Year End Fro-yo Wrap Up

Fro-yo girl here. Where has 2012 gone? It’s time for my year end summary of the world of fro-yo. 

Bay Area comings and goings: In Bay Area news, fro-yo shops continued to close but new ones, particularly from chains, continued to open. Red Mango returned to the Bay Area, opening a self-serve shop in Emeryville. Yogurtland finally opened a store in SF this month. SF earned the distinction of being the location for Pinkberry’s 200th store. I’m really happy that Easy Breezy opened in Noe Valley. Sadly, the Bay Area said goodbye to fro-yo shops like The Mix, YoSwirl, Yogurt Train, SoFrais, Luscious, and one of my former favorites, Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt. YoCup changed ownership.

Special fro-yo spoons: It was a very good year for fro-yo spoon fans. Yogurtland gave us four new limited time only Sanrio fro-yo spoon designs: TuxedoSam, Bad Badtz Maru, Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars. Menchie’s introduced limited edition Chip fro-yo spoons. Tutti Frutti now carries fruit shaped logo fro-yo spoons in five colors. 

Supermarket fro-yo offerings keep expanding: Ben & Jerry’s, Ciao Bella, TCBY, Healthy Choice, Trader Joe’s, Stonyfield Oikos, and Yoplait launched new fro-yo flavors this year. The Ben & Jerry’s truck visited SF and handed out Greek fro-yo in May. Supermarket yogurt brands aren’t content to stay in the supermarket either. 

(Non-frozen) yogurt shops open: Chobani and Yogurt Culture Company (owned by Dannon) opened yogurt shops in SoHo and Midtown, respectively. Pinkberry launched Greek yogurt (not frozen) at a few locations.

More chains go self-serve: TCBY, Golden Spoon, and Yogen Fruz joined the list of self-serve fro-yo shops. With so much self-serve fro-yo, fro-yo creations now look uglier than ever. Pinkberry seems to be the only major chain that's holding out against the trend.

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

Best Swirls of 2012

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve examined all the pictures of fro-yo that I took this year and picked out my best swirls. It’s easier to get a pretty swirl with one flavor and a small cup. The fro-yo has to be firm enough. The swirls need to look well defined and be in the center of the cup.

I picked a one flavor and a two flavor example. They were both swirled at Yogurtland.


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

Fro-yo Xmas Pic!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Fro-yo Christmas

Fro-yo girl here. It’s Christmas Eve and a perfect day for fro-yo. Doesn’t gingerbread or peppermint fro-yo sound good? I can’t say that I like egg nog fro-yo but I don’t like egg nog either. 

I made a delicious batch of cranberry frozen yogurt using my Cuisinart ICE-21 automatic frozen yogurt maker and I decided to share the recipe. It’s tart of course.


Cranberry tart frozen yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of Greek nonfat plain yogurt
• ½ cup of thawed cranberry juice concentrate
• 3 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together till smooth. Sweeten further if desired (corn syrup, light agave nectar or baker’s superfine sugar will do). Add mixture to freezer bowl. The freezer bowl should already be frozen. Turn on frozen yogurt/ice cream machine and churn for about 20 minutes till desired consistency is achieved. Enjoy! Freeze any leftovers. 

I’m sure the recipe would turn out well with lowfat or full fat Greek yogurt. Or if you don’t have Greek yogurt on hand, strain regular plain yogurt for about 4 hours.

Hope you wake up and find fro-yo gift cards in your stocking. Happy holidays to all fro-yo fans!

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

Christmas at Blush Burlingame

Fro-yo girl here. Christmas has arrived at Blush Burlingame. They went all out with their holiday decorations. There’s a Christmas tree in the center of the store with handmade ornaments. Giant ornaments hang from the ceiling and there are nutcrackers, reindeer, poinsettias and the world’s largest Xmas present. 

Be sure to visit the ornament station and create an ornament of your own. You can hang your ornament on the Blush Christmas tree. 

You should not miss one of the best Blush fro-yo flavors and one of the best flavors of 2011: Gingerbread. It’s the best gingerbread fro-yo that I’ve had. It’s sweet but not in the typical overly sweet way. It’s still yogurty. The blend of spices is perfect. Try a cone of gingerbread fro-yo dipped in chocolate.

Blush also serves gourmet hot chocolate from Lake Champlain. I haven’t tried it because I can’t say no to a cup of Blush fro-yo, but hot chocolate reminds me of the holidays.

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

* BLUSH BURLINGAME: 1212 Donnelly Ave., Burlingame, CA

Fro-yo Holiday Gift Card Offers

Fro-yo girl here. Fro-yo gift cards make the perfect gift or stocking stuffer and there are many deals to be found this time of year, including the following holiday promotions:

• Red Mango: Buy $25 gift card, get $5 card, offer expires 12/30/2012 or while supplies last
• Pinkberry: Buy $25 or more gift card, get $5 card, offer expires 12/31/2012
• Yogurtland: Buy $25 in gift cards, get 10 ounces free card on your next visit, while supplies last
• Nubi: Free cup of fro-yo (up to 10 ounces) when you buy $15 or more in gift cards
• Tutti Frutti: Buy $25 in gift cards, get $5 bonus gift card, offer expires 12/31/2012

Check your local fro-yo shop to see if they have any holiday promotions. Spread the gift of fro-yo!

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

First Yogurtland in SF Opens as Gossip Girl Comes to an End

Fro-yo girl here. Alexander Graham Bell once said when one door closes, another opens. And today is one of those days where something important comes to an end (Gossip Girl’s series finale) and something important just begins (San Francisco’s first Yogurtland location opened its doors). 

Yogurtland opened at 5 PM today and the first 25 or so people (the ones who were there when the doors open) scored a cup of free fro-yo and toppings. Word had clearly gotten out because there was a line waiting outside for the doors to open. Today was the soft opening. Hopefully a grand opening celebration will follow. The new location has 16 flavors of self-serve fro-yo and a nice toppings bar for 37 cents an ounce. 

I will be eating fro-yo as I watch the final episode of GG. Hope I don’t cry...speaking of GG and fro-yo, remember how Jenny Humphrey and Eric van der Woodsen visited Pinkberry in 2009?

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

* YOGURTLAND SAN FRANCISCO: 1250 Ocean Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112

Fro-yo Gift Ideas: Fancy Fro-yo Bowl

Fro-yo girl here. Shopping for a Christmas gift for a stylish fro-yo fanatic who appreciates modern Italian design? I spotted some stunning Alessi “Big Love” bowls designed by Miriam Mirri at Bloomingdale’s. The bowls ($56 each) come in four colors: blue, green, orange, pink. Each bowl comes with a matching heart shaped spoon. Aww. 

The Big Love Bowl features:

• Set of one ice cream bowl and spoon
• Bowl is made of 18/10 stainless steel and thermoplastic resin
• Spoon is 18/10 stainless steel
• Inset dish can be washed and chilled separately
• Dimensions: 5.9" height, 4.7" diameter

You can buy the Big Love Bowl online at Amazon.

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

Fro-yo Gift Ideas: Fro-yo Artwork

Fro-yo girl here. I added some new fro-yo art to my wall this year. It’s a fro-yo print by Steven Weinberg, a Brooklyn based illustrator who had a show of frozen yogurt watercolors at Brooklyn’s yogurt shop, Culture. The prints start at $15.60 and are still available at society6. You can get them framed or on canvas. They’d make a wonderful gift for the fro-yo fanatic in your life.

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Picture: Menchie’s Oxnard

Fro-yo girl here. I saw the Menchie’s sign while driving on the 101. Menchie’s is coming to the new complex, The Collection, in Oxnard. I spotted space for 8 fro-yo machines, so they’ll have 16 flavors of fro-yo a day. The new shop is close to Starbuck’s.

The Collection looks like a mini downtown, anchored by Target (currently open), REI, Century Theaters, and Whole Foods. It’s better than the Esplanade and promises to be a major shopping, dining and entertainment complex. Dining options will include Five Guys, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Gen Korean BBQ, Famous Dave’s BBQ, and Gandolfo’s Italian Deli.

* MENCHIE’S FROZEN YOGURT: 667 Town Center Dr., Space 2316, Oxnard, CA 93036

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Fro-yo Review

Fro-yo girl here. Last Christmas I received Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home cookbook and this year I was finally able to try her fro-yo. I came across pints at Gelson’s for $10.99. They had one flavor of fro-yo, lemon, 9 flavors of ice cream and ice cream sandwiches for $6.99 each.

Jeni’s is handmade in Columbus, Ohio with Snowville milk and cream (from grassfed cows in Ohio). They use the freshest local ingredients and responsibly raised exotic ingredients.

* Lemon frozen yogurt: The texture is dense, thick and very creamy. It’s very tart and much creamier than a sorbet. The sweet tanginess reminded me of lemonade. The lemon flavor was intense and pure. The lemon fro-yo has live and active cultures.

You can order ice cream and fro-yo pints from Jeni’s website. The fro-yo flavors available include: Apricot, Blackcurrant, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime Cardamom, Lime Cardamom with Lingonberries, Mango Lassi, Passionfruit, and Raspberry

The website lists the stores that carry Jeni’s. You can find Jeni's Ice Creams locally at Molliestone's.

5 out of 5 stars.

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

* GELSON’S MARKETS: 245 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA

Yoplait Frozen Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. Yoplait introduced Yoplait Original and Yoplait Greek Frozen Yogurt in pints and frozen bars back last month. It took awhile for me to find their fro-yo in the Bay Area but Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt is finally being carried by Safeway. I haven’t seen the Greek Frozen Yogurt or bars yet. 

Safeway had all seven flavors of Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt: Cherry Orchard, Harvest Peach, Mixed Berry, Mountain Blueberry, Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, and Vanilla. A pint is $3.99 regular price and $2.99 for club card holders. 

* Vanilla original fro-yo: The texture was quite pleasant. It scoops easily like ice cream and has a good creamy texture, creamy not too chewy. It has the expected vanilla flavor and some yogurt flavor. While it isn’t tart, it isn’t too sweet either and it has refreshing edge to it. It was quite similar to ice cream but a hint of yogurt flavor and live and active cultures. Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt is made with cream and eggs, like ice cream. A half cup serving is 100 calories with 2 grams of fat.

4 out of 5 stars.

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

* SAFEWAY: 601 Westlake Center, Daly City, CA 94105

Search for the Best Pumpkin Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Pumpkin season runs from October and November and it’s the time of year that I develop a seemingly tireless craving for pumpkin fro-yo. I recently tried the pumpkin fro-yo at several Bay Area fro-yo shops to see which place had the best pumpkin fro-yo. 

* Fraiche Yogurt: Their organic pumpkin fro-yo comes back in the fall and it’s a strong contender for best pumpkin fro-yo. The flavor is clean and natural with a good balance of pumpkin flavor, spices and yogurt flavor. It’s not too sweet and tastes great with their toppings. It leans towards the icy side as well though it isn’t watered down.
* Yogurtland: Pumpkin pie fro-yo has returned to many Yogurtland locations for a limited time. It has a thick, smooth, creamy texture. I like how it isn’t super sweet and the spices aren’t overpowering.  
* Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt: Blush pumpkin fro-yo has returned and it’s one of their best flavors. Their pumpkin fro-yo is not too sweet. There’s a hint of spice that doesn’t overwhelm but rather complements the natural, clean pumpkin and yogurt flavors. It’s thick, smooth and refreshing.
* Jamba Juice: The Great Pumpkin Swirl Whirl’ns fro-yo flavor shows up in the fall around the same time as their Pumpkin Smash smoothie. This mix-in style fro-yo features a base of vanilla fro-yo swirled with several scoops of spiced pumpkin puree. The two are combined in Yogen Fruz’s mix-in fro-yo machines. The fro-yo texture was thick and creamy but had larger ice crystals and the pumpkin and vanilla wasn’t evenly mixed in sections. The flavor was good but very sweet with an overwhelming amount of cinnamon.
* Easy Breezy: New pumpkin pie fro-yo flavor introduced in October. The squash/pumpkin flavor is clearly distinguishable. The flavor tastes natural and isn’t too sweet. I think it could use a bit more spice. It leans towards the icy side though it’s not watered down.

I’m pleased with the current crop of pumpkin fro-yo. I really like how most of the pumpkin fro-yo flavors that I tried weren’t too sweet and the spices complemented but didn’t overwhelm the pumpkin flavor. My favorite pumpkin fro-yo is still Blush’s, followed closely by Fraiche. Both offer a natural, clean tasting fro-yo that isn’t heavily sugared.

I like adding graham cracker crust and almonds to my pumpkin fro-yo.

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


* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 1212 Donnelly Ave., Burlingame, CA
* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA
* FRAICHE FROZEN YOGURT: 1910 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA

Menchie's Belmont Grand Opening Week

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is now open in the Belmont Village Shopping Center.The grand opening celebration begins tomorrow and continues all week with the following events:

* Saturday, 11/24: Ribbon cutting with Menchie at 11 AM, free fro-yo from 11 AM - 1 PM, free t-shirts for the first 50 customers in line at 11 AM, balloon artist
* Sunday, 11/25: Free plushie dolls and t-shirts while supplies last starting at noon, face painting
* Monday, 11/26: $1 cups of fro-yo from 5 - 6 PM
* Tuesday, 11/27: Kids (10 and under) eat free from 2 - 4 PM
* Wednesday, 11/28: Half off fro-yo from 11 AM - 1 PM
* Thursday, 11/29: Free dodge balls at 3 PM while supplies last
* Friday, 11/30: Buy one, get one free from 8 PM till close

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

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

21 Choices Customer Appreciation Day

Fro-yo girl here. Yesterday (November 20) was Customer Appreciation Day at 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt and they were giving away free small fro-yos all day long. There were six fro-yo flavors to choose from and complimentary toppings too (sprinkles, graham cracker crust, whipped cream). You could get more than one flavor.

Pasadena free fro-yo flavors: Circus Animal Cookies, Vanilla Bean, Valhorna Chocolate, Pumpkin Pie, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, Fresh Strawberry

Yesterday they weren’t offering custom mix-in fro-yo flavors. There was one line, the line for free fro-yo. The line moved quickly. You could still ask for samples.

The small cup of fro-yo was a generous size and my fro-yo tasted just like Circus Animal Cookies (it had bits of Circus Animal cookies).

This is an annual event, so look out for it around the same time next year. 21 Choices announced the event on their Facebook page and Twitter account.

Thanks 21 Choices!

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

* 21 CHOICES: 85 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104

V.I.P. Winter Pass from Yogurtland Burlingame

Fro-yo girl here. Several months ago, I signed up for Yogurtland Burlingame’s VIP email list and last week I picked up the winter VIP pass. It’s a plastic card that you use to claim special offers each month for the next five months (good at the Burlingame location only). Supplies of the card are limited.

• November: Large cup of pumpkin pie fro-yo for $3. The large cup is massive...it’s too much for one person but perfect to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. Toppings are included.
• December: Five ounces of peppermint hot cocoa fro-yo for free
• January: Buy a small cup of vanilla fro-yo for $2
• February: Buy 5 ounces of fro-yo, get 5 ounces free
• March: Four ounces of mint fro-yo for free

You had to sign up by 10/29/2012 to qualify for the offer. The card can be picked up at the Burlingame loctaion by those who signed up in time between now and 11/26 (remember supplies are limited). They have a list of emails of those who signed up in time. 

Thanks Yogurtland Burlingame, for making a girl feel like a true fro-yo VIP.

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

Pinkberry Launches eGifting and Pinkberry Gingerbread for the Holidays

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry is ready for the holiday season with a new flavor, Pinkberry Gingerbread, debuting today and eGifting.

Enjoy seasonal toppings like crushed gingersnaps, nutmeg and white chocolate crisps with your cup of Pinkberry Gingerbread.

With eGifting, you can send and receive Pinkberry gift cards via the Pinkberry website, mobile app or email. Also starting today and through the end of the year, customers who purchase a $25 gift card in store or using the new Pinkberry mobile app will get a $5 gift.

“Consumers are looking for brands to enable commerce through their mobile devices,” says Ron Graves, CEO of Pinkberry. “For the holidays, Pinkberry is elevating social commerce through eGifting with our new mobile app, empowering our customers to easily share the delicious gift of Pinkberry with friends and family via social channels and email from their mobile device."

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

Fro-yo girl here. Let the Yuletide Yumminess begin...Yogurtland’s third annual holiday promotion launched on Monday, 11/12. Each week for the next six weeks, participating Yogurtland locations will offer two holiday fro-yo flavors. Here’s the flavor schedule: 

• Nov. 12 - 18: Cinnamon Roll & Peanut Butter Cup
• Nov. 19 - 25: Egg Nog & Brownie Batter
• Nov. 26 - Dec. 2: Butterscotch & Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
• Dec. 3 - 9: Sticky Toffee Pudding & Amaretto Cookies
• Dec. 10 - 16: Black Forest Cake & Boysenberry Tart
• Dec. 17 - 23: Tiramisu & Gingerbread

I picked up my Yuletide Yumminess card at Yogurtland this week. You’ll get a stamp for every cup of fro-yo purchased (minimum 8 ounces) during the 6 week period (Nov. 12 - Dec. 23, 2012). After you collect three stamps, you can get 3 ounces of free fro-yo. After you collect 6 stamps, you can get 12 ounces of free fro-yo. I think the only flavors I’ve tried before are Egg Nog and Gingerbread. I’m most looking forward to trying Strawberry Rhubarb Tart. For each completed card, Yogurtland will make a donation to the Save the Children’s Hurricane Sandy Children in Emergencies Fund.

The format has changed. In the past, Yogurtland introduced a new flavor every day for 12 days and card holders were entitled to 2 ounces free of the featured Yuletide Yumminess flavor.

What a great way to try new flavors, earn free fro-yo and help needy kids. Remember the fro-yo flavors will only be in the stores while supplies last, so go early.

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

My Favorite Ice Cream, Tara’s Organic

Fro-yo girl here. It feels odd to blog about ice cream but I just had to share my excitement about finding my favorite ice cream, Tara’s Organic Ice Cream (TOIC), at Canyon Market in SF. They had a few flavors in the freezer: black sesame, lavender, cardamom, and mango agave sorbet (12 ozs. for $8.99). Tara’s ice cream is made in small batches (2 - 4 gallons at a time) with the best organic ingredients with no emulsifiers or stabilizers. The roster includes 132 flavors of ice cream and sorbet, including unusual, sophisticated flavors like white pepper chocolate chip, epazote, cucumber basil and chocolate tarragon. 

* Cardamom ice cream: This could be my favorite ice cream flavor. It’s dense, firm and creamy and the taste is pure heaven, the best thing in the world...possibly as good as the best fro-yo. It’s the ice cream version of the amazing Indian sweet, soan papdi. The cardamom flavor is intense and it blends perfectly with milk, cream and sugar. Their cardamom just tastes better. It’s freshly ground for each batch.

Tara’s website lists the locations that carry TOIC in Northern California and they can ship via FedEx to any address in the continental US. If you can make it to their shops (in Berkeley and Oakland), hit the Berkeley location. It has more flavors (more to sample).

While you’re at Canyon Market, I also recommend picking up the butternut squash lasagna and smoked chicken spread from the deli case. The grilled cheese sandwiches on housemade bread are really good too. You can pick the cheese and bread you’d like.

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

* CANYON MARKET: 2185 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA

Cute Fro-yo Cups for Sale

Fro-yo girl here. Want to serve fro-yo at home in a cute cup? I found the cutest fro-yo cups at Shop Sweet Lulu. They have polka dot fro-yo cups, pastel fro-yo cups, colorful taster spoons, cone holders, milk bottles, glass pedestal jars, etc.

My favorite cups are the pastel blue and white striped ones (12 cups for $7).

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

Meiji Chelsea Yogurt Scotch Biscuits Review

Fro-yo girl here. About a year ago, I reviewed Meiji Yogurt caramels (firm, tasty caramels with yogurt flavor). Since then, they’ve come out with Chelsea Yogurt Scotch Biscuits. The look of the packaging with its 70’s inspired flowers, is similar to their Yogurt caramels. The cookies are made in Japan.

There are four packages inside a box and each package contains two sandwich cookies. The cookies are crispy and light like butter shortbread and the creamy filling in between the cookies has a tangy sweet flavor that I’d say tastes more like a sweet yogurt drink than yogurt. It’s an interesting flavor.

I found a 3.8 ounce box of Meiji Chelsea Yogurt Scotch Biscuits at Nijiya Market for $2.79. 

Ingredients: wheat flour, shortening, sugar, whole milk powder, yogurt powder, salt, sour agent, emulsifiers, butter oil, artificial flavor, whey powder.

4 out of 5 stars.

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

* NIJIYA MARKET: 1737 Post St. #333, San Francisco, CA

Meet Yogurt To-fu

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve long been a fan of To-Fu Oyako, the tofu characters designed by the Japanese company, Devilrobots. Back in 2005, they introduced five Series 6 Kubrick toys. The characters included Yogurt, Milk, Dog, Strawberry and New Zealand. The figures are poseable and can stand on their own.

Yogurt To-Fu’s tagline is “His work is fermentation.” You can learn more about To-Fu Oyako on their website.

The To-Fu app was just released and it’s a math game for kids.You can find it in the App store by searching under To-Fu Oyako. It’s free.

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

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