Thursday, February 4, 2016

Palo Alto Froyo Update





Fro-yo girl here. I have a special place in my heart for Palo Alto, CA since I used to live there and they were also way ahead of the froyo curve with Fraiche and Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt. It’s been awhile since I posted an update on the froyo scene in Palo Alto. Much has happened. Red Mango closed and reopened with Auntie Anne’s at Stanford Shopping Center, Pinkberry opened at Stanford Shopping Center in 2010, Yogurtland opened in 2011, and L’Amour, Yoppi Yogurt and Culture (so sad, it still hurts) have closed. 

Today there are five frozen yogurt shops in Palo Alto: Fraiche (the local froyo spot that makes its own yogurt and has two locations in Palo Alto), Pinkberry, Red Mango, and Yogurtland. Fraiche and Pinkberry are counter-serve while Red Mango and Yogurtland are self-serve. 

I hadn’t visited the Fraiche location on the Stanford campus for maybe a year and there have been changes. They remodeled in May 2015 and they added a new savory menu that includes salads, vegan soup, avocado toast, lox tartine, and egg white wraps. These savory items are currently only available at the Stanford location. The items are healthy and “made from scratch with simple recipes that highlight wholesome ingredients.” The items looked really good (I had to get my SF Chronicle special w/ froyo and steel cut oatmeal though). I tried their dairy-free almond milk soft serve for the first time – the chocolate hazelnut flavor was apparent but the texture was rather icy and it was also pretty sweet. I like their soy froyo better but I like soy better than chocolate.

The Axe & the Palm Cafe on the Stanford campus stopped serving froyo (why bother when Fraiche is steps away?) but it now has boba drinks, popcorn chicken and macarons.

Prices have gone way up at Yogurtland. It’s 52 cents an ounce now. It seems like the ownership may have changed.

Pressed Juicery’s Palo Alto location is one of the few in the Bay Area that offers their Freeze dairy-free soft serve. It’s not froyo but it’s refreshing and clean tasting. 

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

* FRAICHE STANFORD: 459 Lagunita Dr, Stanford, CA 94305

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.


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