of course, we didn't know that when this photo was taken.

Stop #51: Bedford (#663)

On March 31, the long-awaited day that Jen and I had planned finally came.

And we took a road trip to knock out a few Steak 'n Shake stops.

Starting with breakfast at Bedford.


I knew pretty quickly what I wanted.

I believe they call this a homestyle breakfast.

Jen, sadly, was torn.

Silly Jen, that's what the coupon stash is for!

Jen was torn between biscuits 'n gravy, and pancakes.

While she was debating the perks of each order, I was reminded of a fantastic scene from the movie "Cabin Fever."

And, of course, if you've seen the movie, then you can probably guess what scene I'm thinking of based on the food options Jen was weighing.

If you haven't seen the movie, check out that link and watch the clip. Seriously. I'll wait here. I'd have embedded it, so you wouldn't even have to leave for a moment (also, 'cause I like the scene myself), but the uploader of this clip (and, it seems, all clips of this scene) has disabled embedding.

This memory forced me to update the sign for this stop.

Pancakes! Pancakes!

Jen eventually settled on biscuits 'n gravy. I hardly noticed, as I was having a passionate affair with my own biscuit, not doused in gravy but just plain.


Seriously. Steak 'n Shake biscuits are tasty.


So tasty, that when I left, I found myself doing my own version of martial arts, while crying out for "Biscuits, biscuits!"


Can't say I know who I was doing my martial arts at, but I look pretty darn threatening, don't I? Especially when you add in the unbalanced mental capacity that accompanies the person who is driven to shout the names of breakfast items before launching an attack.


And so Stop #51 ended, in a generally positive manner. Jen and I got back on the road to hit our next Steak 'n Shake town: Evansville.

Stop #47: Liberty, Bloomington (#242)

After the College stop in Bloomington, Ben and I moved on to the Liberty location ...


... where we would finally get our milkshakes.


And isn't it glorious? That, of course, is my eggnog milkshake.

Ben, once again, decided to make his own sign as we enjoyed the milkshakes.


Those are, of course, snakes. I don't know why; I have never seen any snakes at Steak 'n Shake. Maybe on a plane, but never in my beloved SnS.

With no snakes, the stop proved to be relatively uneventful. Ben and I were in and out pretty quickly, even if we didn't notice until a little too late that our water glasses obscured our signs as we took the requisite group picture.


Though I did realize, after the fact, that I left behind my stash of coupons. Which means that Bloomington made off with two of my valuable possessions for Steak 'n Shake questing: my crayons, at the College location, and my coupons, at Liberty.

Dear Bloomington,
This means war.
Or, well, small battle. Which I plan to win.
Sincerely, Marcy

Stop #46: College, Bloomington (#222)

As Christmas drew near, I realized I needed to make my way back to Bloomington to knock out the remaining Steak 'n Shakes with my high school buddy, Ben, before he left town. Considering he graduated in December, I found myself really cutting it short with my mid-month visit.

Our first stop was the location on College.

Ben made his own sign ...


... very much influenced by the fact that we were reminiscing a bit about high school while we were out. Because, high school.

While we reminisced, and talked about not-high-school a bit (Ben's upcoming interviews, my new married life), we enjoyed quality Steak 'n' Shake: chicken tenders and fries for me, and for Ben ...

that, plus a Frisco Melt platter. Ben was actually a bit surprised by the salad, as it looked much different from the last time he had had a salad at Steak 'n Shake.

It's true, they've gotten much better since the my obsession with Steak 'n Shake began. My first Steak 'n Shake salad was lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers. Then, at one point, it turned to lettuce, diced tomatoes, and diced cucumbers. And now, that rainbow of veggies. Much tastier. Probably also healthier. A-plus, Steak 'n Shake. A-plus.

We held off on the milkshakes at this stop, though, knowing we'd be hitting another Steak 'n Shake within the hour.

On the way out, we noticed a crane machine in desperate need of a player, given how close this stuffed animal was to falling out. We could've used the help of my college buddy, Kobi, who was probably the best crane machine player I've ever met.


Unfortunately, in my excitement over the crane machine, I neglected to notice that I'd left my box of crayons on the table. I didn't notice, in fact, until we got to the next Steak 'n Shake.

And so ended stop #46.

Stop #42: College Mall, Bloomington (#166)

Stop #42 happened as the result of hearing of a fabric arts show/sale the second weekend of November, in Bloomington.


Emily thought it sounded like fun. Jen also thought it sounded like fun. I thought it sounded like a good opportunity to squeeze in another Steak n' Shake. Also like fun.

And the proof that three ladies had taken over the Steak n' Shake:


Yup. Maybe I should clarify "three crafty ladies," as I know one of my bags was there due to knitting projects, and I can only assume Emily too brought knitting, and Jen crocheting, as that's basically always the case.

Speaking of Jen, she is no longer a Steak n' Shake Quest virgin!


Meet Jen. She added artwork to my sign 'cause she's awesome.

Did I mention this Steak n' Shake was in Bloomington?

In case you had any doubts:

Indiana Hoosiers wall liner.

Indiana Avenue street sign, inside.

Still have doubts?

Hoosiers hand in the claw game.

And best of all:

Indiana Hoosiers sign below SnS sign.

Unrelated to the IU hysteria in the place, but this was the first stop where I noticed a promotion I almost can't pass up ....


Apparently, if I buy myself several gift cards for $20, I'll get a $5 gift certificate for each of them.

I may have just found a way to finance the rest of my quest ....

My posse ended up ordering milkshakes all around -- a Butterfinger one for me. Complete with whipped cream mustache, apparently.


We didn't stay long, as we really did want to get back to the home base. Jen also had to check on her puppies. But we did have an enjoyable time.


Thanks Bloomington! I'm sure I'll see you again soon. After all, you still have another two SnS locations for me to visit!