Ben & Jerry’s Fro-yo Truck Visits SF

Fro-yo girl here. Ben & Jerry’s fro-yo truck arrived today! The truck was parked at Yerba Buena Gardens today. You had your choice between two flavors, Raspberry Fudge Chunk and Peanut Butter Banana. The cups were 3.6 fl. ozs and include a tiny spoon tucked in the lid. Ben & Jerry’s West will be on tour in the area for another 5 weeks. They’ll continue to offer the same two flavors at all their stops. To find out where they’ll be, follow @BenJerrysWest on Twitter. 

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

Pinkberry Coming to Downtown SF, Finally!

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks Ann L. for the tip that Pinkberry is finally coming to downtown SF. It’s right next to the entrance to Macy’s Union Square on O’Farrell St. The space is covered up so one can’t see the shop. However, the sign says Swirling June 2012. For jobs, email unionsquarejobs@pinkberry.com. See Craigslist for more information on the positions available.

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

Fro-yo Coming to the Inner Richmond, Finally!

Fro-yo girl here. Sweethut, the new milk tea shop on Clement from Wonderful Foods, is going to offer self-serve fro-yo. I spotted the wall with cutouts for the fro-yo machines. They’re going to have four fro-yo machines (presumably this means 8 flavors of fro-yo). The toppings bar is in place, just waiting to be filled with toppings. 

Those of you who follow the SF fro-yo scene might recall that Wonderful Foods opened a self-serve fro-yo shop on Irving St., Wonderful Yogurt. I hope Sweethut offers better fro-yo than the short-lived Wonderful Yogurt.

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

* SWEETHUT: 519 Clement St., San Francisco, CA

Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Bars Review

Fro-yo girl here. I still haven’t spotted Yasso’s frozen Greek yogurt bars in the Bay Area, but I have spotted them at supermarkets in Seattle and Los Angeles (e.g., Vons, Ralph’s, Gelson’s).

Yasso bars come in three flavors: strawberry, raspberry and blueberry. At QFC, a box of 4 bars was $3.99 on sale, $4.99 regular price. The bars are all natural and made without corn syrup. One fat free bar is 70 calories.

* RASPBERRY YASSO BARS: Each bar is individually wrapped. The thick bar looks smooth and the texture is indeed creamy and smooth. It’s also light (not dense). The texture is very good but the flavor is quite bland. There isn’t enough raspberry or yogurt flavor. The aftertaste is bitter. I can’t say that I liked the taste but the bars do seem pretty healthy.

3 out of 5 stars

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

* QFC: 1401 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122

TCBY & Mrs. Fields Co-Branded Shops

Fro-yo girl here. Carl’s Jr. and Green Burrito...Taco Bell and KFC...and now TCBY and Mrs. Fields. I’m talking about co-branded eateries. TCBY/Mrs. Fields locations can be found in several states, including California, Minnesota, Arizona, Delaware and more. A new location just opened in downtown Seattle which features self-serve fro-yo. The Pasadena, CA TCBY/Mrs. Fields location carries only scoopable TCBY.

Mrs. Fields Brands, LLC, owns both Mrs. Fields and TCBY. In 2011, TCBY rebranded, opened its first self-serve stores last year and embarked on a 200 store expansion plan over the next 10 years. This year they hit supermarket shelves with frozen yogurt pints, quarts and novelties.

I wouldn’t mind having Mrs. Fields fresh baked cookies as a fro-yo topping.

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

* MRS. FIELDS COOKIES/TCBY: 394 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA

New Yogurtland Flavors: Blue Lychee Bliss & Almond Midnight Mocha

Fro-yo girl. The flavor elves at Yogurtland have been busy again and they’ve come up with two new fro-yo flavors. You won’t want to miss trying both. Expect to see them at participating Yogurtland locations till the end of June. I found both at Yogurtland Burlingame.

* BLUE LYCHEE BLISS: The combination of lychee and blueberry is a pale purple creamy yet refreshing treat. The lychee flavor is more dominant than the blueberry but you can definitely taste the blueberry flavor and see the blueberry flecks. I liked how it was quite tart.
* ALMOND MIDNIGHT MOCHA: Two types of chocolate, coffee and almond make this super rich and decadent without being super sweet. The rich nutty chocolate flavor reminded me of the center of a chocolate truffle or a firm, extra chocolatey mousse. Wow.

* YOGURTLAND BURLINGAME: 225 Primrose Rd., Burlingame, CA

Ciao Bella Adonia Greek Frozen Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. Adonia Greek Frozen Yogurt by Ciao Bella officially went national in April 2012. I’ve seen Adonia at several Target and Whole Foods locations. Whole Foods Haight carries their pints and yogurt bars. Target Colma carries just the pints ($3.99) in three flavors: Wild Blueberry, Vanilla, Raspberry. 

* VANILLA FROZEN YOGURT: I liked the texture: dense, firm, thick and creamy. It’s denser than most of the supermarket fro-yo out there and a little chewier. It’s very sweet (too sweet I think) but does have lots of vanilla bean flavor. The number of vanilla bean flecks was impressive. It had a mild yogurt taste and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Overall it reminded me of gelato but less sticky and with some yogurt flavor. It’s nonfat and the main ingredients are nonfat milk, cane juice, and cultured nonfat milk protein concentrate.

Adonia pints are available in 7 flavors, including Espresso, Key lime, Peach, Mango, Wild blueberry, Vanilla, and Raspberry. The yogurt bars come in two flavors: Wild blueberry and Peach.

I’m curious whether their fruit flavors are tangier.

4 out of 5 stars

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

Fro-yo for Mother's Day

Fro-yo girl here. Tomorrow is the perfect day to treat your mom to fro-yo. Moms love fro-yo and fro-yo gift cards. Look for these special fro-yo deals:

* TCBY: Free fro-yo for moms on Mother's Day at participating locations, call ahead to check and find your nearest location here: http://tcby.com/find-a-store/
* ZOYO: Free fro-yo for mom on Mother's Day, in Phoenix, AZ, details
* ZINGA: Buy one, get one free on Mother's Day at Zinga locations
* YOGURT MOUNTAIN: 10 ounces free for mom on Mother's Day at participating locations
* BERRY COOL: Free fro-yo for mom, up to $4, on Mother's Day in Cedar Park, TX
* TWISTED PINEAPPLE: 4 ounces of free fro-yo for mom on Mother's Day in Somerset, KY
* YO MAMA: Buy one, get mom's free, involves fake tattoo in Wauwatosa, WI
* ORANGE LEAF: Buy 1, get 1 50% off  mom's cup on Mother's Day at participating locations
* BLUSH MILPITAS: Free small fro-yo or cake pop for mom with purchase of fro-yo or ice cream.

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Pictures: Red Mango Downtown Seattle

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks to another tip from @badrobot68, I found another future Red Mango Seattle location. This one is on 1st Avenue, across the street from Pike Place Market. It’s also going to be self-serve. The door wasn’t open.

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

* RED MANGO: 1418 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98101

Future Fro-yo Shop Pictures: Red Mango Rainier Square

Fro-yo girl here. Following up on a tip from @badrobot68, I walked over to 4th and Union and spotted the future Red Mango shop at Rainier Square. The doors were open so I peeked inside and saw that the wall for the fro-yo machines was in place. There’s space for five machines. Also, the signs indicate that this will be a self-serve location with fro-yo and smoothies. 

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

* RED MANGO: 405 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98104

TCBY Grocery Fro-yo Review

Fro-yo girl here. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to find TCBY frozen yogurt at Walmart locations in the Bay Area (Milpitas, Oakland, Union City), I realized that the TCBY Grocery locations tool on the TCBYgrocery.com isn’t accurate. Call your local Walmart first.

Walmart in Oxnard, CA had TCBY popsicles, (Strawberry swirl bars, Orange & vanilla bars, Chocolate fudge bars), Classic vanilla frozen yogurt sandwiches, pints (Supreme cookies & cream, Mint chocolate chunk, English toffee crunch), and quarts (Strawberry swirl, Classic vanilla bean) in stock. The pints were $2.98 and the quarts $3.98. TCBY Grocery frozen yogurt contains 7 types of probiotics.

* ORANGE & VANILLA BARS: The actual bars don’t look like the bars on the box; they don’t have a bright orange shell and a vanilla center. The orange and vanilla flavors are swirled together. It’s a light and creamy popsicle, very sweet without tasting like yogurt. People who like traditional creamsicles will enjoy these bars.

* ENGLISH TOFFEE CRUNCH FRO-YO: I was attracted to the idea of crunchy toffee in vanilla fro-yo. The actual frozen yogurt was extremely sweet with swirls of gooey caramel throughout and little crunchy English toffee.The flavor of caramel is overwhelming. The product tastes like pralines n’ cream ice cream, not frozen yogurt. If you’re looking for a creamy, rich ice cream substitute, you will like it.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

* WALMART: 2001 N Rose Ave., Oxnard, CA 93030

Taylor Fro-yo Machines & Restaurant Equipment Available

Fro-yo girl here. A fro-yo shop in the Bay Area is looking to sell the following equipment:

* 3 Taylor C713 gently used air-cooled soft serve machines, Twin twist can be used for soft serve fro-yo, ice cream, custard, etc. Freezing cylinder: 2, 3.4 quart. Mix hopper: 2, 20 quart
* Dispensers: True T-28, True T-28F, True TSSU-48-12
* Mop Sink
* Corner 3-Comp Sinks with drainboards
* Prep sink with drainboards
* Hand sink
* Zevro snack dispensers with hardware

If interested, please contact me at froyogirl@gmail.com

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

Yosicle by Popsicle Torpedo Review

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been waiting for Popsicle to come out with yogurt pops and they finally have. The yogurt popsicles are part of their Yosicle product line. Yosicle popsicles have 10% yogurt and come in boxes with 12 pops each. The box doesn’t mention live and active cultures but says it’s an excellent source of calcium.

* Torpedo: Three flavors in one popsicle: purple berry, green watermelon and vanilla. They’re torpedo shaped and individually wrapped. The small popsicles have a light, creamy texture which melts quickly. The berry doesn’t taste like any natural berries and suffers from a bitter aftertaste. The watermelon section is a little better. Vanilla is the only flavor that tastes decent. The popsicle didn’t taste like yogurt.
* Layerz: One package come in two flavor combinations: orange with vanilla and cotton candy with vanilla
* Duos: Two flavors per package: purple berry vanilla and cherry vanilla OR watermelon vanilla and cotton candy vanilla

The Yosicle products seem to be meant for kids. Perhaps kids might like it? But adults probably wouldn’t. I do like the riddle on the popsicle stick. 

1.5 out of 5 stars

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

Happy 6th Birthday Yogurtland!

Fro-yo girl here. Just wanted to share my pictures of Yogurtland’s limited time only birthday items: Birthday Cupcake Batter frozen yogurt and Cake Bites topping. You might be able to still find them at your local Yogurtland till the end of this week.

* Birthday Cupcake Batter fro-yo: pale yellow in color, smooth and creamy, not super sweet either, reminded me of cake batter fro-yo only better because it wasn’t so sweet
* Cake bites topping: Tiny firm cubes of yellow cake with colorful sprinkles

I added Yogurtland sprinkles in honor of Yogurtland’s sixth birthday celebration. Happy birthday Yogurtland!

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