Steak n Shake and the new NEA chief

November 5, 2009
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Steak n Shake execs must be swelling with pride over the sudden, fawning attention on their restaurants from Rocco Landesman, the blunt-talking Broadway theater producer who since August has been chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Landesman’s remarks certainly could be interpreted as praise. Or they could be taken as another example of the reason he’s in already in the woodshed—condescension.

Tomorrow, Landesman starts a six-month tour of the arts hinterlands, beginning in Peoria. Shortly after his appointment, he remarked, “I don’t know if there’s a theater in Peoria, but I would bet that it’s not as good as Steppenwolf or the Goodman” in Chicago.

Oops. During his visit to Peoria, he will visit a Steak n Shake, among other spots.

This morning in a National Public Radio interview, the St. Louis native made a point of saying Steak n Shake is his favorite restaurant. “I would call it very high-quality fast food served on china,” he added.

There’s precedent for this from the arts cognoscenti, and not under coercion. Roger Ebert said in a Chicago Sun-Times column early this year, “If I were on Death Row, my last meal would be from Steak n Shake.” Read it here.

Steak n Shake’s sole spokesman, CEO Sardar Biglari, is traveling and unavailable for comment. So we don’t know what they think.

Beyond Landesman’s penance, how do you feel about his affection for Steak n Shake? If you were Biglari, et al, how would you receive it?


 

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  • Your headline makes no sense
    STEVENovember 6, 2009 7:59 AM
    Where in this article does it reveal even at a stretch an insult to the restaurant?
    What the man said is in fact the truth. Why do media people seem to see bad or a potential for negativity when they read or report something? I'm sorry, your story is about you not Landsman
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • It's great press for Steak N Shake
    KitchenSinkNovember 8, 2009 7:19 PM
    That's great news for Steak N Shake. Congrats!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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