This Minnesota Restaurant Serves Milkshakes So Good They’ll Haunt Your Dreams

Can a milkshake become the entire reason for a summer drive? After seeing these towering treats, absolutely.

Minnesota keeps retro roadside dining deliciously alive with thick shakes, carhop service, and plenty of old-school fun.

The throwback experience continues with made-to-order burgers, onion rings, cheese curds, and other familiar favorites ready to join the feast.

Then comes the difficult decision of which shake deserves the first sip. Seasonal flavors can make choosing even trickier.

Outdoor activities give families another reason to linger once the plates are cleared.

Bring an appetite and forget counting napkins. This is the kind of cheerful roadside stop capable of turning dessert into the main event.

Pink Building, Big Personality

That pink paint job is not an accident, and the story behind it is better than you would guess.

When the family took over the former A and W back in 1982, bigger burger chains were moving into town. Their answer was bold color instead of a bigger sign.

Drivers slowed down, heads turned, and the place became a landmark almost overnight. Decades later the shade still stops traffic.

Pull into a stall and you will spot the old fashioned speakers, ready to take your order the classic way. A tray hooks right onto your car window, which never stops being fun.

Prefer fresh air? The walk up window and outdoor seating work just as well.

What struck me first was how relaxed everything felt. Nobody rushes here, and the staff kept wiping down tables between orders without being asked.

Kids in swimsuits, farmers in caps, road trippers with map apps open, everyone lands in the same happy line. Peppermint Twist Drive In pulls off that rare trick of feeling both frozen in time and completely alive.

You can find the pink beacon at 115 Babcock Blvd in Delano, easy to spot and impossible to forget. Some buildings blend in. This one waves.

Shakes Worth The Drive

Legends usually shrink when you meet them. The shakes here do the opposite.

They are blended thick, old school thick, the kind that makes your straw put in real effort. A generous crown of whipped cream tops each one.

Classic vanilla and Hershey’s chocolate hold their ground nicely. Homemade butterscotch has its own quiet fan club.

Still, the fresh raspberry is the headliner. Actual berry pieces swirl through it, tart and sweet at the same time, and it stains the whipped cream a soft pink.

I nursed mine far too slowly and regretted nothing. Half the people around me were doing exactly the same thing.

The namesake peppermint twist shake deserves attention too, loaded with real candy chunks that give a cool little zing between sips.

Malts are on the board as well, for folks who like that toasty depth. Ordering just one is a rookie mistake, so plan on sharing or trading tastes.

Peppermint Twist Drive In has built a reputation across Minnesota on these cups, and it holds up. Long after the trip ends, you will catch yourself thinking about that raspberry. Consider yourself warned.

Burgers Made To Order

Shakes get the glory, but the grill does serious work here.

Patties are formed from fresh, lean ground beef and cooked after your order goes in. Buns get toasted, which sounds small and absolutely is not.

The Special Delano Burger is the one that grabbed my attention. A half pound of beef arrives under fresh mushrooms, fried onions, real Swiss, and a house sauce that ties the whole thing together.

It is a two hands, lean forward kind of sandwich. Napkins are non negotiable.

Double cheeseburgers and bacon versions keep the classic crowd happy. Everything tastes handmade rather than assembled.

Because each order is cooked fresh, a busy Saturday can mean a short wait at the window. Use that time to study the shake list, which is honestly a full time job.

A small thing I noticed: the kitchen crew calls out orders with genuine cheer, even during a rush.

Food this straightforward lives or dies on ingredients, and Peppermint Twist Drive In clearly picked its side.

Fancy restaurants across Minnesota chase complicated plates. Sometimes a properly built burger, eaten outdoors, wins the whole day.

Onion Rings And Curds

Side dishes here refuse to sit quietly in the background.

The homemade onion rings arrive golden, crisp, and clearly cut in house. There is a faint sweetness under the crunch that frozen rings never manage.

Cheese curds show up next, squeaky and salty, the way every Minnesota kid learns to expect them. Golden outside, molten inside, gone in about four minutes.

French fries come in half or full baskets and share well, in theory. Loaded versions raise the stakes considerably.

Nacho fries bring jalapenos, salsa, and cheese sauce. Cajun fries add heat, and cheddar fries are pure melted comfort.

Spicy battered pickle spears round out the lineup, tangy and crackly, and they beg for a cup of ranch.

My tip is simple: order one basket for the table before anyone commits to a second. Portions are friendlier than they look.

The aroma drifting from the fryer window is honestly half the marketing budget. It floats across the lot and makes decisions for you. Sides at Peppermint Twist Drive In are not filler. They are contenders, and they know it.

Teddy Bear Park Fun

Behind the food window sits something most drive ins never bothered to build.

Teddy Bear Park spreads out across shaded grass, dotted with picnic tables and mature trees. It is a full play area, not a token swing set.

Hula hoops lean against posts, frisbees wait in bins, and pool noodles get used for purposes nobody planned. Climbing structures handle the rest of the energy.

Parents grab a table under the branches while kids sprint laps. Everyone eats better when nobody is trapped in a booth.

During my visit a girl spent ten solid minutes trying to keep a hula hoop up, tongue out in concentration. She finally got three rotations and the whole picnic area cheered.

The owners call the whole setup the Peppermint Twist Compound, which is a fitting name for a lot this cheerful.

Shade matters more than you think on a hot afternoon, and there is plenty of it. Tables get wiped down often too. Peppermint Twist Drive In turned a parking lot into a place families linger.

Cash Only, Charmingly So

Here is the detail that trips up first timers: bring cash.

Cards do not work at the window. Cash and checks only, which sounds wildly old fashioned in a tap to pay world.

Honestly, it fits. A drive in with speakers and window trays paying homage to 1982 probably should not have a card reader.

The practical advice is easy. Stop at an ATM in town before you pull in, and grab a bit more than you think you need. Why more? Because you will order a second shake. Everyone does.

There is something oddly pleasant about counting out bills at a window. Small ritual, small pause, and the transaction feels human again.

The staff handles confused newcomers gracefully, pointing toward the nearest cash machine without a hint of irritation.

Check the calendar too. The place runs Wednesday through Sunday and closes at eight, with Mondays and Tuesdays dark. Peppermint Twist Drive In keeps its own rhythm, and that stubbornness is part of the appeal.

Family Hands Behind Everything

Family run is a phrase thrown around loosely. Here it actually shows up on the plate.

The Mirenda family bought the old A and W in 1982 and never handed it off. One half of the partnership runs the kitchen, the other greets the crowd.

That split works. Food comes out consistent, and service stays warm even when the line curls toward the road.

Their history started at a Minneapolis restaurant, one cooking and one waiting tables. The same teamwork simply moved west and got a coat of pink paint.

Nothing sits under a heat lamp waiting for a customer. Orders get built after they are placed, every single time. Slight waits happen at peak hours, and regulars treat that as proof rather than a problem.

I noticed a staff member circling the picnic grounds with a rag and a trash bag on a slow afternoon. No crowd to impress, just habit.

Details like that separate a real neighborhood spot from a copy of one. Peppermint Twist Drive In feels like an extension of somebody’s home kitchen, scaled up and painted loud.

A Minnesota Summer Ritual

Certain places stop being restaurants and become traditions instead.

Generations have grown up pulling into these stalls. Kids who once needed booster seats now drive out from the cities for a raspberry shake a few times each summer.

Word travels far. People roll in from all over Minnesota, and plenty are just passing through on Highway 12 when the pink catches their eye.

Repeat honors as one of the best drive ins in the state have not changed a thing about how it operates. No expansion, no gimmicks, no drive thru lane.

Warm evenings are the sweet spot. Trays clatter, kids shout across the grass, and the smell of the fryer hangs in the air. Bring a blanket if the tables fill up. The lawn works fine.

My favorite moment came near closing, when the light turned gold across the pink walls and nobody seemed in a hurry to leave.

Peppermint Twist Drive In has earned its spot in the state’s food story without shouting about it, aside from the paint.