Guinness Milkshakes @ Filling Station Co.

Beer + ice cream = Filling Station's March milkshake. Yup...they've done it again. Last month we enjoyed the sweet crunchy nostalgia of the Cap'N. March brings a taste of the Irish with their (non-alcoholic) Guinness Chocolate Milkshake. And what better to accompany your extra stout frozen dessert than a Buffalo Wing Burger? 

Ok mates...drink up and report back. Here is the full report from our own jfood:

“Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast” – Pulp Fiction

March is filled with many notable events including the Road to the Final Four in college basketball, in which teams compete for supremacy in Houston and Indianapolis; while in slightly more than a fortnight the incredible goodness of Guinness will be the cornerstone of many St. Patrick’s Day parties. Closer to home, the Filling Station is rejoicing in its first anniversary with a month long celebration combining the energy of March Madness and the taste of Ireland.

When people discuss The Final Four and St Patrick’s Day, hamburgers, wings and beer are always front and center. And in New Canaan, the Filling Station’s March Festivities commenced with free hamburgers offered to the first 250 customers. After the madness of the initial day’s hamburger give-away subsided, I again spent time with Nick Type, one of its owners, when we discussed and sampled the March, 2011 Special Burger and Shake for this fifth installment of CTBites’ monthly review and Filling Station’s…Buffalo Wing Burger and Guinness Chocolate Shake.

For those who have enjoyed nights in Irish pubs, Guinness is affectionately called the “Black Stuff,” while another favorite of these jovial nights is the Black and Tan, in which Guinness is combined with pale ale. The Guinness Chocolate Shake converts the Black and Tan into a family offering. The Filling Station first reduces the Guinness into a syrupy consistency, which is then combined with its PG-rated Black and White Shake (organic chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream) to produce the Filling Station’s interpretation of the Black and Tan. The result is a chocolate flavored shake that has a slight bitterness from the Guinness reduction syrup and I enjoyed the bitter-sweet combination.

The Buffalo Wing Burger includes the Filling Station’s single organic beef burger (double available on request) with toppings of house made Buffalo Wing Sauce, crumbled Salem Blue Cheese and topped with shredded organic celery. The sauce is a combination of San Marzano tomatoes, chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeño peppers), Franks Hot Sauce (a Cayenne pepper / vinegar based sauce), molasses, butter, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. I was pleased that the spiciness of the sauce was well within reason and maintained a deep and smoky tomato flavor. Likewise I found the blue cheese was bold, while not too pungent, and the celery added a nice crunchiness. In sampling the single burger I thought the beef flavor was a little overwhelmed by the sauce and cheese and a double-patty would elevate the beef flavor. I ordered a double to compare. I thought the double-patty burger was a better choice to handle the Buffalo sauce and the Blue cheese and I would recommend the double for this month’s special.

In addition, the Filling Station will continue its celebration with a month long “One Year of Free Lunch” drawing. Likewise, each week will bring a different give-away. During the week of March 7th, daily drawings will occur for free Filling Station T-Shirts; beginning on March 14ththe first 250 customers will receive a free order of French fries; and during the last week of the month, March 21st, the first 250 lucky patrons will enjoy a free sloppy Joe sandwich.

So the March Festivities have commenced at Filling Station with hundreds of free burgers, shakes and sloppy Joes to complement this month’s specialty Buffalo Wing Burger and delicious Guinness Chocolate Shake.