Interlude #5: 71st and Woodland

On my birthday, I did two awesome things.

First, I ran from zombies.

 

I technically did not survive. But I also didn't literally die as I did the event, so there you have it.

And because I did my first 5k in the afternoon, I figured I earned a bit of a treat later.

Not only that, but Steak 'n Shake on my birthday was also a good opportunity for ...

 

 

... the return of the Brett!

It's true. Brett is done with his program in Wisconsin. So he's back in Indy, and he moved in while I was running for my life.

I had earned a Frisco melt and fries.

And Brett earned a simple shooter.

 

Brett hungry!

 Our stop was pretty quick, as we were all a bit tired from our exertions for the day, so we took a moment for the traditional group shot.

Of course, Brett messed up the first one.

Also, this officially marks the end of Catch Caragher, unless he leaves Indy again before the Quest is complete.

Eventually, there will be an "Answers" post to that game as well. And some of the places I've hidden him will blow your mind.

Stop #54: Coldwater, Fort Wayne (#173); also, Interlude: Rosemont, IL

May has not provided me many opportunities to make progress on my quest. It has, however, provided me an abnormally high number of opportunities to attend concerts -- and for each of those activities, a stop at Steak 'n Shake was involved.

And thus, you have a post featuring both Rammstein ...

... and Lacuna Coil.

First up was a concert in Chicago, Illinois, featuring Rammstein the first Friday of May.

I went with my BBW friend Jen. She was really excited about seeing Rammstein.

I was really excited about stopping by the Steak 'n Shake in Rosemont beforehand.

Of course, I was also relatively excited about seeing Rammstein. I was a little familiar with their music, and I've yet to attend a concert that I didn't at least have a marginally positive experience at.

But mostly, the Steak 'n Shake was what I looked forward to.

And so, we ended up at the Steak 'n Shake in Rosemont with my friend Kathy, where we saw many fellow Rammstein concert-goers, mostly due to the fact that this particular Steak 'n Shake is just down the road from the concert venue.

It was pretty exciting. I noticed that on our placemats, new milkshakes were being promoted.

Specifically, banana milkshakes.

Unfortunately, these were the only two photos I got from that Steak 'n Shake. You'll have to take my word for the fact that I had a Guacburger, side salad with French dressing, and French fries, as well as accepting the following as a "group picture":

Note: This does not qualify as the Catch Caragher image for this post. Too, too obvious.

Because this was not an official Steak 'n Shake quest, I feel very little remorse for missing these valuable, valuable photo ops.

The concert ended up going well as well, and I can say that Rammstein has earned a new, if slightly disturbed by content, fan.

The next Steak 'n Shake stop, which happened on May 19th (and also a little bit in the wee early hours of May 20), was following a Lacuna Coil concert at Piere's in Fort Wayne.

 

Again, I went to the concert with my BBW friend Jen. Because she is awesome. And in this instance, I had relatively equal levels of excitement for the concert and the Steak 'n Shake stop.

 

 Steak 'n Shake stop #54 took us to the location on Coldwater in Fort Wayne. Just in time to hit rush hour by prom-goers. Seriously, there were about thirty billion high school kids in their prom get-ups when Jen and I got there. But having to wait to be seated wasn't a super-huge bad deal, as we were also waiting for a couple of friends, Sean and Paul, to show up to join us.

Sadly, this was not the wait for our table was not the most disappointing part of our stop.

For starters, we were seated without placemats. As placemats are valuable to my Steak 'n Shake stop experiences, I went to the front of the store to pull a variety of mats for our whole table.

This batch included one kids' placemat.

Correction: One used kids' placemat.

I swear on my life, I did not connect-the-dots that Steakburger.
Also, I did not inhale.
Also, I did not have sex with that woman.
Most importantly, though, and most true, I did not connect-the-dots that Steakburger.

Also in the placemat collection I selected was yet another placemat advertising the new banana blended milkshakes.

And so, when our server arrived to take our orders, Sean felt obligated to ask what the difference was between the Ultimate Banana milkshake and the regular banana milkshake.

Friends, I cannot put into words the horror Sean felt at the answer. Indeed, Sean had to illustrate just to capture it.

The following is his artistic rendition not just of the answer, but also of the horror he felt at the answer, and the lack of a soul our friend Paul has that was revealed by this interaction.

Yes, folks, you read that right: Not all Steak 'n Shake banana milkshakes contain banana. Rather than being a banana milkshake containing rather large pieces of bananas, or a banana milkshake that turns you into a banana superhero, or a banana milkshake that comes with a banana hammock, or any of the other various awesome things that an "Ultimate Banana" milkshake could be, the reality is that the Ultimate Banana milkshake differs from the regular banana milkshake in that it is made with real bananas, whereas the plain old banana milkshake is made with plantains fake bananas the tears of children banana-flavored syrup.

Also, apologies here to Sean, who didn't know until reading this now which of those shakes was syrup and which was real bananas, and had said he would rather keep it that way. The server's actual answer to the question was as Sean displayed above, just a statement that some milkshakes are made with real bananas and others are not.

As a result, Sean opted not to get any banana milkshakes. Given that I'm not a banana fan in the first place, unless it's artificial flavoring that comes in candies such as runts, was not tempted in the first place. Instead, I opted for a brownie sundae, and was not disappointed.

Pictured: Real cherry, real whip cream, real ice cream, real brownie, real fudge.
Real delicious.

 All in all, this trip to Fort Wayne and Steak 'n Shake stop were enjoyable, even if in some cases disillusioning. And I got to bring home a piece of artwork, which I promised would be hung on my refrigerator as examples of what my four-year-old step-daughter should aspire to.

Because I'm nothing if not a terrible stepmother.

And so thanks, Steak 'n Shake #173! 

Interlude #3: Glendale Heights, Illinois

My Steak 'n' Shake Spree continued with a non-official stop -- non-official because, once I got to Kathy's house in not-technically-Chicago-but-really-close, she suggested we go to, where else?, Steak 'n' Shake.


Kathy, of course, made her own personal sign.


As we arrived, Kathy pointed out the amusing: a Bally's right next door to the Steak 'n' Shake.


A Bally's which I could have used after this particular interlude in the quest, because it was here that I made probably the first -- and, really, only major -- mistake of the SnS Spree: I got another milkshake.

Key Lime, this time. I rhyme.

Now, I reiterate, I did not feel even remotely sick at any point in the Spree, even though I had two milkshakes within a five-or-so hour period. Unlike the night before Lent began.

See that? That is the face of someone who is about to have
a lot of regrets. On Fat Tuesday.

Apparently, two milkshakes isn't enough to knock me down. Though I'm sure it's not helping in that goal to lose weight by the wedding.

While enjoying our shakes, Kathy and I also worked on some anagrams.

Kathy's solution for

ZEN LBE MOO TAF SEAMRYMIZ

was

FAT LIMBS MOO ZEN RYE MAZE!

I, of course, worked on the standard

LAL UYO NCA TEA KENPCAAS!

which translated this time to

OYE LUNK ALPACAS AT ACNE!

I maintain that LAL UYO NCA TEA KENPCAAS does NOT translate to ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES.

Speaking of pancakes, sometime during our visit with the Glendale Heights Steak 'n' Shake, Kathy and I decided that a brilliant decision would be for us to get up early enough the next morning to be able to make it to one of the other Steak 'n' Shakes in the Region and grab breakfast. So shortly after we finished our milkshakes and anagrams, we decided to head out and get some sleep.

And so went the Steak 'n' Shake Quest Interlude in a Chicago suburb Steak 'n' Shake.

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 Interlude

Monday night, April 4, 2011.

A night of almost unfathomable heartbreak.

If you've read my previous post, you'll note that I've been delayed in my recent posting because I've been recovering from this heartbreak.

The heartbreak of the Butler Bulldogs getting to the national championship game for a second, consecutive year, and losing again.

It was a sad night. A really sad night. I watched the game in Hinkle with Fiance and Molly, my old roommate and my honorary bulldog friend because we've converted her effectively.

(Though I don't know how hard that task truly was, given she's an IU alum.)

Jay kay. I do appreciate that Molly likes our team. These last two years have earned our team a lot of fans that we didn't have before, that are not necessarily affiliated with Butler or Indianapolis even, but who recognize a good group of kids when they see one.

As the game crept closer and closer to the end and the outcome was looking more and more bleak, Hinkle started clearing out. There were two and a half minutes left, and my heart fell not only because our team looked like it might resort to what I consider terrible desperate playing tactics, but because fans were already clearing out of the fieldhouse. We were down so much that they didn't think it was worth it to watch the rest.

I don't know at what point I myself started accepting that I was probably going to watch my team lose that night, again, but it wasn't that early. It's Butler basketball, and I believe in last-minute miracles. At least, I did this season. Most of our games in the tournament this year, we survived by last-minute miracles.

And when the clock finally wound out the last second, put the time at zero and declared UConn this year's champs, I turned to Molly with just one suggestion. (Fiance had left just after halftime, not due to a disbelief that the Dawgs would win [his attendance at Butler basketball events is purely an act of significant other support; he does not really care about Butler, or basketball, and frankly surprises me when we attend games and he doesn't have to ask me what color uniforms we're cheering for], but because he had to leave town early the next morning.)

My suggestion, my request: a trip to Steak 'n' Shake.

Not just any Steak 'n' Shake, though. Our Steak 'n' Shake. The one in Nora. It had seen me through many other trying times, including one of my first true heartbreaks, one that had drawn out of me real tears, and I knew it would see me through this difficult time as well.

I apologize. I'm sure the last thing anyone comes to this blog for is a description of me in my most emotionally vulnerable moments. Picturing me crying is probably pretty awkward, and definitely not pretty.

But the good news is, on Monday, April 4, no tears were shed.

Yes, it was a sad end to the season, but Molly and I had a chance to talk about the positives of the year.

Like how Butler made it to the tournament again.
Like how we made it to the Final Four in back-to-back years.
Like how we were the first team in Indiana to make it to the Final Four in back-to-back years.
Like how we made it to the championship game in back-to-back years.
Like how we were also -- it could go without saying but I'm going to say it anyway -- the first team in Indiana to make it to the championship game in back-to-back years.
Like how we did all this even without Gordon Hayward.
Like how we both want to have Matt Howard's babies.

And as we talked about all these positives (Fiance may disagree with that last one being a positive; he's just going to have to accept that I want a kid who can play basketball, and given my height deficit, my best chance is going to be reproducing with someone monstrously taller than me, no matter how awkward it may be getting through it), slowly, more people trickled into the Steak 'n' Shake.

Every one of them wearing their Butler gear.

One Frisco melt and order of fries later, I was feeling better. Yeah, our team lost in the championship game, again. But how many teams even get the chance to say they had the CHANCE to lose in a championship game, a year after they had already lost in the championship game?

In spite of the loss, I am still proud to be a Bulldawg.


And Molly is still proud to be associated with those that are Bulldawgs.


And of course, Steak 'n' Shake is still the best place to go, in happiness, sadness, celebration, or disappointment.