Shake it up: The area’s best milkshakes

That combination of milk and ice cream is especially soothing, cooling and decadent when temperatures soar. There’s something old school about it, too – something that evokes nostalgia for the days of soda fountains and our youth and young love, the early days of rock ’n’ roll and simpler times, when teens stuck two straws in the just-mixed rich-and-thick concoction and called it a date.

Milkshakes have to be thick. They’re so much better if a spoon is required – at least at first. After all, a milkshake is drinkable ice cream. But a skimpy, thin and runny milkshake is such a disappointment, especially after shelling out six bucks for it – or more.

It’s so difficult to decide what flavor to order. Milkshakes come in every flavor imaginable – from classic strawberry, chocolate and vanilla to fancier flavors such as salted caramel, dulce de leche and, at least around these parts, huckleberry. Some local shops have more than two dozen flavors from which to choose. They don’t make it easy, do they?

Here are a few favorite spots for milkshakes in the Inland Northwest. For the love of ice cream, why not make it a goal to visit each of these 14 spots this summer?