Steak and Shake

It is hard for me to pick just one college moment as the BEST. I loved college. A lot of my best friends are college friends. I met the soon-to-be HusbandTuesday in college. I chose my profession in college. I forged lasting relationships with professors. And I developed a stronger, more confident sense of self. I guess I’m one of those girls who looks back on college as the time I “found myself.”

But I also discovered Steak and Shake and Donatos Hawaiian Pizza. These were two of my best discoveries. Each for different reasons.

Mmmm, Steak and Shake. Oh how I miss the triple thick oreo chocolate chip milkshakes, with the tiny chocolate chips that get would get stuck in the straw, and the chocolate wafer cookie resting ever so gently on the whipped cream. My first visit to Steak and Shake was at 2 am in the morning in the Spring of my Freshman year of college. Before the soon-to-be HusbandTuesday and I started dating, we spent that spring forging the bonds of an unbending friendship. Determined to listen to a recording of Sarah McLachlan that he had left in his car, the two of us set out for a late night road trip out of the cornfields we called campus and towards the closest city. Having grown up there, he spent the next two hours showing me how beautiful the skyline looked by moonlight out the window of his tiny little sports-car. We capped off the night with a visit to the Steak and Shake drive through. I can’t remember if it was my first time there; somehow I don’t think it was. But it was certainly the most memorable. Driving home in silence, having exhausted our music selections, I felt the most indescribable combination of happiness and calm. And deliciousness.

While milkshakes may trigger an emotional reaction, Donatos Pizza simply makes my mouth water. There weren’t many fine dining options near campus, and the first time I had Donatos’ thin crust pizza, I was actually unimpressed. But then I learned about the Hawaiian pizza. A delicious thin crust pizza packed to the edge with thinly sliced ham, pinnapple, cinnamon, sliced almonds, and fresh mozzarella cheese. It is the most addictive and delicious pizza I have and will likely ever taste. Sure, it isn’t served with Papa John’s artery sauce, and it isn’t the most traditional pizza. But I can eat it for every meal, and snack on it in between. I’ve brought it cold on airplanes home from school, and I make every effort to stop and get one when we’re back visiting his family. I can’t remember the precise moment I tasted my first slice, but it was certainly the most delicious discovery of my collegiate career. The two of us shared many Friday night dates sipping rootbeer, laughing at the local color, and splitting an entire pizza. My waistline probably appreciates the fact that the franchise doesn’t extend this far East, but my stomach is actually growling at me right now, angry at me for going into such detail and longing for just one warm slice.