Move over, sweet shops touting live cultures and granite slabs—there’s a new way to treat yourself with customizable, frozen fun.
Inspired by London’s milkshake-bar mania, Mark Glassman brought his dessert concept, Sticks & Shakes, to two local malls, the Galleria at Sunset and the Fashion Show on the Strip. “I was used to them being at every airport and on every high street in the city,” he says. “But when I moved here and wanted to grab a milkshake where I could choose the ingredients and have it blended, my friends looked at me like I was crazy.”
To tap into the American palate, Glassman researched local convenience stores’ candy shelves and solicited feedback from friends and family, then added a riff on a certain trademarked frozen confection on a stick.
With more than 500 flavor variations courtesy of cereals and candies, the objective is edible expression. If you’re not in the mood to take the lead, suggestions range from the familiar combo of milk chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows to the eccentric To Infinity + Beyond! that melds Milky Way and Sour Patch Kids.
If you prefer your treat delivered on a wooden utensil, take your pick from gelato, sorbet or cake flavors, from red velvet to strawberry cheesecake. Want it to dive into white chocolate and pistachios? Make friends with some liquor in the form of a piña colada? Ask and you shall receive.
It might have taken a Brit to rekindle our origins with these dessert duos, but who says Cadbury and Hershey can’t play nice?
Sticks & Shakes Galleria at Sunset, 702-478-8866. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fashion Show Mall, 702-541-8855. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
