Burgers, shakes and memories of days gone by

13022 Old Hanover Road, Reisterstown
410-833-6650

Beef Shakes reminds me of one of those old-fashioned hamburger shacks that are so hard to find these days: the ones open only in the summer, and usually near beaches and lakes, where everyone walks up to the outdoor counter barefoot to order their lunch.

The major differences: It has a more extensive menu and a less bucolic location, on bustling Old Hanover Road. Also, Beef Shakes is open year-round.

As its name implies, the tiny restaurant - with five tables inside and three outside - owned by Kim Tsirigos with her husband, Pete Tsirigos, and dad, Bob Vandervoort, serves plenty of hamburgers and milkshakes.

But that's just the beginning. Beef Shakes also serves crab cakes ($8.95), cheese steaks ($7.95), pit beef sandwiches ($5.25), ribs ($12.95) fried fish ($5.95), chicken wings ($3.99 for six), steaks ($13.95) and even breakfast fare such as pancakes ($3.95) and egg sandwiches ($1.75).

Kim Tsirigos attended Johnson & Wales University's culinary school, and her two partners also have restaurant experience, she says. Maybe that's why they can offer so many options and make it all seem effortless and even fun.

The partners broke ground for Beef Shakes in July 2004 and opened the place that September. Though the restaurant is only three years old, it has been given an old-fashioned look. The walls are tiled in black and white, and there's a silly logo of a dancing cow in a Fonzie-style leather jacket, holding french fries in one hoof and ice cream in the other.

The inside and outside flow together, since both have the same stone flooring and rough wooden tables. Customers place their orders at the inside counter, then wait for their order to be called. They pick it up, grab plastic utensils and paper napkins, head to a table and chow down. Then they clear their own tables.

On a summer night, families dawdle over their meals, eating french fries off each other's plates and sampling each other's milkshakes. Beef Shakes occupies a grassy patch of land, and there isn't much nearby. The mood is just about perfect, except for the steady hum of cars whizzing by.

The namesake items might be the best. Hamburgers, grilled to order, are tender and meaty and taste faintly of charcoal. The milkshakes are made with good-quality ice cream and are so thick that drinking them through a straw requires considerable effort.

The crab cakes are pretty good, too, with lots of lump meat and a pleasantly browned exterior. They're not enormous, though, so you might want to get one as part of a fried seafood dinner ($16.95), which also includes fish, shrimp, clam strips, a baked potato and a side salad. Though this is the most expensive item at Beef Shakes, it delivers a lot of food for the money.

Someone in the kitchen is a tad zealous with the frying, however. The mild fillet of white fish is nearly overwhelmed by a thick coating of salty, crunchy batter. And the clam strips are little more than deep-fried rubber bands. Sure, all that frying tastes good, but sometimes less is more. The fried shrimp, fat and sweet, get a more restrained treatment, and shine because of it.

Oddly, the thick-cut french fries at Beef Shakes are limp and nearly tasteless, and the coleslaw is drowning in creamy dressing.

The pit beef is slow-cooked, but still less than perfectly tender. Order a sandwich with horseradish and barbecue sauce, though, and your taste buds will thank you, even if your jaw has to work a little. The meat is piled high, and the toasted bun doesn't fall apart or get soggy.

And if you're not in the mood for a milkshake, desserts also include snowballs and ice cream sundaes, classic treats to cap off a classic meal.

Ratings:
Food: ***
Service: ** 1/2
Atmosphere: ***

Rating system: Outstanding: ****; Good ***; Fair or uneven **; Poor *

Related topic galleries: Reisterstown, Restaurant and Catering Industry, Health and Safety at School

• CUSTOMER SERVICE

• ACCOUNTING

• ACCOUNTING

• COOK

• CONSTRUCTION

• View all Top Jobs