Steak n’ Shake coming to Central Texas

My wife came home from work last night and told me that a Steak n’ Shake is being constructed in Georgetown. Being born a Midwesterner, especially from Central Illinois, I was instantly thrilled. Normally I have to visit there (not going to happen) or visit my college buddy Jose in Orlando to get such high-end junk food. How those commercials on FL FSN or the Sun Network taunt me when I see them through my NHL Center Ice package! 
 
For those of who don’t know what the fuss is all about, let me put it a bit more into perspective. Steak n’ Shake is one of the better results of the fast-food revolution in America. I put it on par with White Castle but without the nastier side effects Sliders, Gutbombs and Whiteys have. 
 
Oddly, it all began 20 years before Ray Kroc started the McDonald’s empire in Bloomington-Normal, IL—the Hell I left in 1994. Steak n’ Shake never took off like other burger chains, probably because the average steakburger cost more and higher-end joints like Fuddrucker’s weren’t developed yet. Besides the burgers, it specializes on good shakes, freezes (like shakes but with fruit flavors), chili five way (like Real Chili) and chili mac. Over the years it never lost its charming retro atmosphere, attitude and look. The menu has expanded somewhat but only food that really matches its diner-like style: namely patty melts. Right now the chain is on the rise again as it opens in places beyond the Illinois-Indiana borders. Florida was first probably for all the retired Midwesterners living there. 
 
Growing up in Central Illinois for most of my life, I never thought I would miss it. As a kid, it was still a car-hop place which were extinct in the 1970s. Also, when you’re a kid, you want to go into the restaurant as part of the dining-out experience. Staying the car is a punishment, not a joy. They finally ditched the car-hop service and built a drive-thru window by the 1980s. Summers at Grandma’s house also resulted in frequent meals there, especially when she’d go through periods of only wanting to eat at one restaurant. In the 1990s I moved back to Bloomington-Normal and during those days my friends and I would eat there on occasion but we always made fun of it with names like Scarf n’ Barf or Choke n’ Puke. How I took Steak n’ Shake for granted. The closest thing Central Texas has burger-wise is the Culvers (a chain from Wisconsin) yet it lacks the chili-based dishes. 
 
After leaving for Austin in 1994, I never really gave the place another thought. I never even had much of a craving for Midwestern junk food other than deep-dish pizza and White Castle. I’d receive my fill of those things visiting the Silders or Bryants in Chicago. Then I flew out to Orlando to celebrate New Year’s Eve 1996-7 with Jose. He hadn’t eaten before picking me up at the airport so we pulled over to the Steak n’ Shake near his house. I was re-addicted to the stuff. Now it’s a mandatory stop in Orlando as soon as he picks me (there’s your warning Hoser should I come out this year) and I know I ate there multiple times during my Grandma’s final days in Bloomington, IL. 
 
I know this is a bunch of wasted electrons over a hamburger-diner joint to most of you and that’s fine with me. It’ll be a shorter line on opening day when I rush up there to get an order of chili five way with a lemon freeze.