Worst Fro-yo Shops in the Bay Area

Fro-yo girl here. Now it’s 2013 and time to update my best and worst of the Bay Area lists.I’ll start with the worst shops in the Bay Area. Like their counterparts in 2008, the worst frozen yogurt shops feature fro-yo with horrible texture and flavor. Their toppings are worse than average too (including some stale toppings). 

I’ll sometimes receive a note from the owner saying that they were having machine problems on the day that I visited. Since I’m not inclined to revisit such places, things may have improved at the shops on this list (and I hope that they have).

Fro-yo texture problems are quite common. The shops that made the list are the worst offenders at the time of my visit. It’s important to take care of frozen yogurt machines. Even good mix can be ruined by a poorly maintained frozen yogurt machine.

* YOGURT NET (1445 Foxworthy Avenue, San Jose, CA): I encountered runny, too soft frozen yogurt and limited toppings.

* 1ST TREAT YOGURT (2124 1st St., Livermore, CA): The awful frozen yogurt was clumpy, gritty, soft and filmy, not sure how the texture can be that terrible but I don’t think I want to know. The fruit toppings did not look fresh.

* FRESHENS (inside the Golden Bear Cafe, Cesar Chavez Student Center, Berkeley, CA): Old school frozen yogurt that tastes like plastic

* YOLATEA (600 Main St. Suite F, Pleasanton, CA): I can’t eat fro-yo with texture this bad: soft, runny and fluffy

* TUTTI FRUTTI CONCORD (3375 Port Chicago Highway Suite A, Concord, CA): The worst TF location, it feels like no one is maintaining the machines. All the frozen yogurt is super icy. They didn’t even have any fresh fruit toppings. A few machines were out of order.

* RUBY FROZEN YOGURT (1160 N. Capitol Ave., San Jose, CA): The frozen yogurt has too much flavor syrup and it’s too soft

* POLAR ICE (96 E. San Salvador St., San Jose, CA): Machines were out of order and the fro-yo was very fluffy

* YOGURT WALK (6601 Dublin Blvd. Ste 1., Dublin, CA): Fluffy and clumpy fro-yo, yuck. Looking at some newer pictures, it looks like their frozen yogurt texture has improved.

I’ve noticed that the worst time to visit a frozen yogurt shop is right before they close. The texture seems to be the worst at that time. However I did not visit the shops that made this list late at night.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Best & Worst Fro-yo Shops of 2008: Where Are They Now?

Fro-yo girl here. Back in 2008, I named the best and worst fro-yo shops in the Bay Area. Ever wonder what happened to those businesses?

Of the 7 worst shops, all 7 have closed. The places with below average fro-yo have usually stayed open two years or less. Even large chains haven’t been able to make it in the Bay Area (e.g., Golden Spoon). There are plenty of average frozen yogurt shops. The worst ones had fro-yo with horrible texture and flavor.The toppings were often stale or rotten as well.

Of the 10 best shops in 2008, 5 are still open, though a few of those have moved (e.g., Harmony Yogurt, Tuttimelon) or changed ownership. Poco Cafe closed after being open for years because the owner decided to retire. The best frozen yogurt shops offered consistency, cleanliness, freshness and superior customer service. You could tell that the owners cared about offering quality frozen yogurt.

Out of curiosity I looked at my old frozen yogurt reviews, the first 300 frozen yogurt shops that I reviewed. These reviews were written between December 2007 and 2010. Of the 9 shops with a 1 star rating, all have closed. Of the five star shops, 50% are still open.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

SweetXO: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. SweetXO’s tagline captures the spirit of this innovative fro-yo shop: “Life in full color, full flavor and full fun.” SweetXO is much more than a fro-yo shop. It’s a sweets-focused experience. Bring your sweet tooth and plenty of time to explore.

Their displays of candy are dazzling...reminiscent of Dylan’s Candy Bar. I’m sure my eyes widened several times. There’s so much to take in, including candy in bins all around the large shop (sold by weight), display cases with cookies, brownies, make your own float machine with 125 flavors, mini and full size cupcakes, fudge, tea bar, hot chocolate, hot roasted nuts, ice cream sold by the scoop, and fro-yo. That’s just the edible portion of their offerings. They also have merchandise, like casual clothing for everyone in the family including pets, candles, toys, baby stuff, laptop bags, bath salts sold by weight, dishes, home decor, jewelry, colorful socks, quirky books, etc. There are several rooms that you can wander in and out of...it’s almost like a mini department store.

Back to the fro-yo, they must have at least 200 toppings. Of course they are particularly abundant in the candy department.You can add specific flavors of Jelly Bellies to your fro-yo. The warm syrups are all natural and from Sanders in Michigan. A wondrous machine dispenses fresh whipped cream (who can resist?) They have three flavors of pretzels: yogurt, chocolate and blueberry. You’ll find mochi, fresh fruit, popping boba, cookies (even Blue Oreos), many types of gummy candies, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate covered things, sugar free toppings, and more. You can add freshly roasted hot nuts to your fro-yo or a warm cookie or brownie. The fro-yo and toppings are 42 cents an ounce.

As for the fro-yo, they have 18 self-serve flavors a day. The LCD displays provide nutritional info and allergens. The flavors were chosen with care and included a vegan option (soyalicious vegan chocolate), no sugar added flavor, sorbets, 1 tart flavor, and a soft serve ice cream. The fro-yo I sampled had very good texture - smooth, creamy, not too airy, and firm. The vegan chocolate flavor tasted odd to me but I think soy and chocolate aren’t complementary flavors. I did like how it was creamy and not too sweet. The country vanilla flavor was very much like a vanilla soft serve ice cream and a wonderful base for candy toppings. I found the Euro tart too lemony.

Once you’ve selected your sweets, you can wander over to the lounge area which has fancy wallpaper, mirrors, a flatscreen TV and music.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* SWEETS XO: 5825 Kanan Rd., Agoura Hills, 91301

Yogurtland Billboard in San Francisco

Fro-yo girl here. I spotted this new Yogurtland billboard near City College SF and SF’s first and only Yogurtland location. I love fro-yo ads! Yogurtland’s radio spots on Pandora were the only radio ads that didn’t annoy me.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

New Flavor Alert: Cookies & Cream Pinkberry

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry introduced a new frozen yogurt flavor on May 3, Cookies & Cream. It’s described as “smooth and creamy chocolaty yogurt blended with tiny bits of cookies...indulgent without being overly sweet.” The description is accurate. I liked how the flavor had a strong “cookie” flavor so that it tasted distinct from a chocolate flavored frozen yogurt. It was thick and rich and tasted like an Oreo cookie. There aren’t that many visible bits of chocolate cookie. The flavor was sweeter than I expected and didn’t have much “yogurt” flavor. It’s a good ice cream alternative but might not be satisfying for people who strongly prefer tart frozen yogurt that tastes like yogurt.

I asked about new toppings to accompany the new flavor but the location I went to didn’t have any. I would have loved to have the Cookies & Cream Pinkberry on a chocolate cookie cone.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

A Visit to Yogurtland’s Original Location

Fro-yo girl here. The year: February 2006. The location: Fullerton, CA. Phillip Chang, founder, CEO and president opens the first Yogurtland location in Orange County in a busy shopping center near several high schools and colleges, including Cal State Fullerton. It shared a space with Chang’s other business, Boba Loca, a bubble tea shop. They offered 16 self-serve, non-fat fro-yo flavors a day and toppings for 30 cents. They had plain styrofoam cups at first and then clear plastic cups. The fro-yo machines were lined up but not behind a wall with cutouts.

Though this location’s look would evolve over the years, the basic Yogurtland formula was already there: 16 self-serve fro-yo flavors a day and a low value pricing.

The location was remodeled in 2008. The new look featured a new logo and the now familiar green tiled wall with 8 fro-yo machines. They also brought in new sleeker looking white and orange chairs.

Another logo change occurred in 2009 when the company switched to the current logo. They changed the chairs again, to white and grey ones and brought in small white tables to replace the wood tables.

The original location doesn’t have a special plaque (it should). It’s on the smaller side and the fro-yo and toppings are now 35 cents an ounce.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* YOGURTLAND: 501 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA 92831

The Yogurtland Flavor Quest Continues with Black Sesame Vanilla & Mexican Hot Chocolate

Fro-yo girl here. I just visited Mexico and Japan. The final two Yogurtland Flavor Quest flavors arrived today (April 29): Black Sesame Vanilla from Japan and Mexican Hot Chocolate from Mexico.

Black sesame is a popular, beloved Asian flavor and I’ve had many black sesame flavored sweets including mochi and black sesame gelato.

* Black sesame vanilla (Japan): This is actually the second time I’ve had black sesame fro-yo and Yogurtland’s version is better than the one I tried before which was tart based and quite intense. The tart base didn’t complement the black sesame. Yogurtland’s version is much more mellow thanks to the vanilla flavor. The base is sweet which I think is more complementary. You do taste black sesame but it’s not intense as in a black sesame gelato. It reminds me a bit of peanut butter or red bean. The texture was thick, smooth and very creamy. I liked the combination of mochi with black sesame and wished that the global fro-yo flavors had been accompanied by some global toppings as well.
* Mexican hot chocolate (Mexico): Described as a mix of earthy cocoa and cinnamon, this flavor is not an intense chocolate but more of a mild chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. It’s fairly sweet. I thought it was fine but I generally don’t like chocolate fro-yo.

These two new flavors should be at Yogurtland till May 26th. Remember to scan those QR codes and enjoy the Flavor Quest!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.