Crème Brûlée Milkshake - Arby's

Crème Brûlée Milkshake - Arby's

I don't think I've ever eaten anything from Arby's before. My only childhood memory involving Arby's is that one Lord of the Flies-like episode of The Simpson's where the children are stranded on an island and one of the twin girls says, "I'm so hungry, I could eat at Arby's!" (The rest of the children audibly gasp and murmur that she really must be hungry. ) That little gag really stuck with me, my sister and I quote it all the time when we're hungry, so maybe that joke actually caused me avoid this fast food chain as an adult. Then again, I'm also not a huge fan of red meat, and with roast beef being their main product, it's no wonder I haven't stopped in for a bite. (Get it? Arby's. R. B. Roast Beef. The meaning behind their name was definitely lost on me as a child.) On my drive to and from work I pass a LOT of tempting fast food restaurants, and while I'm normally very good about ignoring them and going straight home to eat, Arby's sign for a crème brûlée milkshake was too tempting to pass up.

I walked into an Arby's for the first time in my life, and the the dining area was clean. Really clean. For a fast food restaurant, I was impressed. I love my junk food chains, like White Castle, but their dine-in area leaves a LOT to be desired. (Everything is always covered in salt or sticky with unknown substances.) Maybe the idea that I picked up from The Simpsons was completely wrong and this place was secretly awesome.

After looking over the menu, I noticed that they had some chicken sandwiches and wraps, so I ordered a crispy chicken sandwich and a crème brûlée milkshake to go. The staff were really nice, and my milkshake actually ended up looking a lot like the promo picture.

I took a few quick photos in my car, since I knew the whipped cream wouldn't make it home intact, but it was very similar to the promo when it was first handed to me. (Due to traffic I parked 3 blocks away and walked back to my car which caused the whipped cream to deflate quite a bit.) The only visible difference between my shake and the one in the promo, was that the promo shake had a lot more of those crystallized sugar bits sprinkled on top. Still, it's VERY rare to get a fast food item that looks as pretty as it's picture. Kudo's awesome Arby's employees!

If you're new to Arby's, like I am, there's this big metal bell that you're supposed to ring on your way out if you get really good service, and I was so impressed by this milkshake's appearance, that I actually gave it a ring.

I got the milkshake home as quick as I could, and tried to take better photos, but things were melting fast. I gave up and took a sip.

Now, what intrigued me the most about this milkshake was how it was meant to recreate a dessert that is usually served warm, and he short answer is, it doesn't. This does not taste like crème brûlée. This milkshake tastes like a mixture of vanilla soft-serve, caramel ice cream topping, sweet cream, and a hint of butterscotch. For the record this tasted really good, and it was a decadently sweet treat after work treat (again with the rhyming), but it just doesn't taste as custard-y as the real deal. The little sugar crystals at the top add a gritty sugary texture that is reminiscent of the burnt sugar crust, but they are very few and far between, and the overall flavor of this milkshake is definitely caramel/butterscotch.

I ended up enjoying my milkshake and chicken sandwich very much, but the milkshake just doesn't live up to it's dessert counterpart. If you love caramel sundaes, this is the shake for you. If anything, this did make me want to go back to Arby's and try something else on the menu.

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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