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

BYU Creamery

So, BYU Creamery is another place we decided to return to. We gave it a 4 the first time we sampled their cookies and cream shake. This time we decided to be more thorough (and take pictures).

We picked the BYU Creamery because, well, we were in Provo and figured we should go somewhere we couldn't go anywhere else.



The main reason we visited Provo was for the Provo City Center temple open house. It was awesome! We took Cora, and she seemed to really like looking around! It was a great first time at the temple experience. She may not remember it, but i'm sure we will!

We also went south so Naomi could get a haircut from Brice's new bride. Renee did a great job too! She took most of it off! Naomi wanted to donate it to lock of love. As you can tell it's quite a difference!

So, I think I forgot how ridiculously crowded it always is at the BYU Creamery... It was packed! And not only college students from the Y. There were a lot of families with young kids! I also failed to remember that it was a cookies and cream shake and not an Oreo one. Sometimes this in tomato, tomoto but it is a pretty significant difference often!

The food was pretty good though. Our fries were definitely not curly but they tasted good. Plus the come in these crazy fry stands with a place for your dipping sauce. It's pretty cool. The burgers were okay, kinda small, but okay.

Brice was happy to eat with us though!

The shake came out and we had to quickly take a picture before it melted and overflowed onto the table. We quickly snapped a couple and licked the extra shake off the sides.

It was pretty good. Definitely made with cookies and cream ice-cream. It was pretty rich and definitely had the flavor throughout. As far as Oreo taste though it didn't have any chunks of the cookie. All in all we gave it a 3 for taste.

Presentation was alright. They didn't go to any measures to make it above and beyond your average shake like whipped cream or a cherry on top. That being said, it did come in a nice BYU Creamery styrofoam cup. It is also notable that it was overflowing with shake. It ended up with a 3.5 out of 5.

As far as texture goes it got a 2.5 out of 5 because, it wasn't very thick. It was definitely "over the rim" but as you can tell it wouldn't have lasted long in that state... As far as thinner spoon shakes in was nice and creamy, but with the lack of texture or and chunks at all it was less than perfect in that area.

Price was pretty descent at $3.20 for a small and $4.20 for a large. I don't know what happened to medium... Anyways, we got a large which was plenty for two people eating lunch. The definitely tried to had extra value with the overflowing ice-cream too. we gave it a 3.5.

Presentation - 3.5
Price - 3.5
Taste - 3
Texture - 2.5
Overall - 3.125

It definitely didn't get the same score as the 4 we gave it the first time, but i'm pretty confident we did a better job this time. What do you think?

Also make sure to take a gander at our master list of all 66 shake places we've been to!

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

Provo Hospital

My former roommate Jordan, who also suggested S.O.S. Drug Store recommended another unorthodox place to go for an Oreo shake, the hospital. We've heard they have fairly good eats, but I didn't think we'd ever go out of our way to get hospital food...

It's pretty centrally located in Provo... because... well... it's a hospital... We walked in and it wasn't very busy for around dinner time. Come to think of it, it was probably because most of the food is brought to hospital rooms. We ordered an Oreo shake and sat down.

Full disclosure, it was like 3 years ago and I can't remember how the shake was... That's why we rate them. If we had a photographic shake memory then there would be no need. But this is real life, and after over 70 shakes in addition to this one we're a little foggy on the detail. Suffice it to say...

Presentation - 3
Price - 4
Taste - 4
Texture - 4
Overall - 3.75

It's definitely worth a trip. Maybe only one or two because it would get awkward after a while... Depending on how many disguises you have...

Also, feel free to let us know what other unsuspecting places have Oreo shakes.

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.

S.O.S. Drug Store

We make a habit of asking pretty much anyone who will listen where the best shakes around are if we  happen to tell them about our quest. One of these people was my roommate Jordan. He suggested this hole-in-the wall pharmacy. Yeah you heard me right pharmacy... We had to check it out.

In the midst of downtown Springville, nestled in between a couple other stores was S.O.S Drug Store. But seriously, we almost missed it, it was so inconspicuous...

This place was awesome. I almost want to move to Springville just to give me an excuse to frequent this place. It had an awesome old-timey feel complete with swivel bar stools at a 50's-esque counter. It was strait out of a period film with it's Coca Cola memorabilia and old photographs.

They didn't have Oreo, but we figured cookies and cream was close enough. Some times the name brand isn't all that important.

The shake was nothing special in the presentation arena. It didn't even have a fancy-ish cup. Although it's not pictured here (I just found a picture of a shake from S.O.S) it looks pretty much the same. Because of this it scored a 2.5.

Texture wasn't amazing but it was a thin spoon shake. Probably too much for a straw, but it still wasn't anything impressive. It got a 3.5.

Taste was better landing it with a 4. I'd definitely chalk it up to using cookies and cream ice cream rather than vanilla. Just sayin'...

But the price knocked all the other shakes out of the water! At $2.25 it was definitely worth it. It was an averaged sized shake, and I can't remember, but I don't think it came in different sizes. Naturally it scored a 5.5. If you want the best bang for your buck, this is the place!

Let us know if there are any other pharmacies or gas stations that have awesome Oreo shakes. Also, check out our master list and reorganize the columns for price, or whatever category and see what's near you.

Presentation - 2.5
Price - 5.5
Taste - 4
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.875

Baskin Robbins

On this quest double feature we're putting Baskin Robbins' Oreo shakes up to the test. When we first stepped inside we had no idea there where more than one to choose from. But naturally, we had to get them both!

(Also as a side note if you didn't realize it, there's a pink 31 in the "BR"!!! Seriously though, for the longest time I wondered why they changed their logo to a two-toned odd looking "BR". Then I saw their advertisement for the 31 below shakes and my mind was blown. They used the same font as the pink 31 and I made the connection! So now I tell everyone of my newly found knowledge of "the secret of the Baskin Robbins logo" and I feel pretty smart. It's the little things in life..."

So, they have two Oreo branded shakes. Their Oreo cookies and cream shake, and their Oreo malt. I have to admit I was kinda exited!

First off we have the Oreo Shake. Unlike this nice picture from the web it was pretty average. It did have a nice looking cup and didn't look like a ghetto soda like some... It ended up with a 3.

Texture was... not great. It was good if you're lookin' for a straw shake, but if you're looking for a thick, chunky shake keep moving... We gave it a 2.

It also got a 2 for price. Like many other things on the menu it was a little more spendy than it should have been. It was pretty good sized though, and after eating two, fairly sweet shakes we weren't feeling so good. Naomi was pregnant too so in retrospect trying to eat two shakes on an empty stomach was the best idea i've ever had... (it also didn't help the baby really liked the shake and kept kicking while she was trying to eat).

Taste was way good. It was super Oreo-y throughout and using cookies and cream ice-cream helped instead of the Oreos with vanilla ice-cream and earned a 4.5!

Next up the Oreo malt. It was made from the Oreo Malt Madness ice-cream.

It had a pretty similar texture and like it's brother was made for a straw not a spoon. It got a 2 as well.

The price tag was also the same leaving it with a 2.

Presentation was about the same too with nothing really out of the ordinary. It was also given a 3 out of 5.

Taste however was slightly different with a 4 out of 5. It didn't have the distinct Oreo flavor that we were looking for. As a side note it was a lot more chocolatey and because of that I actually liked it more, but this is an Oreo shake quest not a chocolate shake quest.

The final scores are:

Oreo cookies and cream shake

Oreo malt

Presentation - 3

Presentation - 3

Price - 2

Price - 2

Taste - 4.5

Taste - 4

Texture - 2

Texture - 2

2.875                 -               Overall             -             2.75

With a Baskin Robbins in every town I'm sure some of our readers have stepped inside this fine establishment. And, maybe even ordered a shake or two. Comment and let us know if our assessment is realistic, or if you had a different experience. 

Also see where these shakes fall on our master list.