Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Menchie’s Belmont

Fro-yo girl here. About a month ago, the Belmont Patch reported that Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt would take over the Golden Spoon space in the Belmont Village Shopping Center. Golden Spoon never opened their Belmont location and they seemed to have abandoned the space. The Golden Spoon signs and menu board are still up and there isn’t any sign of the future Menchie’s location yet. Menchie’s signed a five year lease for the space. Menchie’s is expected to open in fall 2012.

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

* MENCHIE’S FROZEN YOGURT: 1200 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA

TuxedoSam Yogurtland Spoons

Fro-yo girl here. The new TuxedoSam fro-yo spoons and Miami cups arrived on 7/24 at participating Yogurtland locations. Yay! Here’s a picture of my spoon. I was inspired by TuxedoSam to select Frosty Vanilla froyo (which I think is Madagascar Vanilla renamed) and snow caps. I also selected salted caramel pecan fro-yo, mochi, crushed Butterfingers, toffee and a Nutter Butter cookie. 

Yogurtland also mentioned there would be a special prize for those who collect all four spoon designs, so save your spoons.Of course I’m wondering what the prize will be...I’m hoping for a special fro-yo spoon. Kuromi? A coupon for free fro-yo would be welcome too.

The TuxedoSam spoons will be available for two weeks (or while supplies last).

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

Red Mango Returns to the Bay Area

Fro-yo girl here. Red Mango is back in the Bay Area. Today was the first day of their Emeryville location. It was my first time to try their self-serve format. They’ve introduced many new fro-yo flavors that I haven’t had the chance to try (e.g., white peach, lemonade, honey badger, winter caramel) and specialty drinks like smoothies and lemonade chillers. The cups are cuter now. There are red spoons everywhere. 

RM Emeryville has 10 fro-yo flavors a day and about 30 toppings (fresh fruit, candy, cookies, granola, graham cracker crumbs, mini chocolate chips, syrups, honey, mochi, cereal, nuts, popping boba, etc.) for 45 cents an ounce. You can either grab a cone, fro-yo cup (multiple sizes) or clear parfait cup. Instructions are provided.

I didn’t see any opening day promotions.. Maybe later? Check their FB page for news. Of course you can always earn perks by signing up for their loyalty program. Plus there’s a Taste of Bay Street event tomorrow from 1 - 3 PM with free food samples but the samples are already free at RM.

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

* RED MANGO FROZEN YOGURT: 5616 Bay St. 5609, Emeryville, CA

Poll Results: Favorite Flavor of Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. I recently asked readers to vote for their favorite fro-yo flavor. I chose two popular sweet fro-yo flavors and two popular tart fro-yo flavors. The results are in. Original tart won with 37% of the vote, followed by Chocolate (26%), Vanilla (20%) and Pomegranate tart (15%). 

It’s interesting that 16 Handles surveyed its customers in 2012 and found that Vanilla was the most popular flavor (40.8%), followed by Chocolate (34.1%) and Tart (25.1%). I guess my readers like tart fro-yo much more than 16 Handles customers. According to an article in the Sacramento Bee, 92% of ice cream companies said vanilla was their most popular flavor. Vanilla just wasn’t as popular with my readers. I suspect that my readers are hardcore fro-yo fans who love fro-yo for its tangy quality rather than the casual fro-yo eater seeking an ice cream substitute.

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

Looking for Used Taylor Machines

Fro-yo girl here. A buyer is seeking at least three late model (712 or 713) used Taylor frozen yogurt machines in excellent condition, preferably water cooled. Contact me at froyogirl@gmail.com for additional information. 

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

Yogurtland to Open First Store in SF

Fro-yo girl here. The San Francisco Planning Commission met this week to discuss Yogurtland’s plans to open at 1250 Ocean Avenue. Thanks anonymous tipster for the heads up! The space in question is brand new (the Avalon building), by City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Whole Foods is opening up in the same complex. My fingers are crossed that SF will finally get a Yogurtland.

What a momentous week it’s been for Bay Area fro-yo.
* July 10: New Sanrio spoons arrive at Yogurtland
* July 12: Pinkberry opens first SF store, store #200, Planning Commission meets to discuss Yogurtland’s application
* July 13: Easy Breezy opens in Noe Valley

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

Pinkberry’s 200th Store Opens in SF

Fro-yo girl here. I just returned from the grand opening of Pinkberry Union Square, the first Pinkberry in SF. I’m perplexed by the lack of publicity for the event...I didn’t get a Pinkberry Groupie email or see a Pinkberry tweet. But Union Square is open FINALLY (as of a few minutes before 5 PM)..

They’re giving away free fro-yo (small size with any toppings you want) till 10 PM tonight. There’s a big tent out front with tables and a DJ. I saw them roll out the famous pink carpet. The employees are really friendly. There must have been 30 of them. They’re squeezed in tight behind the counter. It’s really loud inside. I recommend getting those luxe toppings today. If you don’t want to wait in line, they had free samples for passerbys (you don’t have to be in line).

Fro-yo flavors:
* Original: a great balance of tangy and sweet, creamy yet refreshing, very smooth, sweet aftertaste
* Strawberry: very nice, tangy, sweet, smooth
* Mango
* Watermelon
* Chocolate
* Peanut butter

Tomorrow is the first official day. Welcome to SF, Pinkberry!

Fro-yo prices (without toppings): Cone/Mini ($2.95)/ S ($3.50)/ M ($4.50)/ L ($6.50).

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

* PINKBERRY UNION SQUARE: 170 O’FARRELL ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Sanrio Loves Yogurtland, Part 2

Fro-yo girl here. I’m so thrilled that Sanrio and Yogurtland have partnered up again. The new cups, spoons and products hit participating Yogurtland stores today.The Hello Kitty spoon is the first of the four designs released. Every two weeks a new spoon and new cup design will be released.

• July 10: Hollywood cup & pink Hello Kitty spoon
• July 24: Miami cup & light blue TuxedoSam spoon
• August 7: San Francisco cup & purple Little Twin Stars spoon
• August 21: Honolulu & black Bad Badtz Maru

The co-branded merchandise includes:

• Tote bags (2 colors: pink, green) with Hello Kitty, TuxedoSam, Little Twin Stars and Bad Badtz Maru, $2.50
• Plush Hello Kitty doll in pink and black Yogurtland uniform, $13.50
• Set of 4 buttons, $4.99 per pack
• 4 keychains, $3.99 each
• Gift card case, $2.50, gift card sold separately

The Hello Kitty on the Hello Kitty keychain now has a pink bow. Last time she had a red bow. Her outfit is now pink rather than green.

I think I was so excited by the Hello Kitty cup and spoon that I wasn’t paying as much attention to the fro-yo. They had new flavors: Salted Caramel Pecan and Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet. The salted caramel pecan didn’t taste that different from dulce de leche but it was less sweet (which I appreciated) and had a hint of nuttiness. There was a sign that said Hello Kitty Loves Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet. So cute.

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

Fro-yo West Coast Road Trip

Fro-yo girl here. It’s summertime and the perfect time for a fro-yo road trip. I recently took a road trip from Washington to California, stopping at Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR for fro-yo. During the drive through Southern Oregon on the I-5, I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the “larger” towns had fro-yo shops. It’s not a fro-yo wasteland out there. 

Yogurt Hut in has three locations in Southern Oregon: Medford, Grants Pass, and Ashland. Each location features 10 flavors of self-serve fro-yo a day. Medford has two fro-yo shops..

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Pictures: Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks Genevieve Y. for the fro-yo tip. She spotted a new fro-yo shop about to open up in Noe Valley called Easy Breezy. They were supposed to open in June but now it looks like it will definitely open in July. I peeked inside. The shop is adorable, rustic looking with cypress walls. I spotted space for three fro-yo machines, so they must plan on carrying six flavors of fro-yo a day. It’s going to be self-serve, featuring organic, locally produced fro-yo recipes and toppings like organic fruit. I must have driven by multiple times on my way to Whole Foods without noticing the sign.

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

* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA

Vanilla Jill’s: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. There are plenty of fro-yo shops out there but very few offer something unique and innovative. Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR is one of the few shops that took me by surprise and provided me with something truly different. The shop clearly reflects the vision of the owners.

Their frozen yogurt is organic and made with local ingredients like Nancy’s organic kefir. It comes in scoopable and soft-serve form. They have vegan flavors too. You can find Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo pints at the shop and several markets in Eugene. They offer a great vanilla bean flavor (of course), tart, and creative flavors like carrot-cinnamon and coconut-lime.Their fro-yo tastes like natural yogurt. It’s on the icy side (but not watery), making it extra refreshing.

The toppings are not what you typically see either. They carry specialty syrups (flavors include rose, lavender and espresso), nuts, cookies, crystallized ginger, steamed brown rice, fresh fruit, applesauce, maple syrup, chocolate ganache sauce, etc. I loved the sweet steamed brown rice under my tart fro-yo. The nutty, warm, chewy texture was a perfect complement to the fro-yo. Organic rainbow sprinkles are always free.

Vanilla Jill’s also has fro-yo shakes, smoothies, kombucha, and shop special combos.

The place has family friendly wholesome charm and doesn’t look or feel like your typical fro-yo shop. There’s a cute story about the company on the wall, children’s crayon drawings on the wall and a Vanilla Jill’s cart on wheels. It's eco-friendly too.

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

* VANILLA JILL’S: 460 Coburg Rd. #300, Eugene, OR