Milkshakes are high key underrated. You might get asked pretty consistently to go get coffee, donuts, or even fro-yo (which is nothing but less enjoyable ice cream, don’t @ us) but despite being creamy and delicious, milkshakes are never even an option! The Boola is dedicated to changing this toxic milkshake-exclusionary culture once and for all. Read on to discover the good, the bad, and the ugly of milkshakes near campus.
*All prices listed w/ tax included
5. Ashley’s Ice Cream
Flavor: Coffee Oreo
Price: $6.25
Rating: 2/5
Ashley’s is a New Haven classic. Until Arethusa came along, it was the premiere spot for ice cream goers all over the Yale campus. With this lofty precedent, we went into Ashley’s as small town girls with big city dreams, but as in most movies, we realized the city wasn’t what we thought it would be.
To start, it’s worth mentioning that Ashley’s has a ton of great flavors of ice cream and you can choose any of them to have made into a milkshake. So we decided to go with coffee Oreo because as an ice cream flavor, it’s a real classic. From the get go, the milkshake was a really strange color–a weird gray rather than the creamy brown of the coffee Oreo ice cream. Once we sat down and had our first sips, our suspicions were confirmed–the milkshake was very milky and did not have a strong coffee flavor. It seems that they added too much milk and over blended it so that the flavor was mostly non existent and there were really only Oreo flakes rather than chunks. It was a decently large size, but since it was quite a thin consistency, it went by pretty fast. All in all, it was an okay milkshake experience, but if you’re in the mood for Ashley’s, we would suggest sticking with their ice cream!
4. Arethusa
Flavor: Coconut with dark chocolate chunks
Price: $6.91
Rating: 2.5/5
We know that some you will be shocked at how low on the list Arethusa is, and honestly, so are we! This place lowkey has the best ice cream in town–creamy, natural, with delicious waffle cones and massive portions. We went in with pretty high expectations, but unfortunately, our love for Arethusa did not extend to their milkshake.
Arethusa’s milkshakes come in regular or extra thiccc. We got the regular coconut with dark chocolate chunks because it’s Shireen’s favorite flavor and delicious in ice cream form. The milkshake was on the milkier side but not excessively so, and not very sweet. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Arethusa ice cream isn’t super sweet to begin with, which is amazing because it tastes more natural. However, when you thin it out even more with milk, it loses even more sweetness, and in our opinion, isn’t the super rich, satisfying experience you want a milkshake to be. We could definitely still taste the coconut, but all the chocolate chunks coagulated at the bottom. Overall, it was okay but not revolutionary. That being said, if you think regular milkshakes are too rich, you might love these.
3. Ben & Jerry’s
Flavor: Cookie cookie
Price: $6.90
Rating: 3/5
Ben & Jerry’s is a newcomer to the scene, having opened last year and is down on Temple Street which makes it not as prevalent on the Yale radar (because for some of y’all, anything past the New Haven Green is way too far of a walk). It is, however, a popular chain that is known for their fun, jam packed flavors and worth the walk to many. We can tell you now, that the milkshake we ordered met our expectations, but did not overly wow us.
The milkshake was not quite as thick as we like it, but it wasn’t too thin either. It was a pretty in the middle kind of consistency that would be good for people who do not like either extreme of milkshake thickness. The flavor was pretty mild, which wasn’t bad, just not what we expected considering that Ben & Jerry’s is known for their exciting, bold flavors. We thought the cookie flavor would punch us in the face, but it was really more of a mild caress. Overall, the milkshake got the job done and satisfied our cravings, but it’s not a very large size, fairly expensive, and a decent walk so definitely not at the top of our list.
2. Shake Shack
Flavor: Apple pie a la mode
Price : $6.16
Rating: 4.5/5
This milkshake was honestly a wild experience. It was super thick and creamy to begin with, and then had a scoop of ice cream sitting on the top (“a la mode”) with apple pie crumbles and whipped cream that melted while we were eating it so that it got even thicker. We had the best time of our lives.
Shake Shack has a lot of rotating flavors along with their basic menu, so there’s always something new to try. This particular shake was out of this world and had a really strong apple pie flavor: maybe a little extra, but definitely worth it for a special occasion. If you’re looking to treat yourself, Shake Shack is a great way to go! (Fair warning though–we tried to eat burgers after our shake and we were super full from all the cream and liquid. Make sure you pace yourself well if you’re trying to eat a full meal with this shake.)
1. Yorkside
Flavor: Moosetracks
Price: $5.85
Rating: 5/5 for general milkshakes, 4.5/5 for Moosetracks (we suggest the Cappuccino Crunch!)
The number one milkshake in the land (or at least within walking distance of campus)! As Carolina put it–damn good. This milkshake was the cheapest to begin with, but the portion size is honestly ridiculous. If you tell them to put it into two separate cups to share with a friend, they will do that for you– and then it’s only $2.93 a person! What a steal!!!
As far as taste, it’s the perfect consistency: creamy, but not overly so, with nicely distributed chunks of chocolate that burst with flavor in your mouth (too graphic? Maybe, but that’s how much we loved this!). Carolina didn’t like that a bunch of the chocolate chunks gathered at the bottom, but Shireen loved the rush of sugar at the end because she has trashy taste buds. We got moosetracks because the nice server told us that was the most popular flavor, and it was amazing. Our personal favorite flavor is the cappucino crunch, but these milkshakes are so affordable, you should try all the flavors to find your favorite!
