Dairy Queen's Secret Menu Drinks
In Louisiana and Texas, Dairy Queen offers special regional meals, like the delicious steak finger basket that features Texas toast and white gravy. In the north, many Dairy Queen locations don't even serve food, only ice cream. To add even more confusion, select Dairy Queens around the country serve Orange Julius, those amazing frozen beverages whose ingredients are one of fast food's most enduring mysteries.
Dairy Queen's Secret Menu Drinks (Slideshow)
With all the variation from one Dairy Queen to the next, it's as if the entire menu is a secret menu, which could actually be a good thing, as your server probably has no idea what other Dairy Queens routinely whip up. Next time you pop in for a Blizzard, smile nicely and request a banana split shake like the ones they make in Des Moines. There's a decent chance he or she will smile bravely and ask, "Just as a reminder, what was in that again?"
The reason for the confusion is that there are actually five different types of Dairy Queens. Ever seen that red and white logo with the word "Brazier" added? That means that the location serves hot food in addition to frozen treats. Standard DQs focus solely on ice cream, while DQ/Orange Julius locations serve both ice cream and the traditional Orange Julius drinks.
A Texas Country Foods Dairy Queen serves the hot items found in a Brazier location with the addition of a special regional menu, including the aforementioned steak finger basket and the famous Hunger-Buster burger. The DQ Grill and Chill offers still more variation, with a wider variety of grilled sandwiches and a breakfast menu.
Whew. With all that going on, it can be hard to know which kind of Dairy Queen you're in. However, no matter what location you frequent, you can count on DQ to have the best soft serve around, so why not add it to some unexpected drinks for a little more fun? We've compiled a list of Dairy Queen drink hacks so delicious they'll make you forget the rest of the menu.
Blue Raspberry Freeze
An Artic Rush is a tart/sweet frozen drink that's pretty delicious on its own, but ask your server to add a little of DQ's famous soft serve, and you've got a surprisingly tasty dessert.
Frozen Hot Chocolate
It's like a chocolate shake, but so, so much better. Cocoa fudge (a thick, chocolate syrup-like mixture) is combined with slushy base and then blended with vanilla soft serve to give your favorite wintertime drink a summery makeover.