After the closing of MaggieMoo’s ice cream shop in Preakness Shopping Center approximately a year ago, Dairy Queen has stepped in and officially opened a store in the same location on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

Dairy Queen (DQ) is an ice cream store founded in 1940 in Illinois, and has since expanded across the nation. The shop sells soft serve, hard ice cream, blizzards, and other drinks including smoothies and the Orange Julius. DQ opened on the first day of Spring, which also marked free cone day: a day where customers were able to enjoy a free small cone with soft serve.

“There’s a lot of variety with the ice cream flavors, and it’s affordable,” said sophomore Laiann Hamdan, DQ employee. Sophomore Lia Cardinale, Hamdan’s coworker, added that, “the blizzards are a must-have.”

Contrary to other Dairy Queens, the new store in Preakness only sells ice cream products and drinks, in contrast to hot foods like hamburgers and chicken nuggets sold in other venues. However, the store welcomes people of all ages and its popularity is still on the rise.

“I went to Dairy Queen with my friends and ended up staying for two hours because the environment and ice cream is so great,” said junior Isabelle Wilders when asked by the Patriot Press about the quality of the new venue. It really is a great addition to the Preakness Shopping Center!

Red White & Que Smokehouse is a small franchise with locations throughout New Jersey, the latest opening right in Wayne on Hamburg Turnpike where Mama’s Boy recently closed. A former Marine who goes by the name of Dan Misuraca had the dream to start a small restaurant and serve food that he loves to cook and his friends love to eat. He and his friends needed something to help them adjust to civilian life after military service. Inside the restaurant, hanging signs display the Veteran crisis hotline, and an invitation for Veterans in need of a job to email the franchise.

On Tuesday, March 27th, intrepid Patriot Press reporters J. Levendusky and G. Geytsman endeavored to see firsthand the restaurant that’s been causing such a murmur. Sacrificing their lunch periods to the cause of investigative journalism, our virtuous protagonists braved a potentially long drive to eat some food and share their knowledge with the world.

One obstacle overcome by the journeying reporters was the distance between the school and Red White and Que, which could be considered a difficulty in the face of time constraints of school lunch periods. However, thanks to the speedy driver, we arrived at the joint of interest with time to spare. We advise that the distance does not get in the way of enjoying a meal of Red White and Que during your lunch period.

The classic Southern barbecue menu includes sandwiches, sides, wings, and meats by the pound. The photographs taken by our reporters-turned-photographers depict the orders of our reporters, a Pulled Pork sandwich and a brisket sandwich. Let’s divide the experience into a couple easy-to-digest bullet points:

• The service was speedy and pleasant, and we watched our servers cut clearly fresh meat before our inquisitive eyes and watering mouths.
• The sandwich itself is decent in size, certainly large enough to fill up your average lunch-goer.
• However, perhaps the only significantly negative aspect of our adventure to Red White and Que was the price of the meal. For the combination of one sandwich, a pathetic little muffin thing, and a water bottle, I was charged about fifteen dollars (!). To put that in context for people, such as underclassmen, unaccustomed to paying for food, the student discount at Jersey Mikes would enable you to purchase two and a half subs for the same price.
• The sandwiches were quality on their own, and with the addition of various house barbecue sauces, the meal was delicious. However, the sides were lackluster in quality and size.

All in all, if you are a fan of good barbecued meat and exploring a variety of sauces in accompaniment, we highly recommend Red White and Que, if you can deal with the comparative priciness of this new and exciting restaurant.