Fro-yo Postcards from NYC

Fro-yo girl here. I wanted to share a few fro-yo related pictures I took on my recent trip to NYC. They include:

* Yogurt Culture (125 Park Ave.): the newish fresh and frozen yogurt place by Grand Central Terminal imagined by Dannon
* 16 Handles (153 2nd Ave.): packed at night despite the intense cold, the glowing sign is so inviting
* Roastown (267 W. 34th St.): with its cute sign for fro-yo, sushi, coffee and more, in Midtown, a good area to shop for clothes
* Red Mango (11 W. 32nd St.): it's 59 cents an ounce, NYC fro-yo is more expensive, ouch

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

Future Fro-yo Shop: Yogurt Crazy

Fro-yo girl here. I had the opportunity to take a future fro-yo shop picture while visiting in NYC. Yogurt Crazy is coming soon to the East Village in NYC, replacing East Hardware. Yogurt Crazy is a self-serve fro-yo shop, the first in Suffolk County. It currently has 7 locations in NY.

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

* YOGURT CRAZY: 79 3rd. Ave, New York, NY 10003

Fro-yo Spoons from NYC

Fro-yo girl here. My fro-yo spoon collection has expanded thanks to my new green and magenta spoons from 16 Handles. The spoons are biodegradable and they say Handle It on the handle. Cute. 

I also saved my glass Chobani cup from the Chobani SoHo boutique.

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

Fro-yo Report: NYC

Fro-yo girl here. I recently visited NYC and walked around looking for fro-yo shops. I spotted over a dozen shops though some were closed (for good or for the season) and one hadn’t opened yet. It was clear that the battle for NYC dominance is currently between self-serve shop, 16 Handles, and fro-yo icon, Pinkberry.

Pinkberry currently has 13 stores in NYC with a new one swirling soon to 93rd and Broadway. It also has one location in Brooklyn and another swirling soon. 16 Handles has 9 locations in Manhattan with one handling soon on Bleecker St, 3 locations in Brooklyn and 2 locations in Queens. The 16 Handles location that I visited was clean and friendly, with better than average toppings and cute signature fro-yo spoons.

Yogurt Station at St. Mark’s Place has closed, Rize Coffee no longer offers fro-yo, and Yogurberry in Park Slope said it was closed for the season. While Yogurtland is in NYC, I didn’t walk or drive by either of their two locations (one in Lenox Hill, one in Brooklyn). Yogorino had a $1 mini fro-yo Winter promotion (M-F from 5 - 7 PM) that caught my eye. I didn’t spot any fro-yo trucks.

When in NYC, I recommend going to Park Slope in Brooklyn to try Culture: An American Yogurt Company. They make their own Greek style yogurt which is then used to make their delicious frozen yogurt. The fro-yo I tried had a wonderful, creamy, thick texture, natural flavor and less sugar than usual. It’s fro-yo for true fro-yo lovers. I was also impressed with their toppings, which included housemade salted caramel popcorn, gingerbread cookies, key lime custard, cardamom roasted pineapple in maple syrup and strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar.

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

New Fro-yo Trend: Bottoms Bars

Fro-yo girl here. Everyone knows about fro-yo toppings. But what about fro-yo bottoms? Fro-yo bottoms (aka bottoming) represent a new trend in the fro-yo industry. I’m not sure exactly who started the trend (though apparently it was someone on the East Coast) but several fro-yo shops now offer bottoms. Bottoms bars seem much more popular in the East/Midwest. While many fro-yo shops offer cones and waffle bowls, bottoms have expanded to include other items, mostly baked goods. 

* Brrrberry in NC calls their bottoms bar the “original” bottoms bar. The bottoms bar features cookies, brownies and pecan pies.
* Zinga, with locations in MA, CA, CO, TX, VA and NH, makes fresh baked bottoms. The bottoms are baked at the store and “include vanilla and gluten-free chocolate cake, waffle bowls, brownies and other seasonal selections.”
* Yogurtology in AZ & FL offers donuts, moon pies, cookies and brownies as bottoms.
* Twister’z in Richmond, VA offers cake bottoms and waffle cones.
* Yogeez in Ohio has cookies, doughnuts, brownies and vanilla wafers as bottoms.

Locally, Yogurt Hill in downtown Hayward offers a bottoms bar with cinnamon rolls, brownies, pretzels, and cookies. I’ve had steel cut oatmeal underneath my fro-yo at Fraiche Yogurt (SF, Palo Alto), but they don’t use the term bottoms.

There’s something disturbing about putting a doughnut under my fro-yo. On the other hand, warm brown rice (Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR) and warm steel cut oatmeal make delicious, healthy bottoms.

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

* YOGURT HILL: 1081 B Street, Hayward, CA 94541

Valentine’s Treat Cups at Target

Fro-yo girl here. I spotted these paper cups with multi-colored hearts at Target (10 cups for $2.50). They’re small but they’d be perfect for eating fro-yo at home or putting fro-yo toppings in for a make your own fro-yo treat party. I’m sure any fro-yo fan would love to have a fro-yo gift card from his/her favorite fro-yo shop and/or a pint of his/her favorite fro-yo for Valentine’s Day. I'd love to have a fro-yo pie or fro-yo cake.

Here are some romantic fro-yo creation ideas to try:
* Chocolate blackout: Chocolate fro-yo, brownies, chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles
* Chocolate hazelnut truffle: Chocolate hazelnut fro-yo, chopped hazelnuts, chocolate chips
* Hot fudge sundae: Vanilla fro-yo, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, chopped peanuts, rainbow sprinkles, one maraschino cherry on top

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

Yogurtland Mobile App Coming Soon

Fro-yo girl here. Exciting, breaking news...Yogurtland is coming out with a mobile app. According to the sign, the app will allow you to "find your nearest Yogurtland location, your favorite flavors and get real rewards." Rewards?!

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

Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day

Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day! I know I already celebrated National Frozen Yogurt Day on 2/4 but I think it’s actually on February 6th. 

Menchie’s is celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day with 6 oz. of free fro-yo on Feb. 6. Go to Menchie’s Facebook page to find the coupon.

Other fro-yo shops are also celebrating today, including Lovin’ Spoons (get 6 free oz. of fro-yo on 2/6) and Yo Zone (5 free ozs. on 2/6).

Remember to show your love for fro-yo by eating fro-yo today.

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

Thanks Yogurtland! Orange Spoon Frenzy Yogurtland Pictures

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland is celebrating National Frozen Yogurt Day today (2/4) with free fro-yo and toppings from 4- 7 PM at participating Yogurtland locations across the country. This was the second time Yogurtland celebrated the special day with its fans. 

Guests will receive a 5 oz. cup and a special, limited edition orange fro-yo spoon. The orange fro-yo spoon is available today only, during the National Frozen Yogurt Day celebration.

I chose plain tart with the new guava grapefruit sorbet, mochi, Fruity Pebbles, watermelon balls, honeydew balls and cantaloupe balls. 

Remember, Yogurtland will match donations made to First Book made between 2/1 and 2/10 on the Yogurtland Cares website.

Thank you Yogurtland and Happy National Frozen Yogurt Day! 

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

Super Bowl Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry San Francisco vs. Pinkberry Baltimore - which one do I prefer? Based on the two Pinkberry fro-yo creations alone, I’m going to have to choose Pinkberry Baltimore. The original tart flavor is clearly Pinkberry’s best and the Baltimore comes with better toppings too (though I wish the Baltimore had pomegranate seeds).

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