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Letter to the editor

Cows' contribution is a winner at Chick-fil-A

By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published May 2, 2007

With so many fast food choices claiming to be as good as homemade, Taster's Choice decided to go on the road this month. For the next few weeks, we'll give readers our top picks for some of the quick fare we found out there.

Our first trip through the local drive-throughs was inspired by my 8-year-old daughter, who will only drink milk shakes from McDonald's.

One disclaimer: Though we all love the turtle shakes from Steak 'n Shake, a Frosty from Wendy's and the seasonal treats from Checkers, we were not able to include all of those in our survey.

We tried chocolate shakes from what we considered to be the most popular local, drive-through venues. At the urging of a panel member, we added one healthier choice and were pleasantly surprised at the results. At each restaurant, we ordered shakes in the smallest available size.

My daughter probably will not be swayed, but Chick-fil-A's shake $2.99 was the favorite among our tasters. They gave it 83 out of 100 possible points, and all five of our panelists said they would be clogging the Chick-fil-A drive-through lines in the future.

"This is real ice cream, " said one judge. That guaranteed the high marks.

"The whipped cream was as light as a cloud, and the shake was so thick that the straw doesn't do it justice, " said another. "You need a spoon to get that rich, creamy treat down."

One panelist said he would never have tried a fast food shake before driving to Chick-fil-A.

"That's heavenly, " he said. "I would purchase this and give it to a friend. It's thick, creamy, yummy and topped with a mountain of whipped cream. It also has that really necessary chocolate taste."

According to the Chick-fil-A Web site, its chocolate shake has 730 calories.

If Chick-fil-A is closed, as it is on Sundays, our panelists said they would drive through Burger King for a chocolate shake before they would look for a McDonald's.

The Burger King shake ($1.49 for 11.25 ounces), No. 2 with 71 points, was very smooth, with a strong chocolate flavor. Four of the five judges said they would buy it in the future. One described it as "very American."

"This is a fast food shake you can believe in, " he said. "It's a pale color, but it's packing a lot of taste. There's a great ice cream base, possibly vanilla." Burger King's small shake has 470 calories.

Interestingly, the judges said they would avoid the Golden Arches again if they could find an Evos restaurant. The semi fast food chain, which boasts of serving "feel good" food, sells a pretty good milk shake too, according to our judges.

The Evos shake ($3.29 for 16 ounces) came in a close third, with 70 points. The company's Web site says the shake is organic, made with organic milk from cows that are raised "hormone and antibiotic-free."

Our panelists were more concerned about flavor. The Evos shake had plenty of creamy texture and sweet taste. But the chocolate was more subtle. Three of the five said they would buy it. Two panelists said they wouldn't make a special trip, although they enjoyed the treat. The Evos shake has 230 calories, the fewest among our choices.

"This shake has a gentle taste, and it's big on the afterglow, " said the Evos regular on our panel. "I would purchase it often - and I do."

My car will still be crowding the McDonald's drive-through lane, although panelists ranked its shake last, with 64 points. The 12-ounce shake ($1.99) has 440 calories.

Though they didn't award as many points for the McDonald's shake, panelists still raved about its quality, describing it as smooth, rich, creamy and "worthy of the dessert table."

One judge said he thought the chocolate in the shake was high quality.

Panelists were: Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620 Jim Yockey, aesthetician at Indulgence Medical Day Spa; Alan Burk, research analyst for Franklin Templeton Investments; and personal chef Kay Studer.

Send suggestions for product tasting to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to krieta@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to www.sptimes.com/food.

Judges' rankings:

Fast food milk shakes

1. Chick-fil-A

2. Burger King

3. Evos

[Last modified May 1, 2007, 20:14:51]