Happy Fro-yo Halloween

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been out looking for Halloween spirit again this year and I haven’t seen many Halloween decorations at fro-yo shops. I have run into pumpkin fro-yo and Halloween toppings like candy corn and fall sprinkles at a few places. One of my local favorites, Easy Breezy, is currently serving pumpkin pie fro-yo with candy corn.

I walked by Pinkberry yesterday and they didn’t have pumpkin fro-yo (also confirmed this by looking at the Pinkberry app). Shocking. I’m not sure what they’re waiting for. Yogurtland has been good about offering pumpkin pie fro-yo at their locations (yay). Some Yogurtland locations are offering buy one get one free fro-yo offers for those who come in costume from 11 AM - 5 PM on Halloween.

Happy Halloween!

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

Fro-yo Cups Spotted at Target

Fro-yo girl here. I’m always on the lookout for fro-yo and fro-yo related items when I’m out shopping. Target’s dollar section (the area at the front of the store) has some Thanksgiving themed paper cups that would be perfect for fro-yo. The cups have various designs including a turkey, overlapping circles pattern, orange cups and brown cups. The cups come in a pack of 10 and cost $1. Imagine filling them with Thanksgiving fro-yo or candy/treats for your Thanksgiving guests.

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

Milky’s: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. While there are other kosher fro-yo places out there, including large fro-yo chains like Red Mango, Menchie’s and Tutti Frutti, Milky’s takes it one step further, offering 14 dairy and 4 kosher parve vegan self-serve fro-yo flavors a day. All their fro-yo and toppings are kosher but some are also parve and vegan. The vegan “fro-yo” is made with soy milk.

Plenty of toppings are kosher, including cheesecake bites, cookie dough, coconut, cereal, candy, nuts, sprinkles, cookies, chocolate chips and syrups, but not mochi.
I tried the simply tart (original fro-yo) and the original vegan fro-yo. Simply tart was soft, creamy, smooth and thick. I liked the sour, real fro-yo flavor. The original vegan soy fro-yo was a pleasant surprise. It was sweeter than I expected but also had a pleasant, mild tang. I could definitely taste the soy. It was icier than the simply tart but still smooth.

The prices differ (39 cents an ounce for non-vegan, 45 cents an ounce for parve/vegan) so if you want the vegan flavors, use a separate cup.

Sample cups are easily accessible and the toppings are labeled so you can easily identify which ones are parve. It’s a modern looking café with cute cups, a cat mascot, and free wi-fi. The cup was so cute that I saved it. I noticed the sign said smoothies but I didn’t see a smoothies menu.

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

* MILKY'S FROZEN YOGURT: 1429 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035

4th Blogiversary

Fro-yo girl here. It’s a special day for Fro-yo Girl Speaks: the 4th blogiversary. With all the excitement and change in the fro-yo industry, it’s always been easy for me to find content. About four years ago, I decided to try every fro-yo shop in the Bay Area and I still haven’t reached that goal. I’m still on that same mission. I still get asked the same questions.

* Do you work in the fro-yo industry? I’m a fro-yo fan and objective industry observer. Fro-yo is my hobby, not my occupation. I think that keeps it fun.
* What do you like besides fro-yo? Tapoica milk tea, cupcakes, macarons, cake rolls, mochi, sour gummy candies, nut brittle
* Do you own a fro-yo machine? I received a frozen yogurt maker for Christmas, so I have been making my own fro-yo at home. I’m experimenting a lot and still have many flavors that I want to try to make.
* What’s your favorite fro-yo place? Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt in Dublin, CA. I love so many of their fro-yo flavors, especially pumpkin, green tea, and blush. But pineapple, acai blueberry and original are also amazing.

Thank you so much to my readers and to everyone who supports the fro-yo industry.

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

Yocup Ownership Change

Fro-yo girl here. Last Wednesday (10/10), both Yocup locations had a grand reopening event, to mark the change in ownership. 

The frozen yogurt has changed. It’s not the Yocup fro-yo that many of us have grown to love. The original tart is not as flavorful and the new red orange flavor tastes like powdered drink mix. I sampled the spinach ricotta waffle and it was very salty. The person who swirled my yogurt did not make the swirl look nice.

What’s really sad is that the yogurt is spelled "yougurt" on the menu board multiple times at the Market Street location.

There’s a new logo but the old Yocup signs, cups, toppings bar, and fro-yo machines are still there. The Yocup spirit is gone. 

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

* YOCUP FROZEN YOGURT: 101 Spear St. Suite A10, San Francisco, CA
* YOCUP FROZEN YOGURT: 685 Market St., San Francisco, CA

Tutti Frutti Fruit Fro-yo Spoons

Fro-yo girl here. Attention fro-yo spoon fans! There are more signature fro-yo spoons to collect. Tutti Frutti just came out with new fro-yo spoons in five colors: orange, green, yellow, blue and red. The spoon handle is topped by 3 fruit shapes, a green grape (or is it a green apple?), banana, strawberry.

I wonder if the spoon is biodegradeable? It doesn’t say that it is.

I found my fro-yo spoons at their Milpitas location. The Milpitas location also had two flavors of soybean frozen yogurt and $3 Vietnamese sandwiches.

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


* TUTTI FRUTTI: 82 Ranch Dr., Milpitas, CA

Yogurtland Launches My Masterpiece Contest

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland just launched a new contest called "My Masterpiece" for aspiring fro-yo artists everywhere. You could win free fro-yo for a year. All entrants get a coupon for three free ounces of fro-yo. Start swirling!


Here are the details:

"The Yogurtland My Masterpiece contest kicks off today and entries will be collected through October 28. Yogurtland guests are invited to photograph and name their favorite, most imaginative yogurt creation and submit it to the My Masterpiece website and Facebook page.  At the end of the submission time frame, each entrant will receive a link to their Masterpiece submission and can invite their friends to vote for the top creations.  

Voting for the top masterpiece creations takes place from Oct. 29 – Nov. 2. The top 100 entries will be judged by a panel of Yogurtland judges based on taste, name and recipe of the Masterpiece, creativity of the recipe and the ability to easily recreate the Masterpiece in Yogurtland stores. The first place winner will receive a $500 Yogurtland gift card for a year of free yogurt, second place will receive a $250 gift card for six months of free yogurt, and third place will receive a $125 gift card for three months of free yogurt. The top three winners will also receive gift cards to reward their friends for voting for their entry. Each Yogurtland store is encouraged to choose a local winner who will receive a $100 Yogurtland gift card.

All entrants will receive a coupon to receive their first 3-ounces yogurt free.

“Our fans are inspired by our variety of flavors and toppings and see our cups as blank canvases to create their ideal treat. Our My Masterpiece contest is a chance for our guests to be rewarded for their creativity and great taste. We can’t wait to see the entries,” said Charlotte Lucich, director of marketing at Yogurtland.

Entries can be submitted at www.yogurt-land.com and www.facebook.com/yogurtland and click on the My Masterpiece tab. Winners will be announced Nov. 7."

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

Most Striking Yogurtland Location

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been to many Yogurtland locations but I’ve never seen one that compares to the Universal City Walk location. The exterior is the really elaborate and includes a giant 3-D fro-yo machine dispensing fro-yo into a fro-yo cup with a green Yogurtland spoon, big splash of fro-yo and Yogurtland spoon door handles. The fro-yo cup and logo are outlined in neon lights. 

The shop is larger than the average location and offers 16 self-serve fro-yo flavors a day plus toppings for 45 cents an ounce. The interior is more spacious but has the general look and feel of a Yogurtland. 

This location hosted the Sanrio Yogurtland launch party on July 10, 2012.

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

* YOGURTLAND: 1000 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA

Oasis Ice Cream: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. Oasis Ice Cream is a hidden gem in a primarily residential part of Highland Park. From the outside it appears to be your typical Mexican ice cream and juice shop. Once you step inside, you’ll find a case filled with over a dozen flavors of freshly made, scoopable frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt flavors weren’t labeled, so ask what’s available and ask for a sample. I was told they use organic fruit and vegetables, yogurt and agave nectar. The result is fresh, clean, not too sweet and naturally tart. 

During my visit the fro-yo flavors included: vanilla, plain, banana, cactus pear, spinach, celery, beet, mixed berry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc. They also had some toppings (fresh fruit, granola).

* Spinach fro-yo: It’s really good. The fro-yo didn’t have a strong spinach flavor. The plain tart base had tangy yogurt flavor. The fro-yo was sweet, clean, creamy and refreshing.
* Celery fro-yo: Lighter, icier than the spinach fro-yo, the celery flavor was much more pronounced. The fro-yo tasted like a tangy, very refreshing sorbet.

I received 3 huge scoops of fro-yo for $3.50 (enough for lunch). The fro-yo isn’t as uniformly smooth as fro-yo that comes out of a machine, and it’s denser.

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

* OASIS ICE CREAM: 5526 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles, CA