Waukee Chain Milkshake-off Review

While food chains across Waukee each have their own unique menus, milkshakes are a consistent staple that can be found at most. We visited five local ice cream locations to discover which one has the best milkshake in Waukee.

Culvers:  6/10

Our first stop of the day was Culver’s. One thing that immediately set Culver’s apart was their signature custard used in place of ice cream in the shake. This gave the shake a unique taste and texture that made Culver’s stand out. However, the chocolate syrup was very poorly blended into the custard. This made the shake’s flavor quite inconsistent; Overwhelmingly rich chocolate in one sip, and bland and flavorless the next. 

Tilynne Cartmill, a junior at Northwest, said, “[The shake] is not blended very good, I drank pure chocolate syrup.” 

The customer service was good, and there was no wait. We ordered a medium shake, and it was easily the smallest shake we tried, despite it being one of the most expensive.

BBops: 8/10

Our next stop was the staple Iowa fast food chain, BBops. Their customer service was great, and the wait was virtually nonexistent. For the sake of consistency, we only ordered chocolate shakes, but at Bbop’s, that is the only option available. With only one flavor, Bbop’s had the smallest flavor selection out of all the places we visited. 

Haleigh Sovara, a Crew Member at Bbop’s, said, “I think a lot of people are okay with [the shakes] only being chocolate because of how good they are.”

Despite being the cheapest shake we ordered, Bbop’s shake was easily the largest. The shake was one of the best-tasting ones we tried; the chocolate was rich, and the texture was very smooth. However, we did agree that the Bbop’s shake had a strange aftertaste that was different from the other four we sampled.

Waukee Ice Cream Shoppe: 8.5/10

Next, we went to the Waukee Ice Cream Shoppe. This shop was decorated with pink and cows. Located in the heart of downtown Waukee, this creamery is a popular place to stop for a sweet treat. Despite their popularity, the customer service was top-notch, and we had a very short wait. The milkshake was creamy and tasted similar to Hershey’s chocolate syrup. 

Noah Kohtz, a Waukee Ice Cream Shoppe employee, stated, “We have so many different flavors of soft serve that not a lot of other places have, our ice cream is top-notch quality and we put our best effort into making it every time.” 

Waukee Ice Cream Shoppe certainly stood out from its competitors. The rich chocolate flavor was easily the best-tasting shake we tried all day. It was smaller than the Bbop’s shake and almost double the price. Despite the price, the quality and taste of the shake made this our favorite one we tried. 

Home Sweet Cone: 6.5/10

Home Sweet Cone is primarily known for their hard scooped ice cream with their daily rotating unique flavors. While their hard-scooped ice cream flavors caused Home Sweet Cone to stand out, their chocolate shake was distinctly unimpressive.

Central Standard: 4/10

Our final stop was Central Standard. This was the only non-fast food restaurant we visited, so we expected the shake to be on the pricier side. However, the quality of the shake did not reflect the high price. The shake may have once been really good, but recent changes have caused a sharp decline in quality. The shakes are now served in plastic cups much smaller than the glass ones they used to be in. This cut down on the toppings and presentation of the shake, which used to be a defining characteristic of Central Standard’s shakes. Despite this, Central Standard still managed to have the most unique selection of flavors. To stay consistent, we ordered the chocolate shake, which was underwhelming and almost watery in consistency.