It’s Watermelon Milkshake season at Cook Out — and it’s the only summer taste that matters
There’s not much seasonality in fast food. French fries in February taste and crunch as just as good as the ones in July.
But the almighty Cook Out has managed to capture summer in a styrofoam cup.
For two months each year the North Carolina-born fast food giant serves its famous Watermelon Milkshake — in July and August. An exquisite blend of vanilla ice cream and frozen chunks of watermelon make even dairy seem refreshing on a blisteringly hot day.
In early 2023, The News & Observer did the definitive ranking of all Cook Out milkshakes after sampling every available variety. But for reasons of seasonality, Watermelon wasn’t available, so we sampled Pineapple and Cherry and three dozen other flavors over an afternoon.
Yet the Watermelon Milkshake is the most polarizing of the 40+ varieties on the Cook Out menu. And why is that? We swoon for peaches and cream, or for blueberries in vanilla ice cream, and strawberry stands out as maybe the greatest milkshake of all.
But mention Cook Out’s Watermelon shake and there’s often a cringe or a bristle from the uninitiated, a turned-up nose or a shake of the head.
Honestly, these are the reactions I hope to see from first-timers because I know that they’re about to taste something unexpected, something that doesn’t quite make sense. But try the Watermelon Milkshake and you’ll tap into one of the few fast food delicacies out there.
A surprisingly delicious milkshake combo
And maybe it’s the surprise that helps make the Watermelon Milkshake great.
Once the plastic lid is peeled off, the ice cold watermelon chunks appear suspended in the whipped and now slightly pink ice cream. There are even shards of watermelon seeds, a bit of folksy charm more in line with a roadside farmstand than the iconic Western Boulevard Cook Out.
The frozen bits of watermelon will send a chill down your spine like a popsicle bitten just a bit too early. You won’t find the sticky sweetness of a watermelon Jolly Rancher here, more like the brightness of a ripe melon, without the juice running down your cheeks.
It’s everything there is to love about watermelon and ice cream and picnics and humidity, just served from a drive-thru window.
And while it’s hot now, just like summer, this shake will be gone before you know it.
This story was originally published July 21, 2023 at 8:00 AM with the headline "It’s Watermelon Milkshake season at Cook Out — and it’s the only summer taste that matters."
