Saturday, February 28, 2009

Tuttimelon Polk Grand Opening Coverage



Fro-yo girl here. The Tuttimelon empire continues to expand with the opening of their Polk St. location. I scored a very cute Tuttimug made out of corn plastic and met up with some friends (Helene K., Matt G./Fro-yo boy and Brian C.). See the picture of my mug!

Roy L. (general manager, Mr. Tuttimelon) was as gracious and kind as ever, treating us to free fro-yo (which he dispensed personally) and free gelato. He’s a fro-yo GOD and I am absolutely in awe at how hard working and dedicated he is. While other fro-yo shops take forever to open another location, Tuttimelon’s pace just can’t be matched. They’re going to open up at Cupertino Village! And he mentioned some other Bay Area locations that were in the works.

The Polk location has the full menu: 24 flavors of gelato and sorbet, 4 flavors of fro-yo, yoggi drinks, yogurt smoothies, sweet and savory crepes, and shaved ice. They are also open till 3 AM on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s one of the smaller locations but they do have seating.

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

* TUTTIMELON: 2125 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109

Chill Desserts March 2 & 3 Specials

Fro-yo girl here. Try one of Chill’s new treats (banh mi, Four Barrel coffee, spicy hot chocolate agave) for free (w/ required purchase) this Monday and Tuesday.

* FREE Four Barrel coffee w/ any pastry or frozen yogurt purchase.
* FREE All Natural Housemade Black Currant Soda w/ any sandwich purchase.
* FREE Spicy Hot Chocolate Agave w/ any pastry or frozen yogurt purchase.

Personally I’d like the sandwich w/ free fro-yo for dessert but that isn’t an option.

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

* CHILL: 125 Kearny St., San Francisco, CA

Friday, February 27, 2009

Harmony Frozen Yogurt Opens Second Location in San Mateo


Fro-yo girl here. When Harmony opens a new location, it sure does it quietly. Their own website (http://www.harmony-yogurt.com/) doesn’t even list their new location in San Mateo – but it is open. Apparently the next location will be in Burlingame. Another Harmony location is always good news (and I’m sure many of you feel the same). Update: they added the San Mateo location to their website.

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

* HARMONY FROZEN YOGURT: 1051 Park Place, San Mateo, CA, 94403

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Whimsical Fro-yo Flavors


Fro-yo girl here. I am definitely intrigued by some of the fro-yo flavors listed on Whimsical Frozen Yogurt website (www.whimsicalyogurt.com) as rotation flavors:

* Tangerine Bing Cherry
* Mandarin Orange
* Fresh Nectarine Concord Grape
* Pomegranate Champagne
* Pomegranate Cranberry
* Acai Tangerine
* Black Currant Pineapple
* Rosewater Champagne

Grapes and nectarines mixed together? Hmm, I definitely want to try that. And I love pomegranate anything. However, none of the interesting flavors were there during my recent visit to Whimsical Yogurt. The shop is too far for me to stop by on a regular basis. Has anyone tried any of the flavors I listed? If so, can you report back to me? Thanks!

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

* WHIMSICAL FROZEN YOGURT: The Plant Shopping Center, 81 Curtner Ave. Suite 30, San Jose, CA

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Help Bring Nubi Yogurt to SF


Fro-yo girl here. Thanks Rita Y. for the news about the controversy at Lakeshore Plaza in SF. The Baskin Robbins location there is being threatened with closure. Apparently the owners want to substitute BR with a fro-yo store in order to raise the rent. Rita argues that there aren’t many BRs in SF, so it should be allowed to stay.

Some quick research yielded the identity of the prospective tenant: Nubi Yogurt. Nubi lists the Lakeshore address on its website. According to Nubi’s website, their space has the same address as Ono Hawaiian BBQ.

I’m not saying that I want BR to close but their Irving location isn’t that far away. On the other hand, there is NO self serve fro-yo in that part of SF (Parkside/Outer Sunset) and I like Nubi. I think it would do very well with so many schools close by (Lowell, SF State, etc.). Parking wouldn’t be that bad.

There are three vacant spots according to the Lakeshore Plaza website but the city only allows a certain number of food places per mall. If Nubi takes over Ono, wouldn't that be okay? Or maybe they only allow a certain number of ice cream/dessert places? I’m not sure how specific the city law is.

What can you do? The next neighborhood meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 PM (location: the UPS Store).

Or you can write to
Michael Smith
City Planning Comission
1650 Mission St, Suite 400
SF, CA 94103

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

* LAKESHORE PLAZA: 1501-1595 Sloat Blvd., San Francisco CA

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Yogurt Drinks: Yogo Review


Fro-yo girl here. I found Assi Yogo at Oceanview Market and purchased a pack of the Original flavor. It’s a refrigerated Korean yogurt drink.

A bottle of Yogo is three times the size of Yakult. The bottle says it has live and active cultures. It tastes more like Yakult than Yogu Time, meaning it is more like a milky yogurt beverage than a yogurt soda. The flavor is quite tart but also very sweet at the same time. It has a stronger flavor than Yakult and smells slightly like candy. It’s quite drinkable though I think the bottle is a bit too large.

Details: 6.6 ounces per drink, comes in a pack of four, plastic bottle, $2.89

Ingredients: filtered water, cultured nonfat milk, sugar, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, natural & artificial flavors, potassium sorbate, aspartame, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D

Flavors: Original, Peach, Pineapple

The bottle says that Assi Yogo is refreshing, made with cultured grade A non fat yogurt, it’s good for your body, fat free, cholesterol free and has as much vitamin A and D as half a pint of milk.

3 stars (out of 5)

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

* OCEANVIEW SUPERMARKET: 3911 Alemany Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94132

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Free Banh Mi at Chill Desserts Tomorrow (2/20)

Fro-yo girl here. You're probably wondering what my post has to do with fro-yo. There is a connection since Chill serves fro-yo. Tomorrow they're introducing their new banh mi sandwiches and if you're one of the first 50 people (starting at noon) to mention the password "Chill Out", you'll get a FREE sandwich of your choice. One per customer.

"All sandwiches come in a toasty baguette, chili aioli, pickled veggies, cilantro, jalapeno + a dash of sea salt and ground pepper." Yum.

New sandwiches:
* Ham w/ pate
* Shredded Chicken w/ lemongrass seasoning
* Tofu w/ lemongrass seasoning

Don't forget to have fro-yo for dessert!

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

* CHILL DESSERTS, 125 Kearny St., San Francisco, CA

Yogurt Drinks: Dannon DanActive Review


Fro-yo girl here. While Yogu Time is too sugary and sweet, DanActive is a much better tasting yogurt drink. DanActive isn’t as watery as Yogu Time; rather, it’s more like milk with a stronger,sour yogurt flavor. I think the plain flavor would be better but I can’t find seem to find it. So far it’s my favorite yogurt drink. Even better, it seems to be good for you with probiotics that promise to strengthen your immune system and improves digestion.

Details: 3.3 ounces per drink, comes in a pack of four, plastic bottle

Ingredients: cultured reduced fat milk, water, sugar, natural vanilla flavor, dextrose, modified corn starch, citric acid, sodium citrate, active cultures

Flavors: Plain (limited edition, I haven’t seen it), Vanilla, Strawberry, Blueberry, Cranberry Raspberry

Tagline: “Helps Strengthen Your Body’s Defenses”

4 stars (out of 5)

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

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Yogurt Drinks: Yakult Review


Fro-yo girl here. Yakult the original yogurt drink has been available in Japan since 1935. In terms of taste, it’s lighter and sweeter than DanActive but not as sweet and watery as Yogu Time. Yakult is a bit sour, slightly citrusy, with a sweet aftertaste. It’s a bit too sweet to be refreshing but they claim that with daily consumption, it will help your digestive system.

Details: 2.7 ounces per drink, comes in a pack of five, plastic bottle, $2.99

Ingredients: water, sugar, skim milk powder, glucose, natural and artificial flavors, lactobacillus casei shirota

Tagline: “Cultured Drink with Dairy”

3 stars (out of 5)

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

Monday, February 16, 2009

Tuttimelon Polk Grand Opening Giveaway!

Fro-yo girl here. Tutti fans, be sure to get there early when the new Polk St. location opens at noon on Feb. 28 and bring a print out of the following page: http://www.tuttimelon.com/polk-promo.html

The first 50 people with the print out will receive the brand new Tuttimelon eco-friendly Tuttimug! It's washable and microwave safe. And of course they will have the 99 cents special (small, original tart fro-yo).

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

* TUTTIMELON: 2125 Polk St., San Francisco, CA

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Tuttimelon West Portal Grand Opening Coverage



Fro-yo girl here. Happy Valentine’s Day, fro-yoholics! Tuttimelon opened today at 11 AM. I arrived early and watched them set up (e.g., put up the grand opening banner). It’s interesting that 90% of the people who walked by looked up at the banner and/or peered inside and most expressed interest in trying Tuttimelon. Some of them thought I was a Tuttimelon employee (I guess I looked too interested?). They picked a good day to open (heavy foot traffic) and a good location (some decent restaurants, nice to pop in for a fro-yo after a good meal).

About 15 minutes before show time, Roy Lam, looking quite dashing in a black Tuttimelon t-shirt with a long sleeved shirt underneath, appeared to help set up. Roy’s the general manager of Tuttimelon. I’ve seen his picture before but this was the first time I actually spoke to him in person.

Roy was kind enough to show me the concept of their first self-serve location in Union City (Union Landing) and the San Mateo location, as well as answer all my questions and personally serve me the first cup of fro-yo. He even remembered the fro-yo flavors and toppings that I like. Awww. Roy, I still plan on meeting you at the Polk St. grand opening.

I admire the consistency of Tuttimelon locations and of course the tuttilicious flavor of their fro-yo. I like how it’s extra tart, smooth (never clumpy), and dense. And I still tell myself that their fro-yo has live and active cultures so it’s good for me too.

I wish they would add free wi-fi so that I could sit there, work, eat a crepe, eat some fro-yo, work, and eat some more fro-yo.

Other Tutti news:
* They are going organic soon! And I think more eco-conscious too (reusable cups).
* They were originally wholesalers of gelato, so I’m guessing their gelato is good (I haven’t tried any. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to choose gelato instead of fro-yo).

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

* TUTTIMELON: 44 West Portal Ave., San Francisco, CA

Friday, February 13, 2009

Coming Soon to Fremont: Yogurt Bees


Here’s an early peek at the new self-serve frozen yogurt shop in Lion Plaza. The windows are covered up so I can’t tell how close they are to opening their doors. It has to be Chinese owned because (1) the location, (2) Chinese signs are displayed (sorry, I can’t read them).

* YOGURT BEES: 46809 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA, 94539

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Melon Appears! Tuttimelon to Open on Valentine’s Day



Fro-yo girl here. This is it – the new Tuttimelon is expected to open this Saturday on Valentine’s Day. I was able to get a sneak peek today and the interior looks ready. It’s a larger space (formerly the Plain Jane store) with plenty of seating. They’ll serve gelato and two flavors of fro-yo. For the grand opening, they’ll have the 99 cents special (small original tart fro-yo).

The Polk store will open on Feb. 28th!

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

* TUTTIMELON: 44 West Portal Ave., San Francisco, CA (pictured above)
* TUTTIMELON: 2125 Polk St., San Francisco, CA

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Breaking News: Two New Yogen Fruz Locations Opening in the Bay Area


Fro-yo girl here. I don't know the exact locations yet, but I'm told that Yogen Fruz is opening two more locations in the Bay Area (one this spring, one this summer). This tip comes from an official source. Yay! More fro-yo!

Here's the official description of Yogen Fruz: "Yogen Früz is a world leader in the frozen dessert category, with over 1,100 locations operating in over 20 countries. Yogen Früz pioneered the frozen yogurt category in Canada when it opened its first store in 1986. It remains a category leader with its broad menu, unique blending system, added probiotic cultures, distinctive store design and more than two decades of global operation."

Here are the new locations:

Hamilton Marketplace
5800 Nave Dr. Ste L
Novato, CA 94949

Westfield Oakridge Shopping Centre
925 Blossom Hill Road
San Jose, CA 95123

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

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Gerber Graduates Yogurt Melts


Fro-yo girl here. I was amused to see a yogurt snack for babies during my recent grocery shopping trip. Though I like to try most yogurt snacks, something about freeze dried whipped yogurt snacks (for babies) just didn’t tickle my fancy. It seems too processed but the packaging said that the product is 99% real yogurt and fruit. Also, they claim it contains live and active yogurt cultures.

Flavors: Mixed berries, strawberry, peach

If you tried it and liked it (or didn't like it), let me know!

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

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Zuckersüss Q & A


Fro-yo girl here. I have the utmost admiration and respect for entrepreneurs like Matt Kimball (owner of Zuckersüss) who care about providing quality fro-yo to the public.

FYG: How would you describe Zuckersüss and how is it different makes from other fro-yo shops?

Matt: I would describe Zuckersüss as a self-serve, all-natural frozen yogurt bar. The biggest difference between us and the vast majority of other fro-yo places is that we serve actual yogurt (400 million cultures per gram) and not "original" or "original tart" or anything else masquerading as real yogurt in taste alone. I really wanted to focus on healthy and fun, so having a really good yogurt that is really good for you, as well as really good produce, was paramount.

You'd be surprised how many fro-yo spots use cheap, cheap stuff that isn't all that good and pretend it's good for you. Same goes for the fruit, which isn't always fresh at lots of places (especially self-serve ones). Our produce jobber is the best in the Bay Area and most produce is sourced from local farms.

As for the fun part, I tried to make the interior as fun and inviting as possible without copying the cheap plastic furniture model and bright green scheme. I wanted it to be plush and swanky and fun.

FYG: How does live music fit into your vision for Zuckersüss?

Matt: As an independent musician, I have a passion for music and an understanding of the business and industry. What I want to do is to have a place where customers can be exposed to good music that they wouldn't normally encounter. To this end, I hope to select a handful of high-quality local musicians with CDs to sell for $9.99, while incentivizing customers to try them out by offering them their yogurt free (same as with the shirts). We get to offer something unique to our customers, the musicians get exposure and a sale they wouldn't normally get, and the customer gets a great value and a chance to find the best music they might have never heard otherwise.

Of course live music is another point, and we've had a few really great pianists in the store already. Perhaps we'll get to the point where we can have a regular open mic night for musicians and other artists, and I'd also like to get a white acoustic guitar soon. We give people 10% off when they play a good song.

FYG: Any plans to add another flavor of yogurt?

Matt: I'm on the lookout for real, all-natural product...so if another flavor makes itself available, I'll certainly give it a try, but I want it to be real.

FYG: What inspired you to open a fro-yo shop?

Matt: I was inspired by Pinkberry. I'm not ashamed to say it. I visited Pinkberry when they had just opened their second store and immediately wanted to do something similar up here. It's been almost three years trying to get this store opened. I was down in Hollywood on music business and my brother, who lives down there, insisted I go to this amazing new store (Pinkberry), so we went. We stood in line for 30 minutes. The thought of good yogurt with fresh fruit was what inspired me (even though I was duped and it turned out I was eating junky yogurt with fresh fruit). What I wanted to change was the fact that I stood in line for 30 minutes and couldn't even decipher the menu, and then only to get a stingy amount of blueberries and at that with a gaping hole in the bottom of my cup--self-serve was the solution to all three.

I guarantee that if you took a cup of our yogurt side by side with the same cup and with the same toppings as a Pinkberry, we'd be cheaper - even though we have better, more expensive yogurt...better, more expensive fruit...green cups & spoons...and no economies of scale since we're a small, local business.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt, congratulations on opening Zuckersüss and thank you for taking the time to share your fro-yo vision with the readers of Fro-Yo Girl Speaks.

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

* ZUCKERSUSS: 1081 B St., Hayward, CA

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Valentine’s Day Specials at Sip Café and Yogurtouille


Sip Café has a grand opening special, good till Feb. 15: get a cup of self-serve fro-yo with topping, up to 4 oz., for 99 cents or a 99 cents cup of coffee. Thanks for the tip, Ann L.

*SIP CAFE: 1412 Camden Avenue, Campbell, CA.

Yogurtouille has a buy one, get another cup of fro-yo for ½ off on Valentine's Day

* YOGURTOUILLE: 407 S B St, San Mateo, CA 94401

Monday, February 2, 2009

Happy 1 Year Anniversary, Tuttimelon



Fro-yo girl here. Tuttimelon’s first location celebrates its one year anniversary today. Yes, on 2/2/08, Tuttimelon Irving (SF) opened its doors for business. I visited the shop on that day and ordered a small original tart (99 cents at the time) with red beans. The very next day I had chestnuts as a fro-yo topping for the very first time.

Since that special day, Tuttimelon has opened two more locations in SF (Chestnut St. in the Marina, Broadway in Chinatown), 1 location in Alameda and 1 location in San Rafael. We can look forward to the new locations all over the Bay Area in 2009 (Berkeley, San Mateo, Hayward, Oakland, Burlingame, SF – Noe Valley, West Portal, Polk St.) and possibly China.

I also heard, and I can barely contain my excitement, that at least one of the new locations in the Bay Area is going to be…SELF SERVE. I still can’t really wrap my head around that piece of news.

Congrats, Tuttimelon! Keep spreading your tuttiliciousness!

P.S. I uploaded some pictures taken on Feb. 2, 2009.

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

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Message to Lee’s Sandwiches Corporate HQ: Give Us More Yolee’s



Fro-yo girl here. I’m hoping that Lee’s Sandwiches will soon roll out their fro-yo, Yolee’s Freeze, beyond the Berryessa location. The four flavors I tried were all tasty (original tart, guava, taro, Lee’s coffee), the toppings were fresh and the price is right. It feels like they spent some time testing the fro-yo and coming up with their own flavors. And maybe the expansion is taking time because they want to get it right before rolling it out. I think Yolee’s is ready for wider distribution.

While I was sitting inside Lee’s enjoying my cup of fro-yo (tagline: yogurt made to please), several other people came by for their fro-yo fix too. I’m still thinking about the Lee’s coffee flavor – it tastes like really yummy coffee soft serve ice cream (it’s not tart).

I love the idea of getting banh mi, steamed buns, Vietnamese coffee, and fro-yo at the same place.

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

* LEE'S SANDWICHES: 2471 Berryessa Rd, San Jose, CA