You can’t go to Bear Lake (UT/ID) without stopping for a famous raspberry shake in Garden City! The problem is, which restaurant really has the BEST raspberry shake??? It seems like everyone has a different opinion, is it La Beau’s, Hometown, Jake’s, Merlins, Zipz, Quick-N-Tasty, or even Chevron? We decided to line up the suspects and have The Great Bear Lake Raspberry Shake Showdown!
About the judges –
Since I know we all have different taste buds and something that might be out of the world delicious to me, may be meh to you. I thought I’d describe how the judges taste buds differ (with chocolate), hopefully you can identify with one.
- Jenny – (a long time friend) is a dark chocolate lover and will typically avoid milk chocolate.
- Mace – (husband) isn’t a huge sweets guy, loves spice and likes milk or dark chocolate.
- Amy – (myself) loves milk chocolate and will avoid dark chocolate if at all possible.
Setting up the Showdown –
Ideally we would have all of the shakes lined up immediately after being served, however there is a little distance between restaurants and varying wait times. We did the best we could and brought an ice chest to keep the first ones cold (we did sneak a bite or two)! We held the showdown on Labor Day Weekend and there was quite a crowd at Bear Lake.
Chevron is the furthest one from the others, just up the hill a little on highway 89 (as if going back to Logan). The rest of the restaurants are within a couple blocks from each other. We first bought the Chevron raspberry shake, then divided up to get the others and met at a central location for the showdown.
First shake eliminated is Merlin’s, I guess they had a fire and had to close down for repairs. Maybe next year 😉
We measured shake:
- Wait from the time of order until it was served
- Price* and size (this is a bit of a guess because some of the shakes are over the top and some have a cup for ‘extra’). *Prices given include sales tax
- Texture, thickness
- Raspberry flavor
- Overall taste
Chevron Raspberry Shake
It’s not super obvious that they sell raspberry shakes inside but they do along with burgers, fries, etc.
- Time to get shake: 2 minutes 18 seconds
- Price: $4.84
- The ice cream used to make the chevron raspberry shake is hard ice cream. The shake isn’t too thick or too thin and the raspberries are mixed in pretty consistently, although there were streaks of white throughout.
- The raspberry flavor is right on.
- The overall taste was very delicious.
Jake’s Place
Jake’s place is kitty corner from Raspberry Square.
- Time to get shake: 4 minutes 21 seconds
- Price: $4.69
- The ice cream used to make the raspberry shake is hard ice cream. The shake is nice and thick, the ice cream is a little more pink than some of the others. The raspberries are mixed in consistently.
- The raspberry flavor is mild and sweet.
- The overall taste was delicious.
Quick ‘N’ Tasty
Quick ‘N’ Tasty is in Raspberry Square and one of the first buildings you see when you come to the ‘T’ from Hwy 89.
- Time to get shake: 11 minutes 48 seconds – longest
- Price: $4.00
- The raspberry shake is on the thin side compared to the others. The raspberry is fairly consistent through out.
- Raspberry flavor is weak.
- The overall taste was good. The Quick ‘N’ Tasty raspberry shake had the least amount of raspberry flavor, but the vanilla ice cream was yummy.
Zipz
Zipz is across the street from Quick ‘N’ Tasty and right next to Le Beau’s. They call themselves the ‘least’ famous 🙂 but their decor is really fun!
- Time to get shake: 2 minutes 5 seconds – fastest
- Price: $3.81
- Zipz ice cream is thick and creamy.
- The raspberry flavor is different, tastes like raspberry flavoring.
- Zipz definitely wins for the cutest presentation and the spoon is cool. The overall taste was ok. We think their other shakes would be great, because we like the ice cream texture, but the raspberry flavor wasn’t our favorite.
La Beau’s
La Beau’s is next to Zipz and is known for the famous “Original” Fresh Bear Lake Raspberry Shake.
- Time to get shake: 10 minutes 55 seconds
- Price: $4.62
- The shake isn’t too thick or too thin and the raspberries are mixed in consistently
- The raspberry flavor is good.
- The overall taste was delicious.
Hometown
Hometown is north 1 block from La Beau’s, you can’t miss the bright yellow sign.
- Time to get shake: 4 minutes 1 second
- Price: $3.63
- The shake is nice and thick. The raspberries are mixed in consistently.
- The raspberry flavor is right on.
- The overall taste was very delicious.
The Great Bear Lake Raspberry Shake Showdown Results
- Time – Zipz wins the fastest shake award at 2 minutes 5 seconds, but the Chevron was a close second at 2 minutes 18 seconds.
- Price – Hometown is the cheapest for a shake at $3.63. Zipz is the best value, you get the most ice cream/$ around $.21/oz. However out of our favorite flavor places; La Beau’s and Chevron both end up around $.23/oz. Hometown ends up at around $.26/oz.
The Best Taste Bear Lake Raspberry Shake Winner
This overall taste final result is surprising to me, we couldn’t pick a clear winner between us. The best Raspberry Shake depends on each judges taste buds.
- Jenny loved the Chevron Raspberry Shake the best with Hometown coming in 2nd.
- Mace loved La Beau’s Raspberry Shake the best with Chevron coming in 2nd.
- Amy loved Chevron’s Raspberry Shake the best with La Beau’s coming in 2nd.
So there you have it, we hope you get to enjoy a refreshing Bear Lake Raspberry Shake soon!!!
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