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...

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.

Homemade

When we were planning our trip to Oregon for the holiday season, we mentioned our continuation of this quest. My dad had the great idea of making our own Oreo shakes and see how good we could do. We agreed, and when we came down we headed to a couple store where my dad had found sales on Tillamok ice-cream and Oreos. We got Vanilla and Cookies and Cream ice-cream and double-stuf, peanut-butter, and chocolate Oreos! We also had some extra whipped cream as well as strawberry, carmel, mint chocolate and chocolate hazelnut syrup from my brother's wedding (the waffle bar that is). We also had some left over heavy cream from my sister-in-law's french toast casserole for Christmas morning! This was either gonna be the best shake experience to date, or we would go into a sugar coma and get diabetes. It was worth the risk so we started blending!

I started out by making us a by making an Oreo shake consisting of:

Chocolate Oreos

Cookies and Cream ice-cream

Chocolate Hazelnut syrup

Heavy Cream

2% milk

Excluding the numbers I thought I'd take a stab at judging it.

For price it ended up being kinda expensive for a shake with all of the Oreos and ice-cream we bought. That being said we got a lot of the ingredients for free so it wasn't too bad considering. Seeing as my whole family had multiple shakes (and maybe some Oreos on the side) it wasn't too bad for all of the ingredients.

Presentation was pretty good. We forgot to get some maraschino cherries to put on top, but with the whipped cream on top it looked pretty nice.

Taste was the best I've had! It wasn't a traditional Oreo shake by any stretch of the imagination, but it was amazing! I'll go into detail of why it was so good good in my eyes in a little bit.

Here's what I did:

1. I started with a Cookies and Cream ice-cream base which gave it a nice flavor right off the bat.

2. I added some milk, but most importantly lots of heavy cream. This shake wasn't gonna win any nutrition awards, but the cream gave it a nice full, smooth flavor. It was silky smooth, and although the overall texture was still pretty poor, it definitely wasn't watery!

3. I blended some Chocolate (why not right...) Oreos thoroughly, giving it a rich Oreo flavor throughout.

4. I then broke up some Oreos and added more ice-cream, and mixed it by hand. This gave it lots of chunks and really added to it's over all Oreo flavor. It helped with the texture, because from my experience, you just can't make a chunky, thick milkshake in a blender. But I knew this going in, so I did my best to give it chunks and make it thick.

5. Finally I poured it into the cups (we used tiny ones so we could have more shakes!) and enjoyed!

So, like I said, texture wasn't ideal. It probably could've been drunk through a straw if it wasn't for all of the chunks. The pieces of Oreo did really add to the texture, and without it i'm sure it would've suffered.

Next my wife decided we should make a traditional "Oreo shake" with vanilla and original "double-stuffed" Oreos. I followed the same procedure as with the first and it turned out pretty good. Maybe not the best Oreo shake we've had, but probably the best tasting. Especially with the heavy cream!

We were sugared out by the end of the second shake, but the next day me and my dad made some more. It was great to spend time as a family doing what we do best, enjoying freshly made Oreo shakes!

Let us know how you make shakes? Be sure to comment and let us know! Also check out our list of the 69 and counting Oreo shakes we've had so far.

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.

Shari's

When my little sister heard about this adventure we had embarked on she suggested Shari's. I grew up going to Shari's (it's like an Applebee's type diner). I hadn't even thought about it in regards to Oreo shakes, but sure enough they had one! and they even have delicious Pie shake! (which we didn't rate...but we will!)

When we were in Oregon visiting my family for Christmas we took my little sister and headed over to Shari's to continue our quest. Because, after all, there's never any reason not to quest!

We sat down and ordered the Oreo shake.

In addition we got the S'more Pie Shake. Although it's not really an Oreo shake it was super tasty, and I would highly recommend it and any other of their pie shakes. Maybe in my next life I'll go on a pie shake quest.

Back to the Oreo shake...

When they brought it out I was impressed.

It was in a tall glass with the extra in it's metal mixing cup. With the whipped cream it easily scored a 4 in the presentation area.

The price was pretty reasonable for what you got. A lot of shake! The shake itself was pretty big but combined with its sidekick in a metal cup I would recommend sharing it! It received a 3.5.

The taste was amazing! It was Oreo through and through. It scored a perfect 5.

As for texture, It left a lot to be wanted. If you're looking for a shake you can drink this is a good choice, but it wasn't the thick, chunky shake I was looking for. It only scored a 2 for texture.


The scoring goes as follows:

Presentation - 4
Price - 3.5
Taste - 5
Texture - 2
Overall it was:
3.625

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