The Best Place to Get a Shake in Every State

This 37-year-old burger chain, with four locations in and around Birmingham, somehow manages to serve notable rich shakes made with low-fat ice cream. The peanut butter and banana shakes are particularly popular (and Hamburger Heaven will combine the two upon request).

Burgers and chicken are the mainstays here, but the milkshakes are favorites in the community and the whiteboard menu of more than 30 flavors offers such uncommon choices as huckleberry, watermelon, root beer, and piña colada, as well as more familiar options.

Burgers, fries, and shakes are the focus at The Stand. Salted dulce de leche and chocolate chile are among the offerings. “The shakes are to die for,” enthused one Foursquare user.

With five locations around Little Rock and elsewhere in Arkansas, this 30-year-old retro-style diner and soda fountain makes almost all the “best in every state” lists — specifically for its trademark purple vanilla shake. Chocolate/peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, and butterscotch are among the other choices.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians bought this roadside institution in the Coachella Valley from the founding Hadley family in 1999. The store sells a wide range of dates (from its own trees), nuts, candied fruit, honey and jam, and other food products, but its claim to fame is the date shake, a cold, creamy potion with a bit of nutmeg and banana added. It’s no wonder that the date shake has become the unofficial drink of nearby Palm Springs.

A Southern-accented breakfast-and-lunch restaurant using local and organic ingredients, Sassafras gets a little wild with its shakes. Cap’n Crunch, chocolate-dipped bacon, banana cream pie, and honey vanilla chai are some of the flavors available.

The shakes at this 1939-vintage ice cream parlor and café are made with Petersen’s own ice cream and syrups, mixed in an old-style Hamilton Beach machine, and served in a soda fountain glass with a stainless steel cup full of the overflow on the side. Petersen’s will make a shake from any one of its 40 ice cream flavors, but reports that vanilla is the most popular. (There is a second Petersen’s location in Old Lyme.)

The original location of Charcoal Pit has been serving “secret recipe” burgers and other diner fare as well as “old fashioned hand-dipped” shakes in frosted containers to local diners for 63 years (there is a newer site elsewhere in Wilmington). The shakes may be ordered “triple thick” — and the triple-thick strawberry version has been hailed in particular.

Cousteau owner Stephen DiMares’s father and grandfather once worked overhauling famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau’s boat the Calypso, and DiMares named his Belgian waffle milkshake shop after the celebrated Frenchman. His menu items, however, are named for places and characters in the Bill Murray movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” Among the specialty milkshakes that means things like the Papa Steve (blackberry cheesecake and homemade blackberry sauce), the Be Still Cody (chocolate with espresso, mocha sauce, and espresso whipped cream), and the Pele Dos Santos (vanilla with bananas and Nutella).

In addition to the standard flavors, Leopold’s — owned by Hollywood producer Stratton Leopold (“Mission: Impossible III,” “The Wolfman”), son of the parlor’s founder — will make a shake from any of its ice cream flavors. These include tutti frutti, rum bisque, lemon custard, honey almond and cream, and (around the holidays) eggnog and frozen hot cocoa.

This diner and music venue may be known for its cocktails and craft beers, but it takes its shakes seriously, too, offering such flavors as chai tea, Oreo cookie, coconut, banana, English toffee, and Nutella. All can be made in vegan versions — and there’s also the option of adding a shot of liquor to any one of them.

“Old-time burgers and shakes” promises the sign on the front of Fanci Freeze, in business at its original location since 1947 (there is a new outpost in Meridian, west of Boise). What the place brags are “Idaho’s best milkshakes” come in almost 50 flavors. Bubble gum, Butterfinger, grasshopper, M&M, graham cracker, Reese’s, and Snickers are just some of the possibilities. Order a Boston shake and get a shake topped with a sundae.

Edzo’s features burgers and dogs plus 10 variations on fries (garlic, buffalo, truffle, etc.) — but their hand-dipped shakes in such flavors as Oreo, maple, coffee, pumpkin pie, and taffy apple, also win acclaim (not least because they cost less than $5, a bargain in milkshake terms).

With locations in the Indianapolis area (plus a food truck for catering), Bub’s advertises its “old school top quality burgers and ice cream.” The former include an elk burger as well as the standard ground chuck — both available in four sizes, from a two-ounce “Mini Bub” up to a one-pound “Big Ugly.” The hand-dipped shakes range from chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla to cookie dough, cinnamon crumb, and praline pecan, among others.

An Iowa City institution that dates its origins to 1948, the Hamburg Inn (now with two locations) is a must-stop for politicians campaigning in Iowa, and is the home of the Coffee Bean Caucus, in which customers drop a bean into the jar bearing their favored candidate’s name. Seven flavors of shakes are offered, from butterscotch to strawberry, with add-ins (Reese’s Pieces, Peanut M&Ms, etc.) available. Then there’s a house invention — the Pie Shake, which has been called the best dessert in Iowa: Any one of the homemade pies on offer can be blended into a shake.

This family-run and family-friendly soda fountain with a marble counter, in business since 1932, serves highly rated milkshakes in such flavors as chocolate and strawberry but also hot fudge coffee and hot fudge caramel.

Appearing on many “best milkshake” lists, Tolly-Ho, founded in 1971, is a 24-hour-a-day burger, sandwich, and breakfast place. Its shakes include the classic vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate varieties, any of which may be customized with such additions as Oreos, peanut butter, Nutella, or banana pudding.

With two locations in New Orleans and one in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, this acclaimed dessert shop will create shakes out of any of its ice creams. The menu always includes such unusual flavors as café au lait, Creole cream cheese, and red velvet, along with an immense array of ever-changing seasonal selections, including azuki bean, coffee pecan brittle, goat cheese and mission fig, pear and balsamic caramel, and Thai basil coconut.

Duckfat fries and other duck-related dishes might be the specialty here, but this Portland hotspot takes great pride in its shakes, too, based on local Fiasco gelato. “The Original” Duckfat Milkshake involves vanilla gelato, crème anglaise, and fresh Tahitian vanilla bean. Other possibilities include blueberry and buttermilk, homemade cookies and cream, and sea-salted duck fat caramel.

Burgers and beer are the watchwords at the Abbey Burger restaurants — two in Baltimore and one in the resort town of Ocean City on the Atlantic Coast — but the shakes are a featured item, too. Classic versions are available only in chocolate, vanilla, or Berger cookie — made with the iconic Baltimore confection of that name, a cookie with a thick fudge frosting. The menu also lists five spiked shakes, including one made with the cookies themselves as well as Berger cookie ice cream, vanilla vodka, and Godiva liqueur.

Just outside Fenway Park and a longtime favorite of Red Sox fans — its burger became the team’s official one in 2014 — Tasty Burger serves just five kinds of milkshake: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, coffee, and the Green Monster, a mint chocolate chip ice cream shake named for the ballpark’s notorious high left field wall. (The same choices are also available at the restaurant’s three other Boston locations.)

An old-fashioned drive-in, opened in 1958 and still featuring ’50s-style carhop service in the summer months, Don’s is a traditionalist in the shake department. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cherry are the standard flavors (Traverse City is cherry country), with the option to mix in pieces of actual fruit — strawberry, cherry, and other seasonal specials.

“ABSOLUTELY get the shake!” urged one Yelp reviewer. “Buy the malt and dip your fries in it,” recommended another. Some 17 versions — all malts — are available, served in a glass with a canister of the leftovers on the side. Wild blueberry, wild cherry, Butterfinger, chocolate-banana, and honey are among the choices.

Opened as a pharmacy and soda fountain in 1946, Brent’s lost the pharmacy part in 2009 when that side of the business was sold. Shakes remain a major attraction at the old-style counter. The classics are supplemented with such creations as the Ginger Finger (Butterfingers, ginger syrup, and vanilla ice cream) and the Ray au Lait (Mississippi Cold Drip coffee, vanilla ice cream, and vanilla syrup). Add-ins include various candy bars and syrups and even hot fudge.

This St. Louis landmark dates its beginnings back to 1929, when Ted Drewes Sr. opened a frozen custard shop in Florida, before moving on to establish his first place in St. Louis the following year. There are now two locations in the city, both selling sundaes, floats, shakes, and malts. The specialty, however, invented by Drewes in 1959, is the “concrete” — a shake or malt so thick that it won’t fall out if the cup is turned upside down. Among the many versions are the Fox Treat (hot fudge, raspberries, and macadamia nuts), the Dutchman (chocolate, butterscotch, and pecans), and the Lemon Crumb (vanilla custard, lemon cream, and graham crackers). More than 30 add-ins and toppings are available, too.

Homemade ice cream is the foundation for the shakes here. In addition to the usual flavors, Big Dipper makes White Mint Oreo, El Salvador coffee, black licorice, Mexican chocolate, and vanilla-Reese’s, along with seasonal specialties. Shakes are available made with chai or espresso in place of milk.

The original Bronco’s, opened in 1959, was Omaha’s first locally owned and operated fast-food restaurant. Today, there are two locations, both serving breakfast, burgers, and chicken dinners, as well as milkshakes. The restaurant keeps things simple in that last regard, offering just chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla — the shakes are not meant to be desserts in their own right but classical accompaniments to the burgers.

A basic diner, famous for its burgers, Beefy’s offers milkshakes to “make your mustache smile.” A dozen options are available, the more unusual of them being almond, rosewater, and maple bacon. As an alternative, Beefy’s will also sell customers vanilla ice cream with a beer on the side.

In addition to such shakes as chocolate, peanut butter, and sea salt/caramel/pretzel, Brgr Bar serves “adult” milkshakes, like the Painkiller (coconut rum, pineapple, nutmeg, and a dark rum float) and the Thin Mint (brownie bits, chocolate syrup, rum, and peppermint schnapps). There is an outpost of Brgr Bar in Portland, Maine, with another New Hampshire location in the works.

Holsten’s, descended from an ice cream parlor that opened under another name in 1939, is famous in pop culture as the scene of the final, ambiguous moments of the HBO series “The Sopranos.” It’s also renowned for its milkshakes, based on homemade ice cream in numerous flavors. These include vanilla chip, vanilla fudge, coffee chip, maple walnut, rum raisin, and various monthly specials.

This Santa Fe favorite may be “dedicated to the preservation of the original green chile cheeseburger,” as its website declares, but it’s also known for its thick, creamy Adobe Mud Shakes. Made with organic Taos Cow ice cream, the possibilities range from standard vanilla to lavender, piñon caramel, or Mexican chocolate.

This Harlem hotspot — its Wall of Fame includes autographed photos of such notable customers as Samuel L. Jackson, Janet Jackson, Maya Angelou, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Fallon — serves shakes made with organic Blue Marble ice cream. Besides vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, the menu offers such alternatives as salted caramel, peanut butter, double chocolate bacon, and the eponymous Harlem Shake, made with red velvet cake.

Homemade ice cream is the basis for the shakes at this family-run establishment just west of Charlotte. More than 25 choices are offered, including such uncommon flavors as chocolate Butterfinger, banana pudding, Almond Joy, and cherry cheesecake.

A 50-year-old, 1950s-style German-American restaurant with locations in Fargo and three other North Dakota cities, Kroll’s is known for its All Shook Up Shakes, served in metal canisters. Among the flavors are brownie, cappuccino, hot fudge, M&M, and pineapple.

Not long after Tommy’s opened as a seven-seat soda fountain in 1972, Rolling Stone hailed it for having the “Best Milkshake East of the Mississippi.” Today, in its current location, it seats 125 people and continues to produce excellent milkshakes in flavors including peach, cherry, root beer, and black raspberry chip, as well as seasonal flavors. Tommy’s also offers yogurt milkshakes and two flavors (chocolate and vanilla) of vegan Tofutti shakes.

The onion burger — in which thin-sliced onions are pressed into the ground meat — is an Oklahoma specialty dating from the 1920s. Tucker’s, with three locations in Oklahoma City and one in nearby Norman, dates only from 2011, but its version of the specialty are well-regarded, and its hand-dipped shakes are considered the perfect accompaniment. There’s not a lot of variety — just chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry plus rotating seasonal flavors (like birthday cake, on the menu now to celebrate the restaurant’s 10th anniversary).

With two locations in communities south of Portland, Mike’s offers shakes made from soft-serve ice cream, in such flavors as Hershey chocolate, Mayan chocolate, marshmallow root beer, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup coffee latte, and hot fudge banana peanut butter Oreo. Low-fat yogurt shakes are also available.

“[W]e obsess over our recipes in order to create magical milkshake experiences,” brags the Milk Shake Factory on its website. In addition to six flavors of classic shake, six dairy-free vegan versions, and six signature shakes (chocolate peanut butter, cookies & cream, etc.), the Factory suggests a dozen different gourmet milkshakes — among them caramel macchiato (cold-brew coffee, caramel, whipped cream, and espresso sea salt caramel) and fried ice cream (vanilla with clover honey, sugar, and cinnamon, topped with whipped cream, fried ice cream sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry).

A mini-chain with 10 Rhode Island locations and two in Massachusetts, Newport Creamery grew out of a dairy business opened in Newport in 1928. The owners got into the ice cream trade in 1940, opening a “milk bar” in Middletown, next door to Newport, and grew their empire from there. The food menu is extensive today — burgers, quesadillas, 10 grilled cheese variations, chicken sandwiches, and more — but the Awful Awful shakes are a signature. Happily, the phrase is short for “awful big, awful good.” Flavors include cotton candy, bubble gum, Choc O’ Nutter, and strawberry banana chip — and if you can drink three, you get a fourth one free.

Shakes here are made with three scoops of Greenwood vanilla bean ice cream, enhanced with anything from chocolate syrup to a shot of espresso, pieces of candy bar (Heath Bar, Butterfinger, or Reese’s), or pretzels, caramel, and sea salt. Kaminsky’s has two Charleston area cafés and one in Columbia.

This old-style diner with its menu of burgers, sandwiches, dinner dishes, and all-day breakfasts offers standard shakes, variations with Heath Bars and Oreos (among other things) and a menu of Crazy Shakes. These include the Elvis (peanut butter, honey, and bananas), the Emmanomnom (chocolate, M&Ms, and cookie dough bits), and the Whatchamaycallit (chocolate, caramel, Rice Krispies, and peanuts).

Shakes come in three categories here: Signature shakes (literally over-the-top combinations crowned with everything from glazed doughnuts to a whole banana to a slice of cheesecake), kids’ shakes (a smaller selection of variations in a similar style), and Create Your Own. That last category offers 20-plus kinds of ice cream, including Southern blackberry cobbler, chocolate birthday cake, and chocolate peanut butter cookie dough, as well as more conventional flavors. Add-ins range from whipped cream and several sweet sauces to crushed potato chips, gummy worms, and crushed waffle cone. And there’s an option to add “dessert” — including a jumbo marshmallow and chocolate-drizzled bacon as well as the aforementioned doughnut, banana, or cheesecake.

This family-run operation in a suburb of Houston serves grilled cheese sandwiches and waffles, but the star of the menu is the milkshake section. There are 33 flavors “and so much more!” listed, and customers are invited to customize their shakes. Chill’s own offerings, besides the Plain Janes (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry), include Nutter Butter, banana cream pie, pistachio almond, German chocolate, cinnamon sugar, and sangria.

Conventional milkshakes were on the menu when the first Iceberg opened in 1960. Customers asked for thicker shakes, though, and owner Lamar Sorensen responded by developing his “famous thick shakes” — the kind you couldn’t sip through a straw. Almost 50 varieties are available, including boysenberry, grape, lemon custard, grasshopper, Snickers, caramel cashew, and rocky road. (There are now two Iceberg locations in Salt Lake City, including the original, and five more around Utah — as well as seven Shake Shop outposts, under the same ownership, in California and Arizona.)

It may be owned by the massive multinational corporation Unilever, but Ben & Jerry’s remains a Vermont institution and a point of pride for locals. Its factory in Waterbury, just northwest of the state capital in Montpelier, offers guided tours, a “flavor graveyard” complete with headstones commemorating discontinued flavors, and a Flavor Fanatic Experience that gives visitors the chance to help make their own ice cream. There’s also an ice cream shop, of course, at which not just ice cream itself but milkshakes — reliably said to be the best in Vermont — are served. All the classic Ben & Jerry’s flavors are available in shake form — Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby, Chunky Monkey, Gimme S’more, and the rest.

This Richmond standby, open since 1946, serves an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. Locals seem to agree, however, with its claim that it also serves “Richmond’s best milkshakes!” About two dozen variations are offered, among them orange sherbet, fresh banana, Dreamsicle, chocolate chip cookie dough, and pecan pralines ‘n cream.

At its four locations in Seattle and one in Gig Harbor (near Tacoma), LunchBox Lab features “hand pressed American Kobe Beef burgers and Snoqualmie Ice Cream Shakes.” The handspun shakes include Straight-Up Vanilla, Boston Cream Donut, and Nesquick chocolate, with such add-ins as chocolate ganache, custard, fudge, or marshmallow cream. Shakes spiked with Kahlúa, Malibu Coconut rum, and other spirits are available, too.

Bramwell is a picturesque turn-of-the-century town that was once home to more millionaires than any other town of its size — 4,000 — in America, and the Corner Shop is an appropriately old-fashioned soda fountain. Ice cream — and by extension milkshake — options here include butter pecan, peach, black raspberry, and customers usually heap particular praise on the rich, chocolatey Mountain Mudslide shake.

Founded in 1948 as an A&W Root Beer outlet, Ardy & Ed’s gained its current name and evolved into an independent drive-in in 1972. Basket lunches, burgers, dogs, and other drive-in fare are featured, but the milkshakes have been named among Wisconsin’s best. “Malts are made with REAL malted milk powder!” promises the menu. Based on Cedar Crest ice cream, the shakes include root beer, marshmallow, butterscotch, and hot fudge, among other flavors.

A faux-retro diner with two Casper locations, Johnny J’s serves shakes and malts in more than a dozen flavors, including such combinations as strawberry marshmallow, chocolate banana pineapple, and lime mint chocolate chip. They’re all hand-dipped, and customers are free to combine flavors. Most shakes can also be made with sugar-free ice cream.