You may remember reading my Blog on January 1, 2013 that described Judy’s and my New Year’s Eve dinner at Stéphane’s upscale restaurant. To recap, we suffered through servings of cold French fries and unsavory creamed spinach. I ended the review with a comment that I had received a coupon from Steak ‘n Shake for a free burger and fries and that I would check out how the two eating establishments com-pared. I am a proud member of their Online Club and the president of the Club sent this coupon to me for my upcoming birthday.
So good to my word, I drove to the nearest Steak ‘n Shake yesterday in almost breathless anticipation. As I entered the black and white tiled fast food parlor an elderly woman greeted me and showed me to a choice table by the window, which faced the parking lot. I don’t mean to make a value judgment but this hostess was a far cry from the trim young ladies who greeted us at Stépane’s and whose dresses were so tight they could hardly walk.
My waitress was a very pleasant woman (Dorothy) who checked my coupon and said I was entitled to a free order of a, “Double Steak-burger with cheese and fries”. (On the menu this was a $3.99 item.) I decided to spring for a glass of ice tea ($1) so that I wouldn’t appear to be a “cheapskate” to Dorothy. I asked her if they had creamed spinach (to compare with our New Year’s Eve serving) and she looked at me as if I were a man from Mars so I decided not to press the point.
The restaurant was only partially full with customers who were dressed in very casual attire, befitting the time of day and the venue.
As I sipped the ice tea ($1), which was every bit as good as the $3 version I was served on New Years Eve, I eagerly awaited the French fries. WOULD THEY BE HOT OR COLD? I won’t leave you in suspense any longer - - - they were hot and tasty. I had Dorothy take this photo of me to memorialize the moment.
 |
| From left to right: Earl Bronsteen, burger, hot fries, ice tea |
I was sort of hoping that, since the restaurant personnel knew that this was my birthday, they’d surprise me with a slice of cake bedecked with candles and served by a group of singing waitresses, but I guess that’s expecting too much.
I always have trouble deciding how much to tip when I use a coupon. Even if I sprang for 40% of the total check ($1 ice tea plus 6% tax) perhaps Dorothy would think that was insufficient, especially since I had troubled her to take my photograph. I thought about waiting until I saw how much the man at a nearby table tipped, since I saw he had also presented a coupon. I finally made a decision and Dorothy and I will have to live with it.
On the way out I wished a Happy Birthday greeting to my fellow coupon holder as I passed by.
You won’t believe how this story ends. When I got home I checked my email and, no I didn’t win the lottery, but there was an-other free coupon from Steak ‘n Shake in honor of their 75th anniversary. I can’t wait, but I’d prefer to go on a day that Dorothy isn’t work-ing.
P.S. The story didn’t end there (much as you wish it might have) as I had a coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket for $4 off per person at our favorite restaurant, Kyojin Grill. And that very same evening off we went for an unparalled freeloading double-header. And then, like manna falling from heaven, as I paid the check, our waitress gave me another coupon.
COMPARISON CHART STEPHANE’S VS STEAK ’N SHAKE
STEPHANE’S STEAK ’N
SHAKE
|
Price of burger/fries
|
$16.00
|
$3.95
|
|
Price of ice tea
|
$ 3.00
|
$1.00
|
|
Are coupons available?
|
NO
|
YES
|
|
Are mussels available?
|
Yes & 2 for 1 on Mondays
|
No way
|
|
Quality of creamed spinach
|
N.G.
|
N/A
|
|
Décor of restaurant
|
Casual elegant
|
Casual antiseptic
|
|
Décor of hostesses
|
Slinky
|
Stinky
|
|
Table settings
|
Tableclothes/napkins, gleaming
silverware
|
Paper place mat, silver- ware in paper
napkin
|
|
View
|
None
|
Parking lot
|
|
Parking
|
Valet
|
Free self service
|
|
Service
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
Open for breakfast?
|
NO
|
Yes, with all U-can-eat pancakes at $3.99
|
|
Liquor license
|
Yes
|
No
|
|
Milkshakes
|
No
|
YES
|
|
AND THE WINNER IS
|
|
✔
|
Just kidding Stéphane. If you send me a free coupon I'll give you a better review.
No comments:
Post a Comment