Fro-yo Toppings Poll Results

Fro-yo girl here. I recently asked my readers to weigh in on the question: “How many different types of toppings would you want in your perfect cup of fro-yo?” The results are in. It was a close race between 1 - 2 toppings (45% of the vote) and 3 - 5 toppings (40%) of the vote. I also examined the Yogurtland Berkeley pictures uploaded to Yelp and discovered the average number of toppings per cup = 3. 

I’m trying to understand the ideal cup of fro-yo. Last month, readers chose 2 flavors of fro-yo for their perfect cup of fro-yo. This month, I’d like you to vote on your ideal toppings to fro-yo ratio.

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

Peach Pinkberry & Cinnamon Streusel Topping

Fro-yo girl here. I just tried the new Peach Pinkberry with fresh peaches, almonds, mochi, and cinnamon streusel. The peach fro-yo didn’t disappoint. It’s very peachy and juicy tasting, creamy and smooth yet refreshing. I’m happy that a new tangy flavor joined the lineup after several indulgent, sweet flavor introductions.

Don’t miss the new cinnamon streusel topping, consisting of tiny crunchy bits and cinnamon. It’s not too sweet and adds great texture and flavor to your fro-yo. 

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

Lucky Layla Farms Yogurt Drink Review

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurt drinks that taste like Yakult are far too sweet for me and I gave up trying all the different brands that I spot in Asian supermarkets. Yogurt smoothies tend to be too sweet as well. Middle Eastern yogurt drinks are actually salted and take some getting used to. I spotted Lucky Layla Farms probiotic yogurt drinks at Whole Foods and decided to give the plain one a try.

I was stunned by the natural sweetness and luxurious thick smoothness of Lucky Layla’s plain yogurt drink. They don’t add sugar to the natural plain yogurt drink. Their drinkable yogurt drink is naturally sweeter than the other plain yogurt drinks that I’ve tried (for example, Siggi’s has a similar plain yogurt drink with no added sugar).

Is it the cows that make the difference? They use milk from award-winning Guernsey and Jersey cows that are free to roam on Texas grassland and cool down in lakes. They don’t use water, powdered milk or thickeners.

Lucky Layla’s drinkable yogurt comes in 10 fruit flavors (made with real fruit of course) such as mango, blueberry, blackberry, pina colada and strawberry. Look for it at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Central Markets. I haven’t seen it in any San Francisco Whole Foods locations but they had it in Seattle ($1.99 regular price, 2 for $3 on sale for an 8 oz. bottle).

Rating: 5/5

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

Fro-yo Girl Reviews on The Frozen Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. I just started contributing fro-yo shop reviews to another website, The Frozen Yogurt Review. I’m excited to have a good reason to revisit some shops and see how they’ve changed or provide additional praise to my favorite fro-yo spots. My first review is for a favorite spot, Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt in Burlingame, CA. 

The Frozen Yogurt Review has much more than fro-yo shop reviews. The site also has some great articles about frozen yogurt machines and will add other educational articles about the frozen yogurt industry in the future. The goal is “to create the most comprehensive guide on the internet to all things frozen yogurt.” Check it out!

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

Fro-yo Pictures From Portland, OR

Fro-yo girl here. I have some fro-yo related pictures to share from Portland, OR. The 2011 Portland Visitor’s Map has a fro-yo shop, Tartberry self-serve yogurt, on the cover. Tartberry is on the map too. View the map online at http://portlandmap.com/

I spotted Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo (local, handmade fro-yo from Eugene, OR) at a local food cooperative, Food Front, but didn’t get a chance to try it. They carried quite a few flavors, including strawberry, peanut butter, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, carrot-cinnamon, lemon, tart. Some were vegan. A pint was $6.49. Unfortunately, our hotel didn’t have a in room fridge/freezer and we were too full to eat a pint of fro-yo. I’d hate to buy a pint and waste most of it. 

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

* FOOD FRONT COOPERATIVE GROCERY: 2375 NW Thurman St., Northwest Portland, OR

Follow @vanillajills on Twitter

Spotlight on BOOM Yogurt Bar in Boulder, CO

Fro-yo girl here. While I haven’t had the privilege of visiting BOOM Yogurt Bar, it sounds like a special place that emphasizes healthy, natural toppings, organic fresh fruit, and locally made yogurt and granola. Unlike most fro-yo places, you won’t find sugary mass produced toppings like Cap’n Crunch and Nerds candy. They plan on opening a second location in Lowry Town Center beginning of May.

* BOOM YOGURT BAR: 3303 30th St., Boulder, CO

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

Here’s more information about BOOM from their press release:

BOOM Yogurt Bar is all about LOCAL

Boulder, CO Jan 24, 2012 – BOOM Yogurt Bar, opened its door mid-September with a focus on community and locally-made yogurts, oatmeal, and toppings. Since opening, BOOM has expanded its menu to include more local companies.

BOOM Yogurt Bar is the new generation of the yogurt-craze in a relaxing, inviting gathering space. Inspired by years of international yogurt eating of Boulder’s 2008 Olympian Matty Reed’s global athletic pursuits, BOOM provides a healthy experience with a local twist.

Recently BOOM Yogurt became the first ever to create and tap both a mix1 and a Muscle Milk frozen yogurt. These new frozen yogurts have added proteins to the natural probiotic yogurts.

“It is always great to find complementary local brands to partner with. We are excited to work with BOOM and create some fun new ways to connect with the boulder community,” Peter Archer, mix1 Marketing Manager Colorado said.

Boom’s goal of bringing the community together continues as they have recently added Boulder EVOL Foods burritos and Dizzy’s Donuts, both local creations.

“We wanted to bring together local companies and create a “bar”, a place where people can go, grab some healthy food and treats, locally made, and feel comfortable and relax,” said Kelly Reed, co-owner. “We don’t want to be just the normal fro yo shop. We want to take it to the next level.”

The BOOM Yogurt Bar menu features natural frozen yogurt (with probiotics) slow cooked oatmeal, Noosa Yoghurt, greek yogurt, a non-dairy yogurt, various purees from Noosa, fresh fruit, fresh mochi, chocolates from local company Concertos in Chocolate.

“Noosa Yoghurt is very excited to work with other Colorado based companies, especially companies providing fresh quality product to Coloradoans,” Paul Mathewson, from Noosa Yoghurt said. “This is Noosa's ethos and we love to align to similar minded companies such as Boom.”

“BOOM offers food that is good for the body, fuel for the day. We open at 7:30 on weekdays and 10:00 in the morning on weekends so that people can fuel up for the day.” Reed said. Breakfast offerings are available all day.

BOOM’s effort to gather the community is shown in its BOOM ROOM, a 30 person gathering room, which can be reserved for birthday parties, get-togethers, book clubs, business meetings and more. The room offers seating, table space, bar seating, television, AV-equipped, and most of all a modern, earthy feel.

BOOM Yogurt Bar is also working with local organizations such as the Young Rembrandts, Clementine Art Studio, local artists, musicians and designers, as well as many clubs in Boulder to offer them a free place to hold classes, meetings and parties. BOOM is currently featuring artwork by Will Day, a Boulder artist.

BOOM also delivers for parties, mid day office cravings and special events.
www.boomyogurtbar.com
www.twitter.com/boomyogurtbar

For more information contact
Sarah Vincent
Phone: 303-552-1015
sarah@vincentconsultinggroup.com

Fro-yo Seattle Report: The Invasion of the Chains

Fro-yo girl here. There’s been quite a bit of fro-yo activity since my visit to Seattle last fall. Self-serve fro-yo has taken off in a big way. Yogurtland and Menchie’s are staking their claim on various neighborhoods.

* Current Seattle area YL locations: Capitol Hill, Wallingford, University Village, Bellevue. Coming soon to Redmond and Kent.
* Current Seattle area Menchie’s locations: Queen Anne, University Village, West Seattle, Vancouver, Federal Way, Lynnwood. Coming soon to Kirkland, Bellingham, Puyallup and Magnolia Village (Seattle).

For some reason the Yogurtland locations seemed more accessible and closer to various colleges and universities. I never made it to West Seattle to see the Menchie’s there. I love how Yogurtland's Wallingford location is right next to a teriyaki restaurant. So Seattle!

Other self-serve fro-yo shops in Seattle include Zoeyogurt in Greenlake and Froyo Fresh in the Columbia Center downtown. Cool Whirled was a self-serve fro-yo shop that didn’t last long in the Fremont neighborhood. It’s the golden age of self-serve fro-yo in Seattle.

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

Fro-yo Seattle Report: Shy Giant Frozen Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. I finally made it to Shy Giant Frozen Yogurt (which was closed for a couple of months during the Pike Place Market renovation), Seattle’s first frozen yogurt shop. When it opened its doors in 1976, it was the first fro-yo shop in the Pacific Northwest and the second on the West Coast (it’s even older than Yogurt Park in Berkeley, CA). Shy Giant feels like a historic fro-yo place. 

Shy Giant is on its third owner now and it still offers custom flavored fro-yo. They chop up fruit and add it to the fro-yo. 

It was interesting to see their old signs (the signs look like they’re from the 1970s). One menu board lists yogurt, tofu and yodolo. They had frozen tofu! I’m not sure what Yodolo was. They no longer offer tofu or Yodolo. Their soft serve machines look as old as the shop. They offer 4 fro-yo flavors a day, Snoqualmie ice cream, smoothies, hot apple cider and hot chocolate. 

Shy Giant does have tart fro-yo flavors. The texture is very thick, stiff, creamy and dense. It reminded me of mix-in style fro-yo even though it did come from a soft serve machine.

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

* SHY GIANT: 1500 Pike Place, Space 15, Seattle, WA

Mochicream: Yoghurt Mochi

Fro-yo girl here. Mochicream, a new kiosk inside Mitsuwa features gourmet mochi shipped from Japan. These chilled mochis are filled and come in 24 flavors, from traditional (black sesame, red bean, green tea, sakura) to creative kinds (caramel pudding, caramel macchiato, apple pie, honey cranberry, rum raisin). The price ranged from $1.80 to $2.30 each.

Small but plump, the mochi are individually wrapped in a plain sheet of clear plastic. They’re meant to be eaten 10 - 15 minutes after you purchase them (the sign said to be consumed on the day of purchase). These aren’t ice cream mochi. They’re more closely related to the fresh or refrigerated bean filled mochi that you can find at your local Japanese grocery store.

They had two yogurt/yoghurt flavors.

* Blueberry yoghurt ($1.90): A sweet, smooth bean filling that’s flavored with a hint of blueberry, surrounding a center of a light, slightly tangy whipped yogurt cream. The thin glutinous rice shell is tender and chewy.
* Peach yoghurt ($1.90): Similar to the blueberry yoghurt only with a peach flavored bean filling. The peach had a more perfume like flavor than the blueberry, pleasant and subtle.

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

* MOCHICREAM: 675 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, CA