Steak and Shake

As we were compiling our list of milkshake places to go to, Steak and Shake came up so we put it on the list with it's Oreo shake. Frankly it'd be kinda sad if they didn't seeing it's in the name...

We figured it was a stand alone burger joint in Centerville but my boss knew otherwise. I guess it's a place he used to go to back east! He was pretty happy that they were here and suggested it to me. In light of moving further away in a little bit we decided to pay it a visit.

It was combined with a mini mart and a gas station. Go big or go home I guess... two wasn't enough, so they combined three stores... I've seen this done before, but it was with Subways or McDonalds not a fancy lookin' place like Steak and Shake. The juxtaposition was just odd. You can see the convenience store in the right corner. Weird...

Anyways, we ordered our food and sat down. Naturally I got a steak burger. I was too afraid to ask, but I couldn't tell the difference between a steak burger and a hamburger. It's the same animal right? I think the difference is it's just a higher quality of meat. I couldn't find a definition on their website though. I tried Google and it told me:

 "'Steakburger', in some circles, is interpreted as a hamburger with delusions of grandeur. That's actually not the case - a steakburger is a hamburger made withsteak - leaner, poncier meat, as opposed to the mangled cow bits that compose 'hamburger'. It's like comparing whiskey and bourbon."

I don't drink, but I think it's just that, better. meat. And on that note it was definitely better tasting.

Their fries on the other hand were pretty pathetic... They were good tasting for sure, but to even make it worth it you had to grab three or so to dip in the fry sauce at once, or you ended up spending the whole meal dipping your fries. Cora really liked them though. That's our daughters hand in the picture reaching for the fries. It was pretty much impossible to take one without her trying to grab at the food.

So the shake came out and looked pretty good. It was definitely a classy-er fast-food shake. Not as nice as the restaurant shakes, but pretty good for what it is. We were very impressed with the cherry, whipped cream, and I think crumbled Oreo on top. with that we gave it a 5 out of 5 for Presentation.

Texture didn't do so well earning it a 2. For the first bit it wasn't bad at all, it wasn't great being slightly better than a shake made for a straw. But half way through it stopped... The Oreo shake stopped... Someone had robbed us us of half of our Oreo shake and we were left with the lame vanilla aftermath. This is probably the only reason I wouldn't get a shake again. But after all it is a milkshake, and lets face it, you can't go wrong with ice cream, s we gave it a 2.

Taste was wonderful. (Well, for half of it) It was decently, but not overpowerfully Oreo-y and with some chunks it helped too. We gave it a 3.

Price was alright, and earned it a 3 out of 5.

Presentation - 5

Price - 3

Taste - 3

Texture - 2

Overall - 3.25

Don't forget to check out the master list on our blog.

Hook and Ladder

So, we had a free Saturday before our move down south, so we decided to have lunch at one of the shake places on our long list of shakes we still need to try (30 places). We decided to go to the closest to us Hook and Ladder. We had never really heard of it, so we didn't really know what to expect. It was somewhat off the main streets in the Glendale area. It took us a little bit to find it, but boy were we happy when we did! It was just what we were looking for! A mom and pop, hole-in-the wall kinda place.

We pulled up and saw a hearse parked just next to the place, so we knew something had to be up. Complete with a random coin operated Bert and Ernie Firetruck ride thing. You know, like the kind that you used to see at grocery stores and stuff...

Also, there were some sweet arcade games randomly next to the counter. They even had an old timey firetruck! They were super on theme, and they weren't messin' around!

Anyways, I guess I should talk about their food...

We were pretty happy 'cause we mostly wanted greasy burgers... They had a pretty big menu so it took a little while for us to decide what we wanted with our Oreo shake though...

I settled on the double cheeseburger and my wife chose the big bacon burger, so we thought it'd be a good choice to share fries with that much food. Which was good, because after we went to the counter and were ordering we saw that they had churro sundaes!! They were only a couple bucks so we added that to the order, because after we're adults and... ice cream.

The shake and ice cream came out and we took a seat out front. Why do they always tempt us with dessert first? I know that it doesn't take as long to make, but it makes being a responsible adult hard...

Anyways, the shake was good. It did melt fast but it was a hot summer day outside in the sun so I can't really blame it. Not that I would, I mean, it is a milkshake...

Before I get on to the shake I wanted to make a shout out to our food. It was great! The fries were nice and big, the burgers were nice and juicy, and the churro sundae... words can't even describe. Two of my favorite things are churros and ice cream, so putting them together just about blew my mind.

So, to start with Presentation at first look the shake was...okay. But with the whipped cream it was a little nicer still in the generic Coke cup, but better than the norm. We gave it a 4 out of 5 because of its above average attention to detail.

As for Price it got a 4.5 because of the great deal. It was a pretty good sized shake too. And with the large coming in just over three bucks it was totally worth it. Together we were only able to finish half of it. But that was mostly because we both ordered pretty sizable burgers and a sundae. It think it someone puts their mind to it they can finish the whole thing, just don't order a sundae too.

To continue with Taste it was pretty good. A good, solid, Oreo shake. The chunks did help too. It wasn't as rich as we've had, but lately it's definitely been the best. It was also Oreo throughout the whole thing! Take notes "Steak and Shake". It got a 3.5.

Lastly we come to Texture. It was definitely a "spoon" shake. I guess you could've gotten most of it with a straw, but it wouldn't be easy. It did somewhat toe the line when it came to being a super thick shake. But if you're lookin' for a thick shake that's not DQ "hold upside down" thick this is the one. We gave it a 4.5.

For those of you not doing the math that puts us at:

Presentation - 4
Price - 4.5
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 4.5

Giving it an overall score of - 4.125

Not bad. It's in a 3-way tie for 6th place (and that's out of 71). As a side note the customer serive was great. The guy with dreads that took our order was great!

Don't forget to comment about this fine establishment, or others that we need to visit. As well, make sure to visit our list of Oreo shakes we've had (and some we haven't...yet).

Smashburger

So the other day we got a flyer in the mail for a used car dealership. It had a little scratch-off part that would say if you were a winner or not. So, Naomi scratched it off and it said "Winner". There were prizes ranging from gift cards to Target and movie theater, playstations and apple watches so we were pretty exited about being winners! We called the place because you had to go to their tent sale to collect your prize. For some reason we had to set an appointment so we went one sunny afternoon.
As a side note we realized that the flyer didn't say what we won... But we figured anything free is worth getting.
So, we went and it turned out that our prize was a $15 gift card to the movies. Although not at all what we had unrealistically anticipated it was an excuse to get a sitter and go to a free movie. Also, with $5 Tuesdays we could probably buy a snack!
Long-story-short, we now found ourselves at the Valley Fair mall in the afternoon. So, we decided we should quest. We looked up if there were any shake places around that we hadn't gone to yet, and saw that there was a Smashburger! We've already visited the establishment, but we went so long ago that we simply gave it a 3 out of 5.
We figured we needed to update the score so we drove over to get an Oreo shake.
As a side note it was super hard to drive there. Although it was literally across the parking lot, there was a car show set up right next to it... Although it was pretty cool to see the classic cars through the window as we ate though!

Also the shake was pretty good too...

To start out with the presentation, it was amazing! Definitely one of the best! Although it was in a fast-food joint it was restaurant quality with the fancy glass. It had whipped cream and a crushed Oreo sprinkled on the top. It was almost perfect. It just needed a cherry on top. But that doesn't happen very often... We all know the one time it did at Black Bear Diner. it got a 5.5 for presentation, so without the cherry it still got a 5 out of 5.
As for taste it left more to be expected. It had a pretty strong vanilla ice-cream flavor with not very much Oreo taste. We still ended up giving it a 2.5.
Texture was pretty good for a shake made to sip through a straw. There were some good chunks and I'll say some of them were too big for the straw we got. I'm glad the also gave us a spoon with it.It ended up with at 3 out of 5.
Price was pretty decent for what you got. At just over four dollars it seemed pretty reasonable for how fancy it was. Plus like restaurants they gave you a big metal cup full of the rest on the side. I was glad I wasn't just treating myself. It's great for two. We gave it a 3.5. If you're looking for a reasonably priced classy shake stop by Smashburger.
The shake scored half a point higher the second go around, so it just goes to show that the scientific way is the only way...


Presentation - 5
Price - 3.5
Taste - 2.5
Texture - 3

Overall - 3.5

Atlantis Burger

We were on our way back to Salt Lake from Centerville running some errands and we decided to pick up an Oreo shake...because...shake! We looked at our list to find where the closest place was. We settled on Atlantis Burger in North Salt Lake.They're a pretty small chain with a couple of restaurants here in Utah.

We figured we've been to Apollo Burger and their shake was pretty good, so maybe there's something with the greek/roman names for burger joints that's workin' for em. Next stop Olympus Burger!

We pulled up and got an Oreo shake at the drive through. It was totally worth it. Sometimes you don't need a reason.

The shake wasn't very impressive to look at. I've definitely seen worse, but I've also seen better. Although it was pretty average it did have a nice logo and design on the cup, instead of the generic Coca-Cola cups. You can't really see the top with its lid, but they didn't go through any extra effort in the making of this shake. We gave it a 3.

The rest of the shake seemed to fall in line with its presentation. Not exceptional, but it made a great treat on a hot day!

Taste was alright with a 3. It was mixed pretty thoroughly and had a nice Oreoy flavor. That being said, I could have had quite a bit more Oreo and less vanilla flavor though.

As for price, it was pretty decent with a nice sized shake coming out at $4.25. it was also a pretty middle-of-the-line milkshake giving it a 3.

Texture was pretty good. It was kinda melty (mostly because it was kinda warm). There weren't huge chucks but it was pretty thick and definitely couldn't have been drunk. We gave it a 4.

Presentation - 3
Price - 3
Taste - 3
Texture - 4
Overall - 3.25

A&W

We decided to revisit A&W. The first attempt wasn't nearly are exact as we want, and there's one
pretty close to our house... It was nice to just pop over there while Cora was sleeping and pick up some shakes for my two favorite girls!

I went through the drive through and picked up a couple of "Polar Swirls".

Well, the first time we went here for the shakes we gave them a 3. Not too hard to beat, but sometimes the more scientific results are the lower ones. Also we made sure to note how tiny these shakes are. Seriously, I can't think of any smaller...

I got an Oreo and a cookie dough "polar swirl". As a side note the cookie dough milkshake was literally just vanilla ice-cream with cookie dough bites sprinkled in... Not that I don't love cookie dough bites. (My wife used to bring cups of them home with her in lieu of her free frozen yogurt when she worked at a frozen yogurt shop, so she likes them more than i do).

Taste didn't look very promising from the get go. I couldn't quite tell the shakes apart at first glance. They both looked like... vanilla shakes... Upon closer inspection I found that they had things in them! Not a lot, but they weren't just vanilla ice-cream. There were some Oreo chunks which definitely added to the flavor, but I think it would've been a lot better if with more Oreo! We gave it a 2.5.

Presentation was pretty standard. Especially for fast-food. It was a shake. In a cup. With a spoon. The did have somewhat fancy cups that said Polar Swirl on the side though. It ended up with a normal 2.5.

Texture was okay. They were spoon shakes, but barely. the weren't watery and super thin, but they weren't about to go over the rim without a fight... It got a 3.

Price definitely made these shake worthwhile! At $2.89 a pop they're worth it. We got the normal size. You can get a smaller 6oz kids size. But we're not looking for the smallest shake. If you're looking for a quick little treat though, these are your shakes. But don't get them with very high expectations... It got a 4 in this category.

Presentation - 2.5
Price - 4
Taste - 2.5
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3

Ripples

This was a
suggestion from my good friend Brad amongst others. Most weren't sure if it was Rippley's or Ripples, but it ended up being the later. It was definitely a place that went to the top of our list. We love mom and pop hole in the wall type places!

When we walked up we saw this--->

Seriously, it was the most amazing thing ever! There in the window was this glorious advertisement for Martial Art's, "Master Wohlwend's Martial Arts" to be exact. I don't know if you can read the caption on the bottom, but it says, "Come Fly With Master Wohlwend." This combined with the picture of him jumping a motorcycle with a flying kick made the ad the most intense flyer we had ever seen! Also, after looking him up on his website, not only does he have multiple black belts (how and why is that possible?) but he studied under Chuck Norris!!!! I want to some day be that winning at life!

We collected ourselves and ordered our food with the Oreo shake and sat down to enjoy.

I can't remember what we ate, but here's what we remember of the shake.

It was a pretty solid shake. I don't think it was
overpriced or terrible tasting, but we do remember that it wasn't so great on the texture. It was pretty watery and we figured it was because of the low quality soft serve I think they made it with. Here's the final scoring broken down.

Presentation - 3
Price - 3
Taste - 3
Texture - 2
Overall - 2.75

Ballard's Iceberg Drive In

We decided to retrace our previous quest steps to Ballard's Iceberg. It was one of the first places we went to, and because it was so early in the game we didn't have the same 4 point rating scale. So, we figured its rating needed an update.

The first time we visited Ballard's a couple years back we gave it a 4 out of 5. Pleased note that at this time we didn't do half points so we only have 5 points to choose from. Now I am pleased to say our ratings are much more accurate.

That being said, it was a nice, quaint little place. It was pretty retro, but being in business over 55 years seems to leave a store somewhat looking like a blast from the past.

As usual they brought our shake out to us first, which makes sense because it takes much less time to make a shake then to make food. We were pretty hungry so we ate more of it, faster than we would normally. But, that's all that we had.

On a side not the food was... okay. Not great. I ordered the footlong hotdog which was alright, but was falling apart left and right as I was eating it. My wife got a cheese burger and she said she was on the edge of taking it back because it was too salty. I tried some and I'd agree. It was definitely more salty than it should've been.



As far as the shake goes it came out and I must say, it was off to a rocky start with its presentation. It definitely looked like a shake, but it was in a pretty nondescript doctors office blue and purple cup and was mostly just there. (But it did match the wall!) The bar might have been set low with presentation's score coming in at 2.5 but we were hopeful about the rest of the scores with our past experience with Ballard.

Texture definitely deserved it's 4 with the shake being thick enough to be over-the-rim. It was think throughout, and wasn't watery (which is more than I can say for some)... It however didn't have any chunks of Oreo in it. It was blended thoroughly, but didn't have any bigger pieces so it didn't score any higher than a 4.

Taste was pretty good with a thorough Oreo flavor it got a 3.5.

Price was better than most at significantly under $4 for a medium it was pretty affordable for what you got. It wasn't huge but it was enough for me and my wife to feel satisfactorily treated with our meal. It's 3 separate sizes were nice too, giving you the option for a little or big treat. It scored a 3.5 also in that area.

The overall score averaged out to be 3.375, which was lower than its original 4, but I'm definitely more confident in it's increased accuracy this time around.

Presentation - 2.5
Price - 3.5
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 4
Overall - 3.375

As always look at our master list to compare this and other Oreo shakes.

Burger King

One of the first places we thought of was Burger King, because ... it's Burger King. We decided to try their Oreo shake and see what we thought!

It's presentation was alright. Unlike the picture taken from the internet on the left our shake didn't come with what looks like chocolate sauce, but with whipped cream it did alright. Giving it a 3 out of 5.

Texture wasn't super impressive, but as far as drinkable shakes go it did pretty well. Make no mistake, don't expect to use a spoon. It got a 3.5.

Taste similarly was alright. It definitely didn't have chunks, but was Oreo-y all the way through. I will say it had a really strong vanilla flavor too. It also got a 3.5 in this area.

Price made the difference. It was totally worth it when you factor in the small price tag. It's definitely not the best shake around and most aspects are fairly mediocre, but it's worth it. If you're lookin' for the best bang for your buck look no further than your local Burger King. It ended up with a 5.

Presentation - 3

Price - 5

Taste - 3.5

Texture - 3.5

Overall - 3.75

Apollo Burger

Back when we were living in Riverton we made a list of the places around town to go to get an Oreo shake, and Apollo Burger was on the top. The first one our ancient greek themed leg of the Oreo shake quest. Your next Atlantis Burger and Olympus Burger.

It was super fancy. I can't speak for all of the locations, but the one in Draper is classy as all get out... Well, for fast food...

anyways, when it came to the shake:

Presentation was legit for a chain fast-food restaurant. We gave it a 4.5.

Price wasn't too bad. Similar to the rest of the food it was pretty reasonably priced, and pretty good for what you paid. It ended up with a 4.

Taste was above average too. We gave it a 3.5.

Texture was pretty good, giving it a 4 out of 5.

The final totals are:

Presentation - 4.5
Price - 4
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 4
Overall - 4

Iceberg Drive Inn

Iceberg Drive Inn was one of our first stops. But because we didn't start out very scientific, we decided to go there a second time and instead of giving them one overall rating scored em in our separate categories!


We have both been there a few times and were exited to go there again! Since we'd been there before we kinda knew what to expect.

Presentation wasn't amazing or anything. But it is a drive-in so we didn't expect to be wowed. They were in cool stripped cups with the shake over the rim, so that does count for something. We gave them a 3.

Price was pretty good especially for what you got. They were huge!!! We got the smallest size and still had to share. Don't expect to finish it if you've ordered any other food. We gave it a 4.

Taste was amazing. It got a 5. It was super Oreo-y and worth a try! If you're lookin' for a good tastin' shake this is the place. .

Texture was pretty impressive too. As you can see from the picture to the left. (that I got from the internet). They stand up above the rim on their own, they're super thick. They ended up with a 4.5.

Overall We really liked the shake. The food and the atmosphere of the restaurant were pretty good too. Definitely worth a try. As a side not they have a nutella shake that is amazing! Seriously, best thing ever. That is all.

Presentation - 3
Price - 4
Taste - 5
Texture - 4.5
Overall - 4.125

Let us know what you think. As scientific as this seems it's mostly just our opinion... so let us know yours!

Big Jim's Drive In

One of the first times we decided to make the trek from Utah to Oregon we decided to quest in The Dalles!

We looked at where we were stopping and scoped out a sort of hole-in-the-wall drive in called Big Jim's. They looked like they had an Oreo Shake, so we were there!

Presentation was pretty bad. We gave it a 2.

Price got a 3. It was pretty reasonable for what you got.

Taste was definitely the shake's best quality earning it a 4.

Texture however could have definitely been improved upon. It scored a 2.

Presentation - 2
Price - 3
Taste - 4
Texture - 2
Overall - 2.75

I would've written more, but honestly I can't remember a lot about the shake. I guess that's what havin' over 70 shakes does to you...

California Burgers and Deli

Ever since we moved to this part of town we wanted to stop by California Burgers and Deli. Not only for their Oreo shake because it's a somewhat random combination of a burger place and a deli. Two things that I like, but I've never seen them both together ...

This unlikely pairing was summed up in the California Burger. A hamburger with bacon and pastrami. Naturally both me and my wife ordered one. On top of that we ordered fries and their Oreo shake.

 We saw something that we had to get! An Oreo churro! We've heard rumors and have been wanting to try one for a log time now, but this is the first place we found that has em! The were pretty expensive at $2 a pop but we couldn't resist, it was worth a try!

We were the only ones at the Burger Joint/Deli but it was pretty understandable because it was before 5 ... Which is even early by our standard. But when I have to work at 7am and we end up eating breakfast at 6:30am it bumps up all of our meals ...

After we ordered our food and sat down they brought it out to us. That's true that there weren't
any other customers to attend to, but it made us feel important and it was a nice touch! They did however bring everything out except for our shake. Which was interesting because it's usually the first thing done. We figured they may just be waiting to give it to us at the end.

We started off with the signature burgers, and boy were they good. I'm sure it helped that we were super hungry, but the combination of bacon and pastrami was super good! It was kinda messy, but totally worth it! In addition their fry sauce is out of this world. Even for Naomi whose lived in Utah most her life around fry sauce it was good! Their fries were also pretty good too. Not to crispy, overdone, or undercooked.

As for the Oreo churro it was super good. It came with its own dip which was straight up just cream filling! The churros was super good and with the cream dip it was amazing! We had some left over cream dip, so we mixed it into the shake. It didn't really mix easily but it was super good. Even with how good it was, I don't think it was worth the two bucks we spent for one churro. It was definitely worth a try but that's about it. Which is probably good because with it being so close to our house we would probably go there and get Oreo churros every day ...

Now that I've spent 6 paragraphs on the restaurant, I should probably mention the Oreo shake ...

To start off with Price, we were way surprised to see it was only $3 for their shakes. Even more so when we saw how big it was. It was definitely the cheapest shake we've seen in a while! We gave it a perfect 5 out of 5.

Presentation was definitely nothing to be impressed by. It was in a cup ... with a lip ... and that's about it. The cup didn't even have a generic design or advertise for Coke. It got a 1.

Texture did better. Slightly better. It got a 1.5 because it was pretty watery and thin. It was definitely made to drink through a straw (like those super thin ones for coffee or hot chocolate). I think the soft serve base really killed the texture ....

Taste was a similar story with the watery-ness of the shake making it vaguely taste like Oreos. It could have been worse though. It received a 2.5 out of 5.

All in all I would recommend going there, just not to get their shake. I would definitely eat there again, but that's the first and last time we get their Oreo shake.

Sammy's

Sammy's has long since closed, but back in the day we swung by to sample an Oreo pie shake! My band Crazy Old Maurice was playing for the second time in Rexburg at Sammy's and for coming to play they give you your choice of shake. It's kinda a consolation prize after driving over 4 hours, but it was worth it. Not only was it a fun place to play, but it's home of some of the most dedicated fans on the face of the earth. Seriously, we sold a bunch of CD's the first time we came and when we came back in a few months they knew all the words and were singing along! And they bought a lot of our shirts!
Anyways, you're not reading this to listen to me talk about playing music in Rexburg, so on to the restaurant ... and then the shake.


Well, Naomi's never really liked going there, but since we were already there we had their shake. She mostly didn't like Sammy's on principle because she hated the service. Although I'm not as passionate about it she did make a good point. We've gone to the Sammy's in Provo too, and had even worse customer service ...

To start out they forgot to let us know our shake was ready, so but the time we got it with our food it was pretty melted (this isn't a picture of the shake we got, it was stolen off the internet because we forgot to take a picture. It was not nearly as nice looking ...). This definitely didn't help its texture score. Other than being super melty, it was relatively thick. It was made to drink through a straw, but I think even if we got it fresh it wouldn't have met our standards. We gave it a 1 for the attempt ...

The taste did a little bit better with a 2, but even though it was a pie shake it was very Oreo-y. Also, we were pretty jaded because the employees were kinda rude ...

Price was free for us, but based on what it would normally be we gave it a 2 because it was definitely on the pricy side.

As for presentation they did an alight job, but tripped over the finish line. It was nice with the whipped cream, but because it had been left out for a while the whipped cream was dropping and running over the sides. It ended up with a 2 as well.

The total came out to be:

Presentation - 2
Price - 2
Taste - 2
Texture - 1
Overall - 1.75

If you've ever been to Sammy's or have any opinions on the matter let us know! Also, this is one of our long list of over 60 Oreo shakes that we've had.

Jack in the Box

Growing up in Oregon I used to frequent Jack in the Box, a Carls Jr. type burger joint. So, once we had decided to incorporate the shake quest into our Oregon vacation my first thought was stoppin' by Jack in the Box for their Oreo shake. and when

I got their tacos for 2 for a dollar. yes, their tacos. Although they are a burger and fries joint they also sell tacos. They don't have any other Mexican food, but they've got tacos. Cheap tacos. They're not great, but when you're paying 50 cents for one you can't raise the bar too high.

After Christmas we decided to visit the outlet malls in Woodburn and get some shoes for me and a purse for Naomi (we actually just ended up buying a bunch of baby clothes). But it was lunch time so we had to decide where to go. Luckily there was a Jack In the Box close, so we were able to work in our quest!

Once they handed us the Oreo shake through the drive-thru window we were impressed. Not only was it covered with whipped cream, but there was a cherry on top. This was definitely the best looking fast-food shake! We gave it a 5 out of 5 for the impressive presentation!

The texture was alright, but i'd definitely say you should get a spoon if you order their shake. I almost gave myself a hernia trying to suck the Oreo chunks through the small straw. With the stipulation that you need a spoon it wasn't too shabby in the texture department, giving it a 3.

The larger of the sizes came up to about 4 bucks, and without sales tax it was a pretty good deal for what you got. You need to be hungry or willing to share to finish this puppy off, and its definitely dressed to impress. It got a 4.5 out of 5.

The taste was ... okay. It wasn't super vanilla-y, but the Oreo flavor seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the ice-cream. With that being said it's worth a try. It scored 3 out of 5.

The final tally was:

Presentation - 5
Price - 4.5
Taste - 3
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 4

Don't forget to see how Jack in the Box fares against it's competitors in the list. Also, if you've been to Jack in the Box or just have something to say just comment at the bottom! Seriously, we don't bite.

Nancy's Burgers

One day while we were in Oregon we were out and about around lunch time.  We decided that it was shake time.  We searched for a burger place and found Nancy's Burgers not too far away.  We stopped by there and hoped they had shakes.  They didn't have Oreo but they had a vanilla and you could add in Oreo pieces (pretty much the same thing, right?).  We ordered two burgers, a side of fries (regular size) and a shake.

The food was pretty good.  The burgers were big and juicy, but the fries were where it was at.  They were thick and cooked nicely and abundant.  The regular size definitely serves two very hungry people (we couldn't finish them all).
They even had fry sauce.  Yum!



Now on to the shake!
The shake was $3.95 + .25 for the Oreo mix-in.  We waited excitedly for the shake to arrive.

 First impression: disappointing.

Is this a soda or a shake?

The presentation was pathetic to say the least.  There was no presentation at all.  Never having seen a shake try so little we gave it a 1 out of 5.

The price wasn't too great because it was kind of small and the mix-in cost more.  We gave it a 2.5 out of 5.

The texture, sadly, was thin.  2 out of 5 again!

Check out this weirdly bent spoon!

Lastly, the taste wasn't that great either.  2 out of 5 because it wasn't very Oreo-y.

The total ended up being 1.875, one of the lowest scores yet.  Sad day!

Check out all the fries!!

So folks of the greater Salem/Keizer area, get some burgers and fries at Nancy's but skip the shake!  You'll thank me later.

The rundown:
Presentation -1
Price - 2.5
Taste - 2
Texture - 2

Grand total: 1.875

And remember we've eaten a ridiculous amount of shakes and you can always check out the master list here.

Fuddruckers

We figured we could incorporate the quest to our vacation to Oregon. My parents asked us where we wanted to eat for the lunch after the wedding and we subtly suggested Fuddruckers so we could try their Oreo shake. I had only been a couple of times growing up, We only went there for special occasions and stuff, and what's more special than my brothers wedding and Christmas!! 

Fuddruckers has always boasted "The World's Greatest Hamburgers" and while that might not be true (they do have good burgers though) I like that they have lots of different kinds of burgers (IE: ostrich burgers, buffalo burgers) even through I usually just stick with the standard cheeseburger. I also like their "toppings bar" where you just add however many pickles, tomatoes or whatever you want to your burger. They also have a bunch of condiment despensors where you can put on as much ketchup, barbeque sauce or honey mustard you want on your burger and fries. 

But we all know the real reason why you're reading this. To find out how their Oreo shake was! We were pretty exited because not only were they supposed to have "the wold's best hamburgers" but they also advertised "the worlds best shakes"! We had to find out it it was true!

The price was decent for what you got. It was pretty big and came with the extra shake in a metal cup! I don't recommend trying to finish it yourself, but with company it's just right! We were kinda surprised too because the food was kinda on the pricy side... It ended up with a 3 out of 5.

The presentation was pretty great. A 5 for the whipped cream and literal cherry on top. Naomi let me eat it and it was great! They had a pretty fancy glass too!

Taste was pretty good too. It was mixed pretty well and had plenty of flavor. it got a 4.

Texture was less than satisfactory earning it a 2.5. It was definitely made to be drunk. With the straw it was pretty obvious, but I would've liked a few more chunks.

All together it wasn't amazing and "the world's best shake" but it'd recommend it.

The totals came out to be:

Presentation - 5

Price - 3

Taste - 4

Texture - 3.625

Also, make sure to check out our full list of all the shakes we've tried and where they stand in the line-up.

Arctic Circle

Arctic Circle was one of our first stops on this shake filled journey. We mostly thought of it because of the constant ads (or circulars, as my wife would say). Don't get me wrong I love a dicounted shake and cheap ranch burgers as much as the other guy, but it was just about weekly when we lived down in Provo. But, can you blame em? They know their audience ...

Their food seems to be kind of a side note to their desserts. But, with a name like Arctic Circle it's kinda a given. So, suffice it to say, the bar was pretty high. Sorry to give it away, but they met those high expectations with the best Oreo shake from a major chain we've had so far.

We had never really eaten at Arctic Circle before, so we didn't really know what to expect. The food was surprisingly good for how cheap it was (it did help that we had some coupons). 

Much like the pictures the shake looked pretty good. Covered in Oreo pieces with the signature "above the rim" style in lived up to it's own hype. As far as chain burger places go this was the best lookin' shake giving it a 4.5.

Even without our buy one get one free coupon the shake was pretty decently priced. The shake wasn't too big for one person, but still gave you plenty to enjoy with or without a meal. It got a 4.

Taste wasn't as good with a 3.5. It wasn't Oreo-y enough for my liking. After we got though the top and the big Oreo chunks were got we were left with an "okay" Oreo shake.

 Texture hit it out of the ballpark. Just like the people you see on the ads holding the shake upside down it was thick and too much for any straw to handle. In addition to the big chunks on the top there were pieces throughout the shake landing it a 5 out of 5.

The total is:

Presentation - 4.5

Price - 4

Taste - 3.5

Texture - 5

Overall - 4.25

Check out our full list to see
where this shake sits on the list
of all the Oreo shakes we've had.

Fatburger

My company flew us out to Mandalay Bay on the strip in Vegas this weekend! Naomi's parents were super happy to take our 2 month old for the weekend too! We had a good time in all. The hotel room at Mandalay Bay was sweet.  It had an indoor aquarium and resort complete with palm trees and everything. Here's the view out of our window!

We rented a car (we got a Fiat). My wife loves Fiats (probably more than she should). She used to live by a Fiat factory in Italy and would see them all the time. We drove over to the M&M store and mall. After we parked we planned out where we should go for dinner. We settled on Fatburger this diner type burger place a little ways up the strip.
Much like Vegas, it was pretty crowded.

Their menu's a little different in that you only have one burger to choose from. You choose the size, what you want on it and with it. You could have the standard ketchup or BBQ sauce or even steak sauce on it. We got a couple of burgers, some onion rings and their Oreo cookies and cream shake. We were pretty exited with their international footprint in places like Beijing and Calgary so they had to be good! 

As a side note they seemed super helpful and

offered to get us some extra sauce, but it turns out 

that they confused their BBQ sauce with steak sauce ... 

On top of that I asked for some BBQ sauce and they didn't even bring it ...

The food was ... okay. The onion rings had pretty small pieces of onion in them and ended up being mostly batter. I got a large Fatburger and it was pretty good, but the patty fell apart while I was eating it! I understand when you have to worry about stuff falling out of your burger, but you shouldn't hafta worry about the meat and bread falling apart when you eat it. (Side note: their burgers go up to a pound and a half, so if you're really hungry this is the place.) Also, if money is no object then you can order anything; this place was kinda spendy. (But for being on the Strip in Las Vegas it is understandable.)



















So turning our attention to the milkshake.

For presentation, it did pretty well. They asked us if we wanted it with whipped cream. Apparently some people don't like  whipped cream. It came in a fancy-ish cup too so that was pretty cool. For that we gave it a 4 out of 5.

The price was less than satisfactory. It was 5 bucks for a shake, and it wasn't even that big ... I can see this at like a sit down restaurant for a shake in a fancy glass cup, but this shake was nothing to write home about so it scored a 1.5 because after all it is Vegas and everything seems to be crazy expensive ...

Taste was pretty good. As evidenced by it's darker color it was Oreo all the way through. It way pretty good, especially with the whipped cream so we gave it a 4.5.

Texture was alright. It was an interesting shake in the fact that it was intended to be eaten through a straw, but still had some large pieces of Oreo. That was cool, until you realize that the pieces get stuck and make it hard to get any shake ... It got a 2.5 out of 5.

The final score for Fatburger was:

Presentation - 4

Price - 1.5

Taste - 4.5

Texture - 2.5

Overall - 3.125

Check out our full list to see where this shake sits on the list of all the Oreo shakes we've had.