Milkshakes that take the cake - and put it on top

REHOBOTH BEACH - There's nothing subtle about a decadent, "crazed' milkshake from Mug & Spoon, a new, upscale coffee and ice cream business near the Rehoboth boardwalk.

All eyes follow owner Aileen Hearn as she builds and then brings a greenish-blue-hued Mermaid Shake to a customer.

You can't be a dainty eater or drinker when getting this creamy, dreamy, over-the-top concoction that verges on the outrageous. The $14.79 pink or blue shake, poured in a glass mug rimmed with rainbow sprinkles, is blended with vanilla or cake batter ice cream from Hockessin's Woodside Farm Creamery.

But Hearn ups the flavor ante further still by mounding the top and bottom of the mug with whipped cream sprinkled with edible green glitter that sparkles as it catches the light. 

A fat, hot pink straw encircled with a swirl of cotton candy pokes out of the mug, along with sticks of rock candy and Swedish fish.

"It's vibing with what I want," says a wide-eyed college student, as she slowly spoons her way through the mega dessert drink. "I'm only on the cotton candy part, but it's delicious, so far."

"Like any struggle in life, you just pick away at it," jokes Kyle Ten Eyck, who co-owns Mug & Spoon with Hearn.

Giant, drippy milkshakes stacked with everything from whole slices of cake and brownies to cookies, chocolates and other sweets have been gaining fans ever since they were introduced in the fall of 2015 at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, a New York City-based burger bar chain. 

The novelty drinks served there began showing up in photographs on social media and the hype began to build. A food craze was born. 

Mug & Spoon, which serves monster milkshakes and other offbeat drinks like coffee floats ($8.79-$9.79), opened about a month ago at 18 Rehoboth Ave. It has a variety of high and low tables for customers and soft, comfortable chairs and booths.

The downtown Rehoboth site, owned by Schell Brothers builders, was formerly known as The Coffee House Premium Brews & New Home Gallery. It remains a place where the Sussex County builders showcase their kitchen and home designs, but it has evolved from the coffeehouse that opened in 2014. The old Coffee House sign remains, but it is about to be changed.

The idea for the new Mug & Spoon business came from two loves. Hearn is an ice cream devotee, who grew up in the frozen dessert business. Her father, Chip Hearn, owns the nearby Ice Cream Store, the wildly popular, walk-up, Rehoboth Avenue shop known for serving more than 100 off-the-wall ice cream flavors such as Better than Sex and Ghost Pepper, an extreme flavor so scary hot customers need to sign a waiver before eating it, 

Ten Eyck has long had his own passion, but for premium coffees.

When The Coffee House site became available, the couple decided to join forces and focus on classic, funky and crazy coffee and ice cream combinations that have a  "no-rules" mentality.

"You'll have the best milkshakes you've had in your life," Hearn says of the custom-made shakes.

The shakes range in price from $7.79 for a small classic such as a black-and-white to $14.79 for the one-size-only "crazed" shakes like the S'more Samoa, which blends vanilla or chocolate ice cream with marshmallow fluff, shaved coconut, and graham cracker crumbs into a graham cracker crumb rimmed mug topped with a giant toasted marshmallow.

The five "crazed" options also include the Blackout, which tops a shake, blended with Oreo cookies, with a whole brownie, candies like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and then rims the mug with mini M&Ms.

Before opening the shop, Hearn, a bikini designer, and Ten Eyck, a photographer, visited New York ice cream shops for inspiration. But Hearn says they've created their own combinations.

"Everything here has more oomph," she says of the shakes, and the pair often joke about "how much stuff can we fit on top. It's fun to watch the reactions." 

While the wild, giant milkshakes are attracting attention, Hearn and Ten Eyck also wanted to make sure the drinks taste as good as they look.

"We yanked out every piece of equipment and put in the best stuff," says Hearn adding the espresso machine in the shop is one that has been used for national barista competitions. 

The twentysomething owners, who have college degrees in marketing, design and photography, also decided to seek out high-end, local flavors and ingredients.

They buy ice cream from Woodside Farm Creamery, the well-regarded, family-run Hockessin business with roots as far back as 1796. Woodside produces ice cream made from milk from their own herd of Jersey cows. Ice cream flavors at Mug & Spoon include African vanilla, Madagascar vanilla bean, milk chocolate, buttery salted caramel, mint chip with cookie dough and Oreos, coconut, dark chocolate coffee, strawberry and cake batter.

The custom-roasted coffee comes from Brandywine Coffee Roasters in Wilmington, run by the team behind the BrewHaHa! coffeehouses. Hearn and Ten Eyck spent time in Wilmington learning the coffee business and Brandywine Roasters sent baristas to Rehoboth to help school staffers. They're coming back soon to teach latte designs. BrewHaHa!, well acquainted with beach tourists, once ran a coffeehouse near the Mug & Spoon.

"They were so friendly and knowledgeable," says Ten Eyck. "They were super-excited to help us. They are super-involved in the entire process."

Iced coffee and espresso also are available, and Ten Eyck is excited to introduce novices to nitro coffee ($4.50 for a small, $5 for a medium).

"It has an entirely different mouth feel," he says of the cold, smooth-tasting coffee that's nitrogen-infused, chilled in a keg and produces a creamy head similar to Guinness beer. 

"If you walked outside with that, people would think you're drinking a beer," says Ten Eyck of the drink served in a tulip glass. The shop does not serve alcohol. 

"Coffee is the new craft beer. It's like where you once went to a bar and just got a beer, and now you can get a craft beer. It's the same with coffee now."

Mug & Spoon also offers cold brew coffee ($3.99-$4.49) on tap that's been brewed for more than 24 hours to build a bolder, more even flavor.

The coffee can be paired with ice cream for various "coffee floats" that are similar to root beer floats. The shop serves a version of affogato, a coffee-based Italian dessert where a shot of hot espresso is poured over ice cream.

Those wanting an added, sugary kick can ask for the affogato cloud ($7.79) that adds a large puff of cotton candy on top. The cotton candy dissolves into a sweet, grainy sugar puddle when the espresso is poured on top.  

Ten Eyck says he is surprised how much coffee the shop has been selling since the opening. He expected to average about 50 pounds of coffee in the first few weeks, but the shop has plowed through 200 pounds in just four days. 

The baked goods sold in the shop, and stacked on top of some of the milkshakes, are made by Rehoboth's own Pasqualini's Bakery. Hearn says doughnut ice cream sandwiches ($5.79) are coming soon. A scoop of ice cream will be stuffed inside the warm doughnuts, also made by Pasqualini's, and topped with powdered sugar.

For now, the crazed milkshakes are Mug & Spoon's main attraction.

Another college student customer, wowed by her friend's Mermaid Shake, asks Ten Eyck to build a Cake by the Ocean milkshake.

He blends cake batter ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and pours it into a mug rimmed with more sprinkles. A whole slice of layered red velvet cake stands upright on top.

"I can't wait to eat it," says the customer, standing back to admire the sugary, culinary creation. "I'm super pumped about this."

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Mug & Spoon, a new shop in Rehoboth Beach serving "crazed" milkshakes that are stacked with whole pieces of cake, brownies, cookies and other treats. It also offers a wide variety of premium coffee and ice cream drinks and treats, and baked goods.

WHERE: 18 Rehoboth Ave., near the Rehoboth boardwalk. (The sign out front says The Coffee House. It will be changed soon.)

WHEN: Open daily at 7 a.m. 

INFORMATION: Call (302) 212-5163 or visit www.mugandspoonco.com or visit the Mug & Spoon Facebook page.