Yolato Frozen Yogurt Gelato Bars

Fro-yo girl here. Yolato frozen yogurt gelato bars come in two flavors, Naturalato and Pomegranato. You can get single popsicles or 4 packs at convenience and grocery stores in NY. They look sooooo good. I wonder why we don't have tart frozen yogurt popsicles here in California? Popsicles are so convenient. I can picture myself having a fro-yo popsicle while watching a movie or running out the door on my way somewhere.

I heard from Yolato. They're looking for West Coast distribution right now. Keeping my fingers crossed.

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

www.yolato.com

New Fro-yo Flavor from Summit: Pink Grapefruit Tart

Fro-yo girl here. For fro-yo shop owners looking to add more flavors to their line-up, Summit Premium just introduced pink grapefruit tart. I had the chance to try it at Limon in San Pablo and it was my favorite flavor there. It has a nice tangy, bright flavor.

Contact http://www.srfoodgroup.com/contact.html for more information.

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

* LIMON FROZEN YOGURT: 2300 El Portal Dr, San Pablo, CA

2009: The Fro-yo Year in Review

Fro-yo girl here. Back in January 2008, I developed my wish list for 2009. Most of my wishes had come true by June 2009. Here’s a look back at what I wished for and what actually happened.

* Soy fro-yo: Not much has changed. It’s still offered by Fraiche but hasn’t caught on. WholeSoy & Co. offers pints of organic soy fro-yo at health food supermarkets but I haven’t seen it yet: http://www.wholesoyco.com/product_frozen.html and it doesn’t come in any tart flavors
* Kefir fro-yo: Culture offered it a few times but not for long. Apparently it didn’t agree with their fro-yo machines. Starfruit Café in Chicago added a second location in 2009.
* New fro-yo flavors: There was much progress in this area from all over the world. In the Bay Area, Blush introduced the first organic cookies n’ cream flavor, along with guava and pina colada. Tuttimelon launched many new flavors including passionfruit, coconut, guava, and almond. Pinkberry added passionfruit, coconut, and chocolate. Red Mango added pumpkin spice and the unique Tangomonium. Sadly, some unique flavors like Chill Café’s Red Tea are no longer available.
* Mochi at Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt: I’m very frustrated that they still don’t have mochi. It’s almost unforgivable. I know that they aren’t like other fro-yo shops but mochi is my favorite fro-yo topping.
* More homemade mochi all over: This really happened at places like Sweet Orchid in Fremont, Coco Swirl, Hello Desserts, Yogurtastic, and Fraiche. And flavored mochi became fairly common.
* Tuttimelon’s growth continues: Tuttimelon continues to be the largest fro-yo player in the Bay Area, expanding into almost every SF neighborhood, the South Bay, Peninsula, East Bay, Asia, and Canada. Most of the new locations are self-serve.
* Fro-yo at Target and Trader Joe’s: Trader Joe’s offers frozen tart fro-yo. Target carries Ben & Jerry’s fro-yo.
* Tart fro-yo in your local supermarket freezer section: Trader Joe’s, Dreyer’s, Haagen Daaz and Cefiore answered the call for supermarket tart fro-yo.

I’m fairly happy with 2009 because most people in the Bay Area can now get fro-yo without driving too far and fro-yo shops keep on opening. There were also unexpected surprises like my new collection of Yogurtland spoons.

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

Merry Christmas Fro-yo Style

Fro-yo girl here. I hope all of you are enjoying the holidays. My sweet friend surprised me with Tuttimelon gift cards! I have some Xmas fro-yo pics to share: (1) Christmas tree at Tuttimelon Irving, (2) my cup of Tuttimelon Xmas froyo - original tart with pomegranate seeds, kiwi, plain mochi and strawberry mochi. Tuttilicious! Yes, Tuttimelon Irving is open today. Merry Christmas fro-yoholics!



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

* TUTTIMELON IRVING: 2045 Irving St., San Francisco, CA

Cefiore Frozen Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks to Stellaincognita's tip, I went to Whole Foods to look for pints of Cefiore...and yes, they had them! There were four flavors: strawberry, chocolate, acai-pomegranate and original tart, $3.99 each. I selected acai pomegranate and had some for breakfast today. First, it has a nice odor - the scent of fro-yo. The texture is lighter than most supermarket fro-yo. It's soft and almost whipped (but not too airy). You can definitely taste the acai, even more so than the pomegranate. While I liked the flavor (fruity and tangy), they put way too much sugar in it.

Their fro-yo has live and active cultures and is kosher.



Ingredients: Water, sucrose, skim milk, acai puree, maltodextrin, pomegranate juice concentrate, whey, egg yolks, natural flavors, passion fruit juice concentrate, stabilizer, yogurt cultures, natural lemon juice powder.

4 stars out of 5

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

* WHOLE FOODS: 450 Rhode Island St., San Francisco, CA

What's in My Chococat Bowl? Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Saturday might have been too much excitement for me (yay, Tuttimelon grand opening) or driving by Cultive could have been too frustrating (they opened today, a little while after I left the area); I seem to have a slight cold. My usual treatment is to eat fro-yo every day. It seems to work!

Sometimes it's nice to have fro-yo at home, especially late at night.

Here's a picture of my Chococat bowl which I filled with Blush organic pumpkin tart fro-yo (one of my favorite fro-yo flavors ever) and topped with Tohato Caramel Corn (Vanilla flavor). Isn't the Tohato Caramel Corn bag soooo cute? The bag is drinking a vanilla milkshake. The corn puffs are light, airy and crunchy. They stay crunchy even after being exposed to fro-yo (moisture). They're a little too sweet so they taste even better with fro-yo than they would by themselves. I'm also putting Japanese Choco Flakes on my fro-yo. Yum.

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

Tuttimelon Valley Fair Grand Opening Coverage

Fro-yo girl here. Tuttimelon Bear and I headed down to Valley Fair early today for the grand opening of the new Tuttimelon flagship location. People were already waiting in line an hour before it opened (the first 50 received exclusive new Tuttimelon t-shirts and a turn at spinning the prize wheel). The Truly Tuttilicious shirts came in white and pink with a flocked Tuttimelon logo (I received a special black t-shirt). The t-shirts were very nice American Apparel tees.



The scene was hectic because the fro-yo machines weren't cooperating but the Taylor technician showed up on his day off and soon the free fro-yo began to flow...for two hours a diverse group of people had the chance to spin the wheel (prizes included gelato, the Sumo bowl, $5 Tuttimelon gift cards) and help themselves to free fro-yo and toppings (as much as they could fit in the small cup). One family won two Sumo bowls. There were some hilarious pictures taken of people with their giant Sumo bowls, overflowing with fro-yo. The first person in line was a guy with long hair. Some people just kept coming back for more fro-yo!



I was lucky enough to help out a bit, making most of the labels for the toppings and chatting with the shop owners and the rest of the Tuttimelon family (including Mr. Tuttimelon, Roy, of course). Their new location has 10 fro-yo flavors a day at 38 cents and a case filled with Tuttimelon gelato and sorbet (including creme brulee, black sesame).

Fro-yo flavors of the day:
* Vanilla
* Chocolate
* Egg nog
* Strawberry tart
* Acai blueberry tart
* Original tart
* Almond tart
* Taro tart
* Pomegranate tart



At 2:15 PM, the prize raffle began. The first person won $20 in TM gift cards. The next prize was $30 in TM gift cards. Next up was a blender of all things. It's good for smoothies I guess. The crowd was excited about the Wii Sport and PS3 (more so than the blender); a guy won the Wii Sport. The grand prize was the Playstation 3.



I love that Tuttimelon has such wonderful tart flavors. Most self-serve shops don't have enough tart flavors and/or their tart flavors are too icy and don't taste like real fro-yo.

Congratulations Tuttimelon and thank you for such a wonderful grand opening event!

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

The Case of the Mysterious Fro-yo Machine

Fro-yo girl here. One day I was shopping at Le Asia Supermarket in San Ramon and I spotted an old soft serve frozen yogurt machine in the food court area. It wasn't plugged in. The machine had pictures of fro-yo and the Dreyer's Grand Soft name all over it. I've never seen a machine like that in use and it looked quite old. I asked if they planned to use it and they said no...I wandered by again a few weeks later and it was still in the same place, unused. Is Le Asia so junky that they store random old equipment inside? Do they have plans for the machine?

I found an old article about the machine, dated 1994, which leads me to believe the machine is about 15 years old. Maybe it should be placed in a fro-yo museum.

"Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Ice Cream is promoting Grand Soft, a program offering fat-free and low-fat frozen yogurt, as well as high-butterfat ice cream. A four-head machine dispenses product from collapsible 2.5-gal. bags. Dreyer's employs a sales team exclusively for Grand Soft and, as of April, had placed approximately 400 machines nationwide. Another 600 placements are expected by summer's end, thanks largely to a new contract with Wal-Mart. Dreyer's acquired Polar Express, manufacturer of its Grand Soft dispenser, in March."

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

Julie's Organic Frozen Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. I found Julie's Organic Frozen Yogurt in the freezer at the Cheese Boutique. I'm not sure how many fro-yo flavors are available (there was more than one at CB, none were tart) but I took home a pint of Vanilla Bean. Julie's is an Oregon Ice Cream brand that also offers a line of organic ice cream. In addition to being organic and lowfat, Julie's fro-yo has prebiotic fiber and six active probiotic yogurt cultures. The list of ingredients is short (which is a good sign).

I found their fro-yo to be quite sweet but also smooth, rich and pure tasting. I was happy to see vanilla bean flecks. The texture is very thick and sticky, almost like gelato. I topped mine with crunchy organic cereal from Cascadian Farms. Yum.

Minor flaws: it's too sticky and it tastes more like gelato than fro-yo.

4.5 stars out of 5

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

* CHEESE BOUTIQUE: 666 Chenery St., San Francisco, CA

The Pharoah's Gold Card Comes with Fro-yo Discount

Fro-yo girl here. Here's another fro-yo related (but only tangentially) gift idea, the King Tut Holiday Gift Package: http://tutsanfrancisco.org/holiday. The $119 package includes 2 VIP tickets to the King Tut exhibit at the de Young Museum, a commemorative exhibition catalog, and $25 Cafe gift card. It would be a perfect gift for parents or someone who needs that extra inducement to spend the day in SF. Also, people who buy King Tut tickets will receive a Pharaoh's Gold Card which can be used to obtain special offers and discounts from participating businesses like Peet's, Bloomingdale's, Holy Gelato, and Nordstrom. Gold Card holders receive 20% off the purchase of one item at...Tuttimelon. There's even a 10% discount for another place I love, Crown & Crumpet.

http://www.tutsanfrancisco.org/goldcard/pharaoh's-gold-card
http://www.tutsanfrancisco.org/goldcard/offers/all
http://crownandcrumpet.com/

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Pictures: Seasonal and Another Orange Tree in San Jose

Fro-yo girl here. I have two pictures to share of two not yet opened fro-yo shops. The first is another Orange Tree. I wasn't too excited about it, so I took the picture from my car while I was parked at a red light (hence, it's not a good picture). The location is across the street from L'Amour Des Baguettes.


The second one is in downtown San Jose, a place called Seasonal Yogurt. I think it's their first location. It's a large space and I believe that it will be self-serve, and that they will also offer gelato.

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

* SEASONAL FROZEN YOGURT: On E San Salvador St. by S. 3rd St, San Jose, CA
* ORANGE TREE FROZEN YOGURT: 1143 Story Rd. Suite 190, San Jose, CA

Tuttimelon Valley Fair Grand Opening Announced Today

Fro-yo girl here. Tuttimelon announced their Valley Fair grand opening celebration today. Yes, it's self-serve again. They're pulling out all the stops for this one, including their spin a wheel, win a prize wheel that was such a hit at the Irving grand opening celebration. The wheel is fun but it slows the line down, a lot. My dream is to see Matt G./ Fro-yo Boy win the Sumo Bowl (last time he won a Tuttimelon gift card).

Be there on 12/19 for FREE fro-yo from 12 - 2 PM, a free Tuttimelon t-shirt for the first 50 guests, prize raffles and the spin the wheel!

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

* TUTTIMELON VALLEY FAIR: 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA

Fro-yo Xmas Gift Guide

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-yo gift cards are the perfect gift for teachers, co-workers, your stylist, your postal carrier and your family and friends. Be on the lookout for special holiday deals like these:

* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: Buy $25 or more in gift cards and get a free small frozen yogurt w/ two toppings for yourself

* PINKBERRY: Purchase $500 or more in Pinkberry gift cards online at http://www.pinkberrygiftcards.com/ and get a $25 gift card. They have cute holiday designs but who spends $500 on fro-yo gift cards? For that same amount you can get 20 small FREE fro-yos with toppings from Blush.

* CULTURE ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: Culture has put together the perfect gift set for fro-yo fans. Their fro-yo survival kit ($19.99) includes a reusable fro-yo bowl and spoon (I have one in smurf blue), a bag of housemade toppings choice, your choice of a jar of housemade fro-yo sauce and a $5 gift card. Bring the bowl back for 10% off your fro-yo purchase every time you use it. Yum! Also, if you buy a $25 gift card, you'll get a free small fro-yo.

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

UPDATE: Tuttimelon has a special holiday gift card promotion! Buy $20 in gift cards, get a FREE yogurt w/ 2 toppings or 10oz of yogurt at their self-serve locations. Share your love for Tuttimelon!

Harmony Yogurt also announced a special deal, buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a small fro-yo with one topping for free. Treat yourself and treat someone else to the fro-yo you love.

Tuttimelon Looking Festive and a Picture of Their Valley Fair Location

Fro-yo girl here. I drove by Tuttimelon Irving the other night and spotted a Christmas tree; what a lovely vision on a cold night. Tuttimelon West Portal has been decked out in snowflakes and holiday lights for a few weeks now (see for yourself).



I also had to see their Westfield Valley Fair location before it opens this month. It's upstairs by Macy's. They aren't listed in the mall directory yet, so it took awhile to find them.

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

* TUTTIMELON WEST PORTAL: 44 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco, CA
* TUTTIMELON VALLEY FAIR: 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA

Give a Child a Toy, Get Free Cup of Nubi Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Toys for Tots and Nubi Yogurt have joined up for a toy/fro-yo holiday promotion. From now until December 10, 2009, bring a new, unwrapped toy to Nubi (I saw the sign at the SF Nubi) and get a free cup of fro-yo (up to 10 ounces). I heard Ono was participating as well but I'm fuzzy on the details. Help make a child happy this holiday season and enjoy some fro-yo too.

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

* NUBI YOGURT: 1511 Sloat Blvd, San Francisco, CA

Thank You Yogurtland

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland HQ, thank you so much for the care package with two Tokidoki Loves Yogurtland t-shirts (one with Donutella, one featuring Captain Coco) and the special 4 pack of limited edition spoons - one of each, tied with a signature ribbon (in Yogurtland colors). How thoughtful!

I think the promotion is brilliant and I love going to Yogurtland to look at the Tokidoki signs and pick up more spoons. I've recovered from my frustration over not getting the new spoons on 11/23, but now I'm in danger of being stalked by Tracy T.

No, the shirts are not for sale.

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

Yogurtland Free T-Shirt Promotion

Fro-yo girl here. The Yogurtland Downtown Berkeley just launched a fantastic promotion this week. Spend $5 and get a free Yogurtland t-shirt. I saw that they had plenty of t-shirts (in boxes) so go get yours soon. They run large (I think they are unisex).



It's actually not easy to spend $5 on fro-yo and toppings there. I'm not sure that it's possible using the smaller cup. You need to fill up the jumbo family size cup or go with friends. Or if you live close enough and/or bring an insulated cooler, take some home for later. You can also fill up another cup with toppings (get mochi - that's expensive).

They also have the super cute new Donutella & Captain Coco limited edition spoons now, plus holiday flavors like Peppermint and Egg Nog.

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

* YOGURTLAND DOWNTOWN BERKELEY: 2236 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA