New Kids On The Block
Hark! Over the land of Georgia State, the cry goes out, and a bright new banner is unfurled, announcing triumph in the Land of Fast Food. Students and faculty rejoice as the hills resound with gladness. The Trumpets of Taste proclaim that today the Atlanta campus will be home to a brand-new Steak ’n Shake, a restaurant famous nationwide for its shakes and steakburgers, but what is a steakburger? I was determined to find out. The decision to bring Steak ’n Shake to GSU was an easy one. Their menu is conducive to college students, their prices are good, and they bring a plentiful variety of foods and beverages, ideal for our university’s eclectic taste. Construction on the new facility began in January, in Panther’s Club, located on the third floor of Student Center West. The featured menu will include the Original Double ’n Cheese Steakburger, the Original Prime Steakburger — hand-crafted from 6 oz. of all-natural, 100% USDA certified beef, using a blend of brisket and chuck — the Frisco Melt, the Steak Frank, classic fries and of course, the shakes.
Steak ’n Shake is home to some of the most creative shake options you can shake a shake at. They have the classics, of course — chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Then there are the candied shakes, including Butterfinger, M&M’s and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. They also have an Oreo Cookies ’n Cream milkshake, which I have tried and found delicious, as well as a Nutella shake which promises to be heavenly. Each shake is packed with ice cream and made to-order. No saving shakes in the cooler for later. Just like at Chick-fil-A, the shakes comes complete with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry — just like Momma used to make.
As hinted at by their advertising, the Steak ’n Shake steakburger isn’t made from hamburger meat at all but from sirloin steak, with the prime burger containing more choice cuts. As we all remember from our cow anatomy classes, hamburger meat comes from a different cut of the cow entirely. This loans steakburgers their unique texture and taste when compared to your average ground beef patty. And in case you were wondering, their hotdogs — or Steak Franks, as they call them — are also 100% beef. For those looking toward a slimmer waistline, fear not — Steak ’n Shake includes chicken on its menu. No word yet on salads.
The new Steak ’n Shake will offer a counter service-style restaurant experience for its customers and will be staffed by GSU employees, much like the Chick-fil-A downstairs. At the moment, Steak ’n Shake trainers are on hand, helping raise up the next generation of proud steak-flipping, shake-mixing experts. The training offered by Steak ’n Shake is state of the art, introducing new preparation processes to our employees. Unlike some other burger joints, Steak ’n Shake does not use frozen patties. Rather, pucks of meat are flattened into shape directly on the grill until the required consistency and thickness is reached. Then the meat is lovingly flipped until perfected. Cheese and fresh lettuce are added, along with the requisite bun. Each steakburger or sandwich comes with its own unique style of bread. It’s a fancy operation. The shoestring fries are also a welcome addition to the plethora of fried potato options GSU’s facilities offer. These fries are crispy, golden-brown and delicious.
I spoke with some of the trainers, our director of PantherDining, Suzanne Paltz, and one of the employees working at the new installation. They all agree that this will be a tremendous boon to Georgia State and Steak ’n Shake, as well. With a wellspring of faculty and student support, we’re sure to see some lines winding the corridors of Student Center West. Steak ’n Shake will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during the summer. Hurry up and get your steakburgers now. I’ll be there just as soon as I finish this mountain of invoices on my left.