Steak N Shake

I was very clearly the guy who had just disembarked from a plane from somewhere that wasn't Indiana and it was my first visit to a Steak N Shake.  I noticed the Original Double N Cheese and then a California Double Steak Burger.  

Hmm... being originally a Californian, I had to inquire.  

Enter the (very friendly, accommodating) waitress...

"Random question, how is the California burger different from the double cheeseburger?"
"Well, it has California sauce."
"Of course! California sauce..."

Friend gives disapproving look, promptly orders 'Frisco Melt.

So California sauce is Thousand Island which is now solely to be called California Sauce and sidebar, I have seen mentioned as such in other places, so that quickly needs to become a universal thing.  

But my snarky investigation aside, I thought they made a good burger.  I said something dumb like, "damn, this is a good burger" and then they brought the check which was all split out per person and I loved Indiana a little more than I already did.

I literally took a picture of the check.  Heed this lesson California.  

I thanked our disarmingly nice waitress and wondered, for a second, whether a flight home was really a good idea.  But thought, if nothing else, I would have to spread the message of California sauce.

This is my hometown SNS. Like all restaurants, this location is not without fault, but I have always been treated well by everyone who works there because I went to school with most of them. It's Mooresville, so it happens.

I do have to knock off one star for an experience I had one night last year. I came in with a couple of friends and a family member for a burger and some fries. The waitress was obviously newer, but that was not the problem. What really soured me on the experience was her--what word do I use here? Rant? Yes, we'll go with that.--rant about how she was the only person there and yelled at us because she had to wait on our table. The people sitting behind us heard this and immediately got up and walked out. On top of that, the friends I was with waited over an hour to get their shakes. This occurrence was the first time in the 8 years I've been going out on my own that I've ever *not* tipped the waitstaff. The manager-on-duty that night gave a grunt when she saw I didn't tip, but the normal night-shift manager (I can't think of her name) would have asked about my service based on that. She knows I always tip well if I'm paying the bill, and there's a problem if I don't tip.

In response to the previous poster's assertion about a "less-than-appetizing" rumor about the new grill employee, I have not heard this rumor--and believe me: if there's a rumor in Mooresville, I would have heard it already. The food is always good for me. Restaurants should be rated on the quality of their food and the service they provide, not personal rumors about their staff. As long as the food is good, I could care less about a rumor.

Overall, they have what I like. They do run out of things like any normal restaurant would, but it's a rare occurrence. Long live the peppermint shake!