Eagerly anticipating a trip to the fun and doting grandparents’ house is something we think of children doing, but one couple’s doggo proves that visiting the “grandpawrents” is just as exciting.
In a TikTok video that’s been viewed nearly 30 million times, dog owners Skylar and Deko are nearing the end of a 20-hour drive from Phoenix to Kansas City, Missouri. Their good doggo named Nosh, sits in the backseat, looking out the front window.
Suddenly, Skylar asks Nosh if he wants to go visit Safta and Boppa, the nicknames of his grandparents, and he immediately reacts. You can practically hear him say, “Whut? Grandma and Grandpa? Are you serious?!? OMG, I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!!! When are we gonna get there?!?” only it comes out as a series of squeals and whimpers and sneezy woofs of joy.
Seriously, what did Safta and Boppa do to earn this kind of reaction to their names being spoken?
The other video got a “sensitive content warning” because of the end… but why?? 😂 #repost #dogsofttiktok #dogs #australiancattledog #blueheeler #acd #heeler #cattledog
That flop for the belly rub immediately upon seeing Grandpa? And the “I’m so excited to see you I gotta pee” moment? Too much.
“He always reacts like this to his grandparents,” Skylar told Newsweek, “whether it’s been months or only a few hours since he has seen them last.”
She said they waited until they were five minutes away to tell him, and he acted like this for the full five minutes until they arrived. It’s no wonder they waited until they were almost there to tell Nosh where they were going. Can you imagine making him wait any longer?
Skylar shared another video that demonstrates the love between Nosh and his favorite people.
Anyone else’s dog love grandma and grandpa more than anyone else? 😂❤️ #blueheeler #australiancattledog #acd #dog #heeler #cattledog
In case you’re wondering what kind of dog Nosh is, he’s an Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Blue Heeler. (A real-life Bluey, if you will.) You can see even more videos of his excitement over going to the grandparents’ house on Skylar’s TikTok channel here.
Ahhh, siblings. Sometimes they’re your best friends and other times your living room turns into an MMA octagon over the remote control. If you grew up with brothers and sisters, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be an only child. (That’s not to say you didn’t dream about it when your sister stole your favorite shirt for the 30th time.)
But not everyone has siblings, so it can be equally as hard for someone who grew up as an only child to picture what it would be like to have them. Only children also likely had moments where they dreamt of having a little brother or sister, not realizing the literal torment siblings can inflict on each other.
TikTok creator Lonnie IIV recently posted a video of himself with two other friends seemingly out to lunch, when the girl in the group asked what it was like to grow up with siblings. In less than a minute she realized she lucked out being an only child because her two guy friends gave her a crash course in sibling behavior.
In the clip, Lonnie asked if she wanted her drink but then promptly told her she didn’t want it before swirling his fingers around in her cup. This prompted the other friend to throw his balled-up straw paper at her before repeatedly dipping chopsticks into her soup. The woman just laughed and looked seemingly confused at the nonsense her guy friends were displaying. Of course, no sibling experience would be complete without the classic “stop touching me” added for a little pizzazz.
“She got an entire childhood in less than a minute,” one user wrote.
A different user said, “This is so accurate.”
Other commenters started sharing the things they did to their siblings or vice versa. The comment thread was full of childhood sibling…nostalgia? Seems weird to look back on those memories with fondness, yet here we are.
Honestly, my brother used to ask if he could have a bite of my food, and when I said no, he would just lick it before asking again. In turn, when my brothers wouldn’t let me play video games with them, I would pinch my arm until it turned red and run out of the room crying to tell my mom they hit me.
Kids are weird sometimes and thankfully there are usually doses of love in between. But if you grew up with siblings, you’ll likely appreciate the video below. Or it’ll give you flashbacks. It’s a toss-up. If you don’t have siblings, you may feel the need to have us evaluated. We turned out alright…mostly.
Most people today will never even reach age 98, much less see themselves win an award for work they did at that age. But Dick Van Dyke has done both, making history as the oldest Daytime Emmy winner for his role on an episode of “Days of Our Lives” at 18 months shy of 100. He took home the 2024 award for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Drama Series for playing Timothy Robicheaux, an amnesiac “mystery man” on the long-running soap opera.
As impressive as that achievement is, it’s Van Dyke’s jaunt down the red carpet at the awards show that has people cheering.
He didn’t just walk the carpet. He practically danced down it.
His hair and beard may be snowy white and he may use a cane to help him get around, but there’s no mistaking the signature pep in his step. As the “Put the Telly On” X account shared, “Dick Van Dyke, 98, is going to live until he’s 180. This is his world and we’re just living in it.”
Watch:
— (@)
Van Dyke is no stranger to awards for his television work, having won four Primetime Emmys for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and the “Van Dyke and Company” variety show. This is his second Daytime Emmy win—he won his last one 40 years ago.
“I don’t believe this. I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” he said. “I’m 98 years old. Can you believe it? This really tops off a lifetime of 80 years in the business. If I had known I would have lived this long I would’ve taken better care of myself.”
Most people would agree that he seems to have taken quite good care of himself considering how vital he still is at age 98. He has credited his wife, Arlene, his positive attitude and his habits of movement for his aging so well.
And he’s still not done. He told Entertainment Tonight that he’s still on a mission to win an Oscar so he can claim the coveted EGOT status, winning an Emmy, a Grammy, and Oscar and Tony award. But even if he doesn’t get there, three out of the four most prestigious awards is an incredible feat for one career.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saSat5_1-BY#:~:text=At%20the%20age%20of%2098,can%20officially%20have%20EGOT%20status. expand=1 site_id=19596302]Dick Van Dyke chats with ET’s Deidre Behar after winning Outstanding Guest on a Daytime Drama Series for ‘Days of Our Lives’ at the 51st Daytime Emmy Awards….
A gay man is getting some love for the way he handled a straight woman at a bar who behaved rather entitled towards him. A Reddit user named KineticVibes was out with his friends when he noticed a woman trying to get his attention.
“I (25M) was out with friends last night and we went to a bar. This girl made eye contact with me when I walked in and I smiled at her. Me being a gay man I thought nothing of it,” KineticVibes wrote.
The woman approached him after realizing he wasn’t reacting to her flirtations from across the bar. “About 20 minutes later, the same girl walks up to my friends and me, and it’s clear she is very drunk and says to me, ‘Do you want to buy me a drink?’ To which I replied, ‘No, sorry, I’m here just to hang with my friends,’” he continued.
She was clearly taking an aggressive approach by walking up and asking him to buy her a drink. Why didn’t she just ask what he was drinking and buy him a drink instead? She also unintentionally put him in a very uncomfortable spot because he didn’t want to tell her he was gay.
Even though it’s 2024 and people are a lot more accepting of people’s sexuality, you never know when a drunk person in the bar will have a problem with someone being gay and try to start a fight. “I am still not totally comfortable telling any old stranger on first meeting that I’m gay—so this seemed like the best course of action for me,” KineticVibes wrote.
Even though he was polite, the girl kept prodding him.
“She looks rejected and a bit frustrated now behind her glossy eyes and says, ‘A pretty girl wants to drink with you and you say no?’ Now I’m getting frustrated, and I kind of snap and say, ‘Well, I’m gay, so pretty girls don’t work on me.’”
“She snarkily laughs and says, ‘Well, if you ever decide to date women, let me know,’ to which I very snappily reply, ‘If you ever decide to become a man, let me know,’” KineticVibes said. The quick-witted response made his friends a bit uncomfortable.
“You could tell it embarrassed her and my friends all kind of got mad at me, saying that I should have patience and be nicer,” he concluded the story.
But did he need to be nicer to the woman? She tried to make eye contact, but he didn’t respond. Then she asked him to buy her a drink, to which he said no, politely. She then doubled down and asked why he wouldn’t buy one for her because she was pretty. Just about everyone in the comments on the story thinks he did the right thing by responding to her snark with a bit of sass. “I would’ve bought you a drink after that. Handling with humor 10/10,” A_Bull_Nuts responded.
Others thought the woman acted entitled by demanding a drink and got what she deserved. “If she was a dude, people would call her an incel for behaving like she’s entitled to anyone’s attention. It’s not cute when dudes do it. It’s not cute when dudettes do it,” NotSoBunny wrote.
“This is what I came here to say… She reeks of entitlement! She put herself out there and got shot down and then doubled down. She may not be a man, but she’s got a huge set of balls demanding a stranger pay her way,” formiddabble-opponent added.
The WNBA is exploding in popularity and taking huge strides in terms of being part of the general sports conversation this year (for betterand worse, at times). A lot of the conversation is driven by Caitlin Clark’s popularity, as every move made by the Indiana Fever’s star rookie is being scrutinized and put under the microscope, but she’s joined in this year’s rookie class by the likes of Angel Reese and Cameron Brink, who entered the league with plenty of fanfare themselves.
Clark and Reese have developed a healthy rivalry dating back to their college days, as Reese’s LSU beat Clark’s Iowa for the national title in 2023, with Clark and the Hawkeyes exacting revenge in the Elite Eight this year. Now, as rookies, their games are marquee events when the Fever and the Chicago Sky meet, and that rich history of NCAA Tournament battles allowed for a foundation to already be there for a WNBA rivalry.
Some have compared it to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird’s arrival in the NBA, as they pushed the league to new heights of popularity thanks to their rivalry with the Lakers and Celtics — that started with a national championship game showdown when they were at Michigan State and Indiana State respectively. Johnson himself has heard the comparisons and told Jimmy Kimmel this past weekend that he agrees with the comps (4:30 mark of the above video), noting they’re elevating the league’s popularity immediately but now have to prove themselves against the WNBA’s established stars.
“We have to understand that both Caitlin, Angel, and [Cameron] Brink, who plays for my Sparks, they made the WNBA better,” Johnson told Kimmel. “And they’re going to be tested by these incredible women who have been in the league for a long time. Caitlin is the most popular WNBA player at this time. Just like Larry and I were not the best NBA players when we entered the league. We became the best later on by our play. Caitlin still has to play great to become the best WNBA player.”
Johnson also suggested Clark talk with Larry Bird, who would have some unique insight into her situation as someone from Indiana who once was in a very similar position when he arrived in Boston. Magic also said Caitlin could call him for advice, but felt Bird would be uniquely qualified to help her navigate things where she is now in Indiana.
50 Cent’s breakout hit “In Da Club” isn’t the only song to get the AI remix treatment today. Remakes of faves from Eminem, Tupac, UGK, and more were remade in the style of 1950s doo-wop and rock hits, and are going viral on social media as fans are delighted by the juxtaposition of modern lyrics and songwriting philosophies with sounds that evoke a more wholesome time — at least, in comparison.
After all, rock and roll stars like Chuck Berry and Little Richard were plenty controversial in their day, much the same way Eminem drew fire for his deliberately provocative lyrics. Singers like Sam Cooke tackled divisive sociopolitical topics the same way Tupac did, and it’s important to remember that even Elvis — the original Eminem — were largely considered sex symbols whose work was too racy for the relatively conservative climate of the midcentury, even if they’re considered pretty tame by today’s standards. Check out some of the remakes below.
Lil Wayne: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799284198005706961/video/1
Tupac: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799548625107718366/video/1
Eminem: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799656245974225099/video/1
Ugk: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799670328399974413/video/1
Young Thug: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799865845876703405/video/1
50 Cent: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1799895616765694195/video/1
Sisqo: https://twitter.com/AllHHSessions/status/1800049570568913201/video/1
AI in music has been considered a bit of a hot topic recently, with AI-generated songs drawing both derision and acclaim as the works become more popular. However, there are still plenty of fans and music industry professionals who see a need for legislation to control how and when AI can be used, before it’s too late.
Feel however you want about celebrity tequila, but one thing is for certain, it’s not going anywhere. The list of celebrities who own (or have owned) their own tequila is a long one, too long to name everyone but if you’re curious, here are a few: Kendall Jenner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, George Clooney, Guy Fieri, Kevin Hart, Rita Ora, Michael Jordan, The Chainsmokers — you get the point.
People are quick to write off celebrity brands and while there are a lot of bad bottles out there, enough gems exist that I wouldn’t immediately write off a brand just because it’s celebrity-owned. But given that there are so many celebrity brands and so many brands of tequila in general, do we really need another? In theory… no. But at the end of the day, as a tequila fan and drinker, my only concern is whether the tequila I’m drinking tastes good.
So when I heard that Matthew and Camila McConaughey had launched a new brand of tequila, I can’t say I was excited. But when I found out that it was being produced at NOM 1614, home of brands like Tres Agaves and Cazcanes (two brands I’d drink and recommend in a heartbeat, especially the latter), my interest grew.
Then when I found out that the brand was called “Pantalones,” I was even more intrigued. If you’re not aware, “Pantalones,” is Spanish for “Pants.” I’ve seen this brand get a lot of flack on the internet for calling its tequila “Pants,” but I love it. Is it stupid? Yes, but this is a Matthew McConaughey tequila — would you have it any other way? It feels remarkably on-brand and true to the personality behind it.
This is a man who was once arrested in the middle of the night following a noise complaint, where officers found him dancing naked in his home with bongo drums and lots of marijuana. A man whose voice instantly rings “Alright, alright, alright” in your head when you hear his name. He is absolutely the person to name his brand Pantalones. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
On the Pantalones website, Matthew and Camila did the whole riding-on-a-motocycle-through-agave-fields trope, the most pervasive and annoying cliche in celebrity tequila. But midway through the video, they ride around pants-less, which shows me that the McConaughey’s are self-aware. I appreciate that.
I was also pleased to learn that Matthew McConaughey first met his wife Camila at the Hyde Club on Sunset Boulevard while he was making a margarita. They struck up a conversation, and the rest is history. She’s now “the only woman he wants to make a margarita for,” so the pair owning a tequila brand feels like a true point of passion, rather than something a financial advisor suggested because every other celebrity is doing it (though, that might be part of it too).
So given the pedigree of the NOM and McConaughey’s humor and passion for the product, my expectations are pretty high. Let’s dive in to Pantalones.
Bottle Design
Dane Rivera
Bottle design doesn’t make or break a tequila, but I do think it’s important. I like a cylindrical bottle that isn’t too tall. I find them easier to pour, easier to display, and they require less shelf space. Pantalones went the opposite route.
The bottle here is short and stout. The label design is great, it has that old-world design quality and indicates that it’s 100% agave and organic. We would’ve loved to see “additive-free” on there instead of an organic designation, but as far as we know, no celebrity brand has jumped on the additive-free bandwagon yet, so this isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.
The bottle is pretty simple but an embossed agave plant is on the back with a pair of pants underneath. Again, I appreciate the dose of silliness. All in all the bottle design is fine. It’s not annoying or intrusive, it’s not gimmicky or overthought. It’s going to look great on your cart or counter, and that’s always a good thing.
Now, on to the taste! I’ll start from least to most aged expressions.
We already covered the NOM, so here is what else you need to know. Pantalones’ tequila blanco is made from 100% blue Weber agave that is cooked in a high-pressure autoclave, roller mill extracted, and fermented in open-air stainless steel tanks before being twice distilled in a stainless pot with a copper coil.
Since its release, the tequila has scooped up a variety of awards, including Gold at the 2024 SF World Spirits Competition and L.A. Spirits Awards, and Gold at the Sip Awards.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Surprisingly herbal on the nose with a mix of roasted agave tones and a hint of floral honey sweetness.
Palate: I’m getting a mostly vegetal agave base, some light minerality, and a dash of vanilla with a nice gentle burn.
Finish: Strong spice on the finish. I like the bite on this one, there is a bit of mint to tamp down some of that spiciness.
The Bottom Line:
Agave forward with some herbaceousness and a spicy finish. Shootable, sippable, but I think where this will shine best is in a cocktail.
For its repo, Pantalones ages its tequila in American Oak Whiskey barrels for 9 months. Like the blanco, the reposado has gathered up a few awards as well, including the Double Gold at Sip, Silver from L.A. Spirits, and Bronze at the SF World Spirits Competition.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Heavy, and I mean heavy on the cinnamon here. I’m not getting any agave whatsoever on the nose, which is a shame.
Palate: Sweet and smoothed out. I’m tasting maple syrup, vanilla cake, shaved sugary coconut, and a lot of vanilla.
Finish: That spiciness from the blanco is tamped down here, replaced with a layer of vanilla, and a light hint of oak.
The Bottom Line:
A little too smoothed out and sweet to my liking. I’m sure it’ll make for a people-pleaser at parties. But if you like the more biting qualities of tequila, you’re not going to find a lot of that here.
For Pantalones añejo, the tequila is aged for 15 months in American Oak Whiskey barrels. Another award winner, Pantalones añejo has received Double Gold at
World Spirits and the Sip Awards. The relatively light aging (añejos are aged anywhere between 1-3 years) results in a faint straw color that is just a shade darker than the reposado.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Surprisingly, that cinnamon quality of the reposado is gone here. Instead, I’m getting mostly a mix of caramel and vanilla with a hint of
chocolate.
Palate: Rich vanilla and brown sugar largely dominate the flavor here. It has a noticeable dessert-like quality to it. I almost want to pour it on a fresh scoop of vanilla with chocolate sauce.
Finish: Smooth with some butterscotch, and a prominent oak finish. Unfortunately, all the spice from the other two expressions is completely gone here. This is going for dessert-toned and hitting that mark hard.
The Bottom Line:
Syrupy sweet and smooth. It has a palpable whiskey quality to it, which might be your thing, but its lacking in agave character.
Final Thoughts:
Pantalones sits comfortably amongst the best in celebrity-branded tequilas. Having said that, if you’re a seasoned tequila drinker who makes a point of staying clear of celebrity brands, this isn’t going to convince you otherwise.
It’s a good, people-pleasing tequila made at a distillery that consistently produces great brands. But if you were hoping for a budget version of Cazcanes, it doesn’t quite reach that level.
Seasoned tequila drinkers aren’t going to find a lot to like in the aged expressions, but if you’re a casual drinker who is looking for something that goes down smooth and is pleasing to the palate, you’re going to dig this.
The stand-out bottle is without a doubt the blanco, which features a lot of biting agave character and slaps your taste buds with spicy character that is a true joy to drink.
It’s starting to feel like summer. If the graduation ceremonies, backyard BBQs, music festivals, beach days, warmer temperatures, and the growing itch to travel weren’t indication enough, you’re probably beginning to have an insatiable appetite for a thick and luxurious chocolate shake. What better — and more delicious — indication of summer exists than that?
Few snacks can hit the spot like a cold brain-freeze-inducing chocolate shake. It’s rich, decadent, and satisfying in a way that no other flavor is, it is the quintessential milkshake flavor. One of those rare snacks that cause you to throw caution to the wind — in this case, the caution in question is calorie and sugar content — as soon as it hits your palate, igniting your senses in pure ecstasy.
So to honor the world’s greatest milkshake flavor, we’re naming and ranking the 20 best chocolate milkshakes in all of fast food. There are a lot of chocolate milkshakes out there, and we want you to have only the very best, so if you’re looking for an unforgettably delicious experience, allow us to guide you to the absolute best milkshakes on offer.
16. McDonald’s — McCafe Chocolate Shake
McDonald
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
It pains me to put McDonald’s at the bottom of any list but we need to accept that McDonald’s stock milkshakes just aren’t good. If you want a good dessert from McDonald’s, go with a McFlurry.
The regular milkshake’s weak point is the syrup and the way it mixes with the vanilla soft-serve base. Once mixed up, this milkshake is watery and loose, and it just doesn’t taste chocolatey enough for me. The chocolate is so faint that it’s distracting. You can’t help but wonder “Where is the chocolate?” while drinking this.
The Bottom Line:
This milkshake has nothing going for it. The flavor is bland and the consistency is watery.
15. Burger King — BK Cafe Chocolate Shake
Burger King
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Only slightly better than McDonald’s. The BK Cafe Chocolate Shake has a flat, lifeless chocolate flavor over a creamy base. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it “thiccccccc,” but it’s not nearly as watery as what McDonald’s has.
If someone is for some reason forcing you to order a milkshake at Burger King, you’d be better served by ordering the Oreo cookie version. The inclusion of Oreos makes this marginally better by thickening up the shake and giving it some texture.
The Bottom Line:
Bottom tier sh*t. Ignore it unless it’s free.
14. Johnny Rockets — Hershey’s Chocolate Shake
Johnny Rockets
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Johnny Rockets is a strange place because it’s got one foot in the past and one fit in the present, so eating here can cause some cognitive dissonance. Looking at your surroundings, everything about this place screams 1950s. And yet, they play contemporary music over the speakers. Sipping a milkshake in a 1950s diner while Dua Lipa blasts through the room is a weird, weird experience.
As far as shakes go, this is just fine. It’s made with Hershey’s chocolate syrup blended with vanilla ice cream. It tastes homemade, yet low-effort at the same time. Nothing about the flavor jumped out at me or tasted special. It’s simply a stock chocolate milkshake that you probably could’ve made at home.
The Bottom Line:
It’s not really worth the money. You come to Johnny Rockets for the vibes, not the food.
13. Carl’s Jr. — Hand-Scooped Chocolate Ice Cream
Carl
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Generally, I’m a fan of Carl’s Jr’s milkshakes. They’re made with real scoops of ice cream instead of syrup or powdered flavoring over a soft-serve vanilla base. But the chocolate flavor is easily the weakest of the bunch.
The flavor is chalky and bland, it lacks the richness you expect from a chocolate milkshake. It tastes similar to a Hershey bar, intensely sweet, but more like sugar than actual chocolate.
The Bottom Line:
Don’t let this relatively low ranking dissuade you from ordering a Carl’s Jr. milkshake. Just don’t order the chocolate flavor.
12. Wendy’s — Chocolate Frosty
Wendy
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
I’m going to catch some heat for this one but the Chocolate Frosty is mid. Yes, it’s thick, I’ll admit that it has that going for it, but the flavor tastes like someone mixed Nesquik into some blended ice and called it a day.
It’s not rich, creamy, milky, or particularly chocolatey. It’s just thick. It tastes more like sweet ice than chocolate, and that’s a problem.
Having said all that, it makes for a delicious French fry dip. With an infusion of hot, salty, and buttery potato, this shake tastes amazing. Unfortunately for the Frosty, this isn’t an article about the best milkshakes to dip french fries into, though that’s a pretty good article idea, so we’ll circle back one day on that!
The Bottom Line:
A delicious thick fry dip, but as a shake? It just doesn’t stand out.
11. Del Taco — Chocolate Shake
Del Taco
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Del Taco Strawberry Shake is one of my favorite strawberry milkshakes of all time. Order that. But this? It misses the mark. For whatever reason, this milkshake just tastes bland and flavorless to me.
The thickness is locked in, but the chocolate itself tastes chalky and muddled, offering only the tiniest echoes of cocoa over a mostly milky flavor.
The Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for Del Taco’s best dessert, order the Strawberry milkshake (it has real strawberries). If you’re looking for a good chocolate shake, look elsewhere.
10. Steak n’ Shake — Chocolate Classic Milkshake
Steak N Shake
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Steak n Shake’s milkshakes are rich, thick, and super creamy. Imagine a scoop of Dutch chocolate ice cream, but drinkable, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what the Steak n Shake Chocolate milkshake tastes like. The brand makes its milkshakes with real ice cream, and each comes topped with whipped cream and a cherry. I love to mix the whipped cream into the chocolate to enhance sweetness.
It’s a good milkshake, but here is the thing, Steak n Shake is all about the mix-ins. You can add Snickers, Kit Kats, Nutella, Cotton Candy, M&Ms —a whole bunch of great snacks that add a nice sense of texture to this milkshake. Why wouldn’t you get the mix-ins? Because those mix-ins are readily available, it makes the simple chocolate milkshake come across as tasting basic. I won’t hold that against it for this ranking, but I can’t see myself ordering the plain chocolate anytime soon.
The Bottom Line:
A solid, good, but not great, chocolate milkshake.
9. Dave’s Hot Chicken — Chocolate Shake
Dane Rivera
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The flavor here is great, it features notes of rich earthy cocoa with a milk-chocolate aftertaste. Unfortunately, the consistency is too watery. A great shake is thick and luxurious, but this comes across as, well, loose. Do you find “loose” an off-putting way to describe a milkshake? I’m willing to bet you do, now just imagine experiencing said looseness in your mouth.
It’s enough to make me never want to order this milkshake again, which is a shame because again, the flavor was great.
The Bottom Line:
Great flavor, but bad consistency.
8. Sonic Chocolate Classic Shake
Sonic
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Sonic has the exact same issue as Steak n’ Shake. The milkshakes here are thick as hell, that’s a great thing, but they offer more mix-ins than most fast food chains, which begs the question: why would you ever order just chocolate?
You’re supposed to use the three classic flavors (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) as a base to build upon. What sounds better, a plain chocolate shake, or a chocolate shake with banana, a strawberry, and some graham cracker dust? Sonic allows you to take a regular milkshake and turn it into a gourmet experience.
As a standalone chocolate milkshake, it’s merely good. Thick, rich, intensely sweet, yet somehow boring given the amount of options Sonic offers you to
elevate it.
The Bottom Line:
Again, this isn’t a place to come for a plain milkshake. Go nuts with the mix-ins, think of the chocolate as a base to build upon.
7. Jack in the Box — Chocolate Shake
Jack in the Box
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Here is the thing about the Jack in the Box Chocolate Shake — it’s good, but the Oreo Milkshake is better. That makes ordering this feel like a bit of a compromise.
If you are willing to order it though, what you’ll get is a toasted semi-sweet chocolate flavor over a thick vanilla base. It offers a nice balance between its sweetness and more bitter and complex cocoa notes.
The Bottom Line:
Not good enough to blow you away, but it’s worth ordering if you want something sweet but you’re not in the mood for the Oreo Milkshake.
6. Arby’s Chocolate Shake
Arby
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Because it’s a brand that is so easy to make fun of, it’s easy to forget that Arby’s is pretty good at what it makes. This milkshake is wonderfully chocolate forward, it’s creamy, with a caramelized sugar and cocoa flavor, and a finish like smooth velvet.
Arby’s uses Ghirardelli chocolate to flavor this shake before drizzling more Ghirardelli chocolate syrup on top of the whole thing. The only thing holding this shake back is the consistency, which isn’t nearly as thick as you want it to be. If it was just a bit thicker, it’d easily jump up a few spots on this list.
The Bottom Line:
Arby’s has nailed the flavor, but they need to work on the thickness of this shake for it to really shine.
5. Dairy Queen — Chocolate Malt
DQ
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Malts are where it’s at! The Dairy Queen Chocolate Malt features a blend of chocolate syrup, milk, malted milk powder, and soft serve ice cream, resulting in a thick milkshake that tastes better and better with each sip.
The chocolate isn’t particularly interesting, you can expect a sweet Hershey’s-like milk chocolate flavor, but the consistency somehow makes it come across as richer. Just be sure to ask for the milkshake malted, because otherwise, you’re getting the stock blend which really puts into focus how one-note the chocolate syrup is.
The Bottom Line:
Get it malted! A great milkshake, but far from the best.
4. Chick-fil-A — Chocolate Milkshake
Chick Fil A
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
The Chick-fil-A menu on the whole is remarkably consistent. Every food the brand makes, they do it well, and that extends to the milkshakes. This milkshake is thick and flavorful, well-balanced between sweet and bitter notes, with a toasted cocoa flavor, hints of coffee bean, and a sweet vanilla finish.
I like the flavor a lot, but it’s just a bit too faint. The milkshakes are made using the chain’s Ice Cream soft serve, and that creamy flavor dominates the overall experience. This would have to be a bit more chocolate-forward to really wow us.
The Bottom Line:
A great chocolate milkshake, but it’s probably Chick-fil-A’s weakest flavor overall.
3. In-N-Out Chocolate Milkshake
In N Out
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
In-N-Out’s chocolate milkshake is a weird one. One on hand, I think it’s great. It’s my go-to flavor at In-N-Out and as far as I’m concerned a must-order. But, it doesn’t really taste all that much like chocolate.
The cocoa flavor is so faint that it barely registers on the taste buds, but the consistency of the milkshake is luxuriously thick and has this unique and distinctly In-N-Out flavor that makes it delicious in its own right. But it would be wrong to rank it any higher than this. Even where it stands now feels a bit too high.
The Bottom Line:
A great milkshake, but I’m not sure it’s a particularly good chocolate milkshake if that makes sense. It’s thick and wonderful to sip on, but the flavor is very faint and leaves a lot to be desired.
2. Five Guys — Chocolate Milkshake
Dane Rivera
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Five Guys gets a lot of shit for being offensively expensive but, credit where credit is due, they make some damn good food. There are only four things on the menu, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and shakes and all four are top-of-the-line. Name another fast food chain that is this consistently great across the board!
One sip is enough to make you exclaim “Wow!” no matter how jaded and joyless your existence is. This milkshake actually starts to taste better the longer you sip on it, and that’s a rarity. Generally, milkshakes taste great for the first 10 or so sips and then they start to melt and become a chore to finish. Not this one though, it stays delicious throughout the whole experience!
Five Guys blends Ghirardelli chocolate in a thick creamy vanilla base and doubles down with some fudge mixed in, which occasionally comes bursting through the straw with a rich and heavy flavor. Imagine the best milk chocolate you’ve ever had, but drinkable.
Throughout this list, I’ve criticized many milkshakes as being plain and boring when mix-ins are an option, and at Five Guys you can mix everything from bananas to strawberries to bacon to elevate your experience. Even with all of that on hand, I think nothing hits quite like the plain chocolate.
The Bottom Line:
One of the greatest chocolate milkshakes in all of fast food. It’s heaven for chocolate lovers.
1. Shake Shack — Chocolate Shake (Malted)
Dane Rivera
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Here we are at our number one pick — Shake Shack’s Malted Chocolate Milkshake. The flavor is remarkably complex. Layers of rich cocoa hit your palate first before an earthy brown sugar flavor takes over with nutty and toasted notes that melt on the tongue.
The chocolate seeps deep into your taste buds and completely takes over your senses. It’s unlike any other milkshake you’ll find in fast food.
That’s probably because it’s malted, but be sure an ask for this when you’re ordering, because the typical Shake Shack milkshake isn’t made with the malted milk powder. That malted powder really deepens and enriches the flavors, without it this milkshake would’ve barely made the top five. But be warned, once you have a malted milkshake, anything other milkshake not malted will ultimately taste like it’s missing something.
The Bottom Line:
With a name like “Shake Shack,” they better have the best damn milkshake in all of fast food. And it is, but just make sure to get it malted if you want the ultimate experience.
Jay-Z may have thought he was helping with a pledge to donate $300 million in scholarships to Philadelphia students, but fans say he’s doing more harm than good. The billionaire rapper, who has dedicated himself to social causes with what he clearly hopes is an endearing fervor, saw his efforts backfire among fans on social media over the weekend, as many questioned why he dedicated that money to private school vouchers rather than improving the quality of public schools in Philly.
For some background, Philadelphia’s public school system has been in dire straits for some time, with old and decaying buildings not up to code, overworked teachers, and a lack of funding contributing to some of the worst outcomes nationwide — which have led to more defunding of the schools, which only exacerbates the existing problems. Meanwhile, charter schools have been criticized for churning out results that are effectively no better, with teachers that may not even be properly credentialed, specialized curriculums that could leave students unprepared for higher education and the workforce, and a selective system that allows for “underperforming” students to be booted from the schools entirely to keep test scores high.
Fans on X (RIP Twitter.com) criticized Jay’s involvement in the voucher program, pointing out that Jay is effectively playing out an Abbott Elementary storyline in real life.
Not Jay-Z funding the Abbott children to move to Legendary Charter Schools instead of funding Abbott https://t.co/50fpbooDmj
1. This is not good, it’s public school money to charter schools 2. Jay-Z isn’t donating $300 million; he’s the face of an event to lobby the state to spend it 3. Jeff Yass is coordinating this 4. THE SCHOLARSHIPS DON’T EXIST
I really wish rich, out-of-touch folks who nothing about education would just stop. 1) Read the fine print. THIS IS A GOVT VOUCHER PROGRAM. Voucher programs have not been shown to improve results for poor Black children because most cannot get into high-quality private schools.… https://t.co/EAvAGFuYo1
fun fact: Philadelphia’s public schools were gutted over 20 years ago when the commonwealth overtook our district. the influx of “education firms” created an environment of competition for charter schools which have been proven to teach the kids just as poorly as the public ones. https://t.co/7G6OXunymk
— Big Gatto (she/ her) (@dopegirlfresh) June 7, 2024
Please, Jay, just watch the show. There are public school teachers who could use that support.
While she was being praised as cultural icon Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke was battling her own horrors in the form of two brain aneurysms.
Clarke has opened up before about her harrowing medical emergency, which happened while she was filming the hit HBO series. At the time, she was afraid that she could possibly lose her job because of it.
The actress told Big Issue, “When you have a brain injury, because it alters your sense of self on such a dramatic level, all of the insecurities you have going into the workplace quadruple overnight,” Clarke said.
Those insecurities included a fear of being fired from the popular fantasy series. She added, “The first fear we all had was, ‘Oh my God, am I going to get fired? Am I going to get fired because they think I’m not capable of completing the job?’”
She added, “Having a chronic condition that diminishes your confidence in this one thing you feel is your reason to live is so debilitating and so lonely. One of the biggest things I felt with a brain injury was profoundly alone. That is what we’re trying to overcome,” she added. But she also says that fighting has helped her have a new outlook on life. “It has given me a superpower.”
Clarke did not get fired. But the fear stayed with her. In 2019, she recalled her challenges while filming the second season of Thrones. “On the set, I didn’t miss a beat, but I struggled,” she admitted. “Season two would be my worst. I didn’t know what Daenerys was doing. If I am truly being honest, every minute of every day I thought I was going to die.”
Since Game of Thrones finished in 2019, Clarke has been taking on smaller projects, but she looks back on her Thrones time fondly. “Daenerys has a part of my heart. She is in there, and I’ll never forget.”
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