SHAKE IT UP, PHILLY-STYLE

Philadelphia Has A Milkshake For Every Taste & Every Occasion 

PHILADELPHIA, August 4, 2010 – Viva la bendy straw! It’s milkshake season, and in Philadelphia and The Countryside^®, the options for sweet frozen beverages are limitless. There are classic black-and-whites in hamburger havens and booze-infused whips in restau-bars. There are shakes with kid sensibilities and shakes made with a connoisseur’s cocoa content; shakes from far-flung lands and shakes blended harmoniously with locally made Tastykakes. The following is a look at a few of Philly’s coolest sips in town:

    Spiked Shakes:

• Leave it to a celebrity chef to reinvent the classics: Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace has three signature spiked shakes (Vanilla Caramel Bourbon, Pineapple Coconut Rum and Mocha Kahlua Vodka) in addition to a host of virgin shakes and malteds in tempting flavors like dark chocolate, pistachio and cola. 3925 Walnut Street, (215) 387-0378, bobbysburgerpalace.com
• The milkshakes at Mayfair’s Burger Bar at Gallo’s Seafood are spiced up with bourbon (the Caramel Bourbon shake) and Kahlua (the Knight Rider), but for the teetotalers, there are also more innocent shakes in flavors like Mudslide and Monkey Business. 8101 Roosevelt Boulevard, (215) 333-0484, gallos-seafood.com
• At PYT at The Piazza at Schmidts, the boozy ice cream cocktails are called “adultshakes,” with varieties like The Bubble Ohh (vanilla ice cream, jimmies and Three-O Bubble vodka), the Jon Valdez (espresso ice cream, Kahlua and Patron) and the ?uestlove, named for the famed Roots drummer (Frangelico, Bailey’s Irish Cream and vanilla ice cream). 1050 N. Hancock Street, (215) 964-9009, pytphilly.com
• There’s only one shake on the menu at Jose Garces’ Village Whiskey but the ’Nutter (more likely named for fluffernutter than Philly’s Mayor Michael Nutter) is a doozy, with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, bananas and Maker’s Mark. 118 S. 20^th Street, (215) 665-1088, villagewhiskey.com

    All-Ages Shakes:

• Those in need of a sugar rush can order a classic Bassett’s ice cream shake at Steve Poses’ Frog Burger outside of The Franklin Institute science museum, or they can request their shake with a decadent swirl of Frog Commissary’s famous carrot cake or chocolate fudge “killer cake.” 20^th Street & the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
• The nostalgia-themed local chain Nifty Fifty’s takes its shakes seriously, starting from homemade ice cream frothed in the style of old-time soda fountains. The result is a thick, spoon-supporting concoction in flavors both familiar and exotic (coconut, passion fruit, caramel apple, black forest cheesecake and Rocky Road, to name only a few) that’s won the restaurant a slew of best-of awards. Multiple locations. niftyfiftys.com
• The shakes at ice cream parlor Scoop DeVille are made with fat-free fro-yo (vanilla, chocolate, black cherry) sugar-free ice cream (vanilla) or old-fashioned ice cream (among the choices: butter pecan, Moose Tracks and rum raisin). All can be blended with a choice of dozens of mix-ins. 1734 Chestnut Street (215) 988-9992, scoopdeville.com
• Fishtown’s Sketch has become a destination not only for burger lovers but for shake-craving vegans and lactose-intolerants. In addition to real milk drinks, they serve dairy-free shakes in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chip and pistachio. 413 E. Girard Avenue (215) 634-3466, sketchburgers.com/menu
• As a park-side burger shack, SquareBurger is almost contractually required to serve great milkshakes, and they come in classic vanilla or chocolate (with or without malt) or Cake (with a monthly changing variety of Tastykakes blended in). 6^th & Race Streets, historicphiladelphia.org

Classic Shakes:

• In Philadelphia it doesn’t get more classic than Bassetts, the local ice cream company founded in 1861. Though many local eateries will make shakes from Bassett’s ice cream, it’s worth a trip to the Reading Terminal Market stand for the real thing in one of more than 40 flavors such as butterscotch vanilla, green tea or mocha chip. 12^th & Arch Streets, (215) 925-4315, bassettsicecream.com
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