Steak N Shake -

Steak 'n Shake



Steak N Shake is a new chain burger joint just south of the UT Tyler campus off of University.  They are well known in north country (I have been a number of times up in Yankee land) and opened up not too long ago here in Tyler.  The outside looks like a updated burger joint chain.  They have been outrageously busy a number of times when I wanted to try them out, but I finally tried them out a few weeks ago in the drive through.

The spread:  It has been a while since I tried out Steak 'n Shake and the first thing that struck me is that many of their combo meals are fairly cheap.  They get you because most of the combo meals don't include a drink. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I've never been for breakfast.  They offer "steak" burgers of varying size and cost, chili (with spaghetti), sandwiches (grilled chicken, fried chicken, turkey club, etc), salads, fries, and of course shakes.

The verdict:  I am to say I wasn't excited to try Steak 'n Shake, but my wife really wanted to give it a try, so we stopped by one day on our way out of town.  The service was friendly and they lived up to "fast" food.  We got our order and hit the road.  The burgers were surprisingly good for the money.  Very good bun, fresh veggies and tasty burger patty (although pretty flat and definitely well done).  They also had the option to add a 'flavor' to your fries and I very much enjoyed the Parmesan cheese addition.  We didn't try the shakes that day, but they do their shakes right.  They use real ice cream, milk and they are good.

Edible Tyler Roses:  3.5 out of 5, solid fast food.

Star Donuts - Are all donut places the same? I donut think so.

Star Donuts



Star donuts is located just south of Bergfield park off of Broadway.  I can't imagine that the building was originally designed to be a donut place, but it works nonetheless.  You can drive through or go inside and check out the wares.

The spread:  Well they serve donuts as you can imagine such as glazed, sprinkles, chocolate, cinammon twists, apple fritters.  They also have kolaches, several styles of breakfast sandwiches and breakfast tacos.  We usually grab a variety of donuts and kolaches in the morning when we have guests staying overnight.

The verdict:  I haven't tried all the donut places in Tyler, although I have tried several.  Coming from Houston, I was a little bummed to have to miss out on Shipley's and had resigned myself to eat mediocre donuts and kolaches.  I'm not sure what the guys at Star Donuts do, but they serve the best donuts and kolaches in Tyler, hands down.  The donuts are melt in your mouth soft and delicious.  The kolaches have soft, yet chewy breading.  They are dangerously good.

Edible Tyler Roses:  5 out of 5, outstanding donuts and kolaches.

Raising Cane's - name is more exciting than the food

Raising Cane's
4186 S Broadway Ave
Tyler, TX 75701
http://www.raisingcanes.com/



Raising Cane's is a new chicken joint just off of Broadway and the loop in what used to be the church parking lot of First Christian Church.  They just opened up shop in the past couple of months and as usual, Tylerites line up to try something new.

The spread:  They have a VERY focused menu.  You can basically order chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast and coleslaw in one combination or another.  They also have a 'famous' Cane sauce.  They have drive through and dine in options.

The verdict:  Maybe I was expecting too much.  They advertise that they marinate their chicken fingers for 24 hours and that I would be crazy for their Cane sauce.  The chicken fingers were good, the food came out fast and my order was correct.  The chicken fingers are definitely the best I have had in town, but that isn't saying much.  The chicken fingers were cooked well and were pretty juicy, but there really wasn't any "wow" factor.  Nothing really stood about in the flavor profile.  I was also a little disappointed in the Cane sauce, it was basically a very mildly spiced mayo/aoili emulsion.  I basically think whether or not you will love Raising Cane's will come down to what you think about the Cane sauce because nothing else really stands out.  I was ambivalent about the sauce and thus ambivalent about Raising Cane's.  It is definitely worth trying out once to see what you think for yourself.

Edible Tyler Roses:  2.5 out of 5.  Worth a try, but not my thing.