Sam’s Tastee Treat

Competitively, the best burger joint in the city.
Not much to elaborate on, this little ma’-and-pa’s offers a myriad of other selections. Including some odd diversity like egg rolls and tacos. Its pretty hard to get past the burgers though; they could have truffles and caviar and I’d still order the double cheeseburger. Its solely ran by an old military vet and his wife, not the crack-​squad from Quiktrip, so it takes abit to receive your food. Other than that, it’s really a 5-​star dive burger stand, if that category exists.

I grew up in Olathe. My mom grew up in Olathe. And we both grew up going to Tastee Treat. All of my large Catholic family goes there. We’ve recruited our friends to go there. I come back to the area four times a year and try to visit this place each time.
A few things you’ve got to know and be OK with:
–The burger-​to-​bun ratio is a bit off, but it’s gotten better
–The owner is a bit salty
–The building is a bit decrepit
–Cash only
–Closed on Sundays
The crux of it: You get pretty good American comfort food – and pretty much every other nationality’s comfort food – for pretty good prices.
The place is divey and comfortable. Double cheeseburger meal is where it’s at, and if you don’t order the crab rangoon, which are most likely the best in the entire world, you should re-​examine your life choices.

Owned by the same couple since the Stone Age. This is a terrific burger joint. Their food is good, their prices are cheap and they aren’t owned by a big corporation. This ain’t J. Gilberts but it is a great place for a no-​frills burger and shake. If you’re a snob, stay home.

Short Version: Average ice cream and potentially fun, kitschy place completely ruined by bitter, rude ownership.
Long Version:
There’s a dividing line between being a salty, yet endearing, old guy and being a dyspeptic jerk who sucks joy out of the air. The co-​owner guy of this decrepit burger shack falls on the wrong side of the line.
We stopped for ice cream treats after a li’l kids soccer game. We thought it would be fun to go somewhere different. We were wrong. There is no fun at Sam’s Tastee treat. Review in three parts…
Part One: The Place.
It’s a crappy little ice cream shop/​burger stand. It’s tiny and dated. It’s easy to characterize a dive like this as «greasy» or «filthy,» but that’s not really the case. The one good thing I can say about the owner is that he was cleaning up the counter area, tables and even the doors. It’s old and crummy, but it’s clean.
Part Two: The Food.
We just had ice cream stuff. One kid had a small sundae. One had some sort of ice cream/​candy blend. I had a dipped cone. My wife had a fountain dink. All of it was passable. Many of the reviews here mention the burgers, etc. I can’t speak to them. Even if the sandwiches and sides were prepared by the goddess Hestia herself with help from a chorus of Iron Chef champions, however, I doubt they could make up for Part Three… Speaking of which…
Part Three: The Personality.
I walked into the place and looked up at the chaotic menu board. The fella asked what I wanted. I told him that the girls where just about to walk in from the car and I’d need a few moments. His response? A sneering «harumph.»
When ready to order, we actually dealt with the other half of the ownership who, according to one of the newspaper articles tacked near the counter, is the wife of the Grumpy Old Man. She seemed nice enough.
I noticed dipped cones on the menu. I asked her about flavor options. She told me. I chose. During this process, Mr. Petulance issues another «harumph» and points to a crap-​ass little sign made with Wordstar or something about 20 years ago that’s taped to the wall between a series of other outdated documents. Oh, that’s the little sign that announces the dip flavors. Yeah, he was pissed off that I didn’t take the time to scour the junk-​ridden walls of his burger stand and dared to **ask** if they had what I wanted.
Our order comes up. I take it. We eat it inside. During this process, we require an additional plastic spoon. I go up to get one. Old-​Timer McMeany is up there. With the best manners possible, I request an additional spoon. The guy literally sighs out loud, droops his shoulders and retrieves one for me – acting like I asked him to go out of his way to do something extraordinary and unthinkably annoying. Nonetheless, I thank him politely. His reaction? A slight, but noticeable, eye roll.
Not coming back. Not recommended.

Old man manager is jerky and rude. Average ice cream. Below average attitude

I wanted so badly to like Sam’s Tastee Treat for nostalgia’s sake, because when I was a kid I used to visit the same location with the moniker Chad’s Tastee Treat. From the moment I entered the restaurant I was disappointed, but I forged ahead trying to find something to like.
The place hadn’t changed at all since I was a kid — the charming primary colored tables and the red and white exterior are there, but there were also a few problems. I’m not sure the restaurant has been cleaned since the last time I visited; it was dirty with dust and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and old, yellowed posters adorning the walls.
The first really warm Saturday of the spring brought lots of ice cream cone customers out, and the line was quite long. I found it confusing that the line took so long to get through. The older couple running the place would take and order and then run back to make it, alternating at the counter and then the grill/​ice cream server. But I waited. It would make more sense to have one person taking orders and the other fixing them, that way the people who were just ice cream customers could be served quickly while the meal customers wait for their food to be prepared.
The prices were fair — my husband got a double cheeseburger with large fries and a large soda for under $ 5.70, I got a bacon cheeseburger with large fries and a large cherry limeade for under $ 7.25, but they did charge me an extra $ 1.50 for the cherry in my cherry limeade.
The burgers were meh — pre packed beef, kinda too small for the bun. But, I suppose, similar to what I enjoyed as a kid. Tons and tons of CRISPY crinkle cut fries delighted me. A delicious cherry limeade took the sting out of paying an extra $ 1.50.
Will I go back? I doubt it.

Who knew that the best Crab Rangoon in town would come from a burger place.
Must visit.

This reminds me of the little mom and pop burger ice cream shops from little towns. The service is good. The owners are friendly. Burgers are great. Don’t get here often, but it’s good stuff.

Warning, the food you are about to eat here will KILL you! It’s so damn greasy spoon kind of yummy, it’s not funny! Sam & his wife are always gracious and the quality of food is always the same old fashioned double cheeseburger having kind of fun!
It’s a cash only kind of joint so don’t try to use plastic.
Eat here now! If you are into ol’ fashion goodness, you will not be disappointed! The prices cannot be beat!

This place is the best ice cream I have ever had! And the prices are good to! :)

This out of the way jewel is an excellent place for old time «drive in» treats.
Their shakes and malts are always extra thick and have a long list of flavors that most places don’t offer. Not just the chocolate, vanilla strawberry limits here. Try a pineapple or butterscotch shake. its like a sundae with a straw! or more likely with a spoon, you could develop a hernia trying to suck these through the straw.
The double cheeseburger are also top shelf. dressed to your liking with piping hot crinkle cut fries… Takes you back to the old days when there were little shops like this all over the place… Sigh!
On South Parker (better known as k7) you can drive by this place pretty easily, so pay close attention and stop in. Seating inside is very limited. about 5 booths.

Why does this place deserve 5 stars? Because I live 1500 miles away, and can get Sam’s maybe once every two years, and I still want to Unilocal about it. This place is obscenely unhealthy — fries, a double cheeseburger, coke, and ice cream is basically a heart attack in a bag. That’s exactly the point. For four or five bucks, this place is the best. It is a run down monument to the 70’s, and high temple to very satisfying greasy nonsense.
The draw is in the apathetic owner /​operator, the menu full of crossed out shake flavors and unlikely counterparts (egg rolls and crab rangoon at a hamburger joint?), and furniture so old it can now be classified as some type of historic landmark. Every small detail of this place says «I’m only here for the food».

My husband and I looked forward to trying out Sam’s because it looks like an old-​time burger joing. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. We each had a double-​cheeseburger, fries and a soda which was the daily special for less than $ 5. The service was good, but the food left a lot to be desired.
The burger bun was massive compared to the meat. It look several bites of bread just to get to the actual burger part and the bun itself was very flour-​y (if that’s a word.) The fries, while good, were just frozen crinkle fries that I am pretty sure are the same as cafeteria, school-​lunch fries. Also, the place has a chinese-​restuarant smell. Not that that’s horrible or anything, but definitely not something you would expect in a small burger joint.
The service was good and the place was fairly clean, but the burgers just weren’t good. Maybe some other options are better, but we were dissappointed in our visit here.

When I grew up in Topeka I always went to a mom and pop shop for a hamburger. I have a hankering for those, and this place fills it. This is a place if you’re like me, like more condiments and a hint of burger on your buns. Sam’s loads me up with wonderful triple cheese burgers and Marshmallow/​hot fudge shakes. I’m not big on the fries. My roomie loves them. My other friend grew up eating this and she loves the crab rangoons.
Since it’s a mom and pop shop. They’re usually closed around big holidays or when they need a vacation. lol They’re also closed every Sunday. and Sam’s rested…

I’ve only been to Sam’s Tastee Treat once. I did enjoy it, but it certainly wasn’t the best in town. On my visit there seemed to be a little burger to bun ratio problem. I wouldn’t really say it was a case of the burger being too small… just that the bun was too big for the burger they served (if that makes sense). I really like the look and style of the place. It is an old-​school burger joint with, at the time I went (a while ago) they had a few non-​burger joint items such as crab rangoon and egg rolls: one of the owners is Japanese which apparently accounts for this, although crab rangoons are not really Japanese.
Anyway, to end the rambling, I liked it, but it wasn’t the best. Again, I’ve only been there once and really need to make it back. I do appreciate the old-​school style so check it out and write a review.

This is a little hole in the parking lot, family owned gem.
Sam’s Tastee Treat in Olathe, Kansas started as a Tastee Freeze in 1963, but has been run by its current owners, Sueko «Sam» and Hugh Silvernale since the mid 1990s.
There are only three small booths and four stools in Sam’s Tastee Treat, and most meals are ordered to go. They are really known for their great burger, fries, and drink specials, usually running around $ 4. Everyday of the week they have a special that is ridiculously cheap. There menu includes over 40 flavors of shakes, plus items as diverse as chili dogs, ice cream sundaes, country fried steak, shrimp, pork tenderloin, burritos, crab rangoon, and egg rolls.
This is an experience, that will bring back memories from years passed. Best of luck to Sam’s for years to come!