A kind of eye-popping, head-whipping, "what the heck is that?!" reaction ripples through the Jersey Shore. It's the kind of fervor normally reserved for actors in Godzilla movies, only instead of scrambling away, they're rushing toward this monstrous treat.
"That thing's the size of my toddler! Wait, can I hold my baby up to it? I need a photo of that!" one man asks, the moment the towering dessert passes him by.
New Jersey's Coney Waffle has seen the freakshake trend that's taken the world by storm, and raised the stakes with its behemoth, two-foot-tall Sideshow Shakes. Each Big Gulp-sized drink is covered with all kinds of desserts: an ice cream cone, ice cream waffle sandwiches, chocolate-covered pretzels, Ring Pops, candy bracelets, gummies of all shapes and sizes (including a 6-inch gummy bear), ice cream cookie sandwiches, mounds of cotton candy, and edible glitter, just to name a few options.
At $18 apop, they're not cheap — but they can feed your entire crew. And the reactions each one-of-a-kind treat gets is priceless.
"Sometimes we'll block the milkshake halfway through building it, so people don't see exactly what it looks like until we step away," says Lorene Zalick, operations manager and Shakeslayer (AKA creator and eater of said Sideshow shakes). "Their jaws drop when they see it. You'll see, like, 10 people flip their phones out and start taking photos."
We experienced it firsthand, the second we took a shake outside of the shop and onto the boardwalk. Within seconds, there was a swarm of people taking photos like we were Taylor Swift holding hands with Kanye West — including our friend with the toddler. (And, for the record, the milkshake appeared to be just a gummy worm shorter than his two-year-old.)
"We say 'the phone eats first,' just because people have to take photos with it before they start eating," Zalick laughs.
The shakes started out relatively simple, compared to its current, 24-inch-tall iteration. But as excitement — and online buzz — grew, employees took building the Sideshow Shakes as a challenge, testing to see just how colorful, tall, and over-the-top they could make each dessert.
Soon, Coney Waffle started making its own cotton candy in-house, so it could start offering a wider variety of colors and flavors, as well as buying gummies overseas, where they could get shapes and sizes you can't easily find in the U.S.
"We're always trying new things and trying to pivot to stay relevant," Zalick says. The shop's known for its namesake Coney Waffles, which look like hot dog buns made out of pillowy waffles, and can hold your choice of ice cream or cannoli filling. They also sell colorful galaxy cones, waffle bowls, and classic cups and cones.
Even with a group of three or four people, it's hard to take down a Sideshow Shake all in one sitting. Coney Waffle gets this — employees actually hand out goodie bags, so you can take extra cotton candy, gummies, and other snacks home with you to enjoy later.
"We'll tell people to enjoy the shake and the ice cream, then save the rest for later," Zalick says.
After all, it's hard to savor the moment when you're passed out in a sugar coma.
Coney Waffle has shops in Asbury Park, Belmar, and Pier Village in New Jersey.
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