Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Chicago Scoop Shop

Fro-yo girl here. Where can you find the best frozen yogurt in Chicago? While I certainly wasn’t able to visit every shop, I would be surprised if some place has better frozen yogurt than Jeni’s, even though Jeni's only has the scoopable kind.

I knew that I had to try Jeni's new cultured key lime pie frozen yogurt flavor with salty graham cracker gravel mixed right in. It’s described as “ultra-thick, ultra-creamy and ultra-tart.” Cultured key lime pie frozen yogurt is made with cultured buttermilk, biodynamic organic yogurt (from Ohio), and key lime juice. The actual frozen yogurt lives up to the description. It’s incredibly flavorful and you can taste the tart yogurt flavor, the key lime juice, the buttermilk and the extra salty graham cracker gravel. The graham cracker gravel adds a crunchy texture and sophisticated salty flavor. The texture is dense, thick and super creamy.

The lemon frozen yogurt was also superb and bursting with tangy flavor but the graham cracker gravel really puts the cultured key lime pie flavor over the top.

If you make it to a Jeni’s scoop shop, I recommend trying the gravel - which you can buy by the bag. The Chicago location is very close to the Southport station (Brown Line).

Jeni’s recently released a follow-up to her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. The new book, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts has over 100 new recipes and they’re not just for ice cream. Her book tour kicks off this summer and will include demonstrations and book signings. Dates and locations are listed on Jeni’s website.

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

* JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS: 3404 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL 60657

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.

Fro-yo Picture from Chicago

A certain bear at Bare Berry in Lincoln Park. Happy Labor Day!

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

* BARE BERRY: 1211 W Webster Ave., Chicago, IL

Chicago Fro-yo Report: Fro-yo Scene Heats Up

Fro-yo girl here. What a difference a few months make...the Chicago fro-yo scene is red hot and it's not just because of the popularity of self-serve fro-yo.

1. Fro-yo (and kefir) on the go: Starfruit Cafe's Kefir Truck starts cruising the streets in June. Culture fro-yo truck, from the founder of Berry Chill, joins in late August. Follow the trucks on Twitter, @StarfruitCafe and @Culture

2. Pinkberry finally opens in July, taking over the old Berry Chill space. A second store in Old Town is slated to open on Sept. 9th with a free fro-yo event on Sept. 8 between 5 - 8 PM.

3. The growth of self-serve fro-yo, with Forever Yogurt leading the charge. Forever Yogurt has three locations with 12 more on the way. Yogurt Avenue, Yogurt Pier, Berry Moon and Royal Berry also offer self-serve fro-yo.

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

Fro-yo Chicago Report: In the Neighborhoods & O'Hare

Fro-yo girl here. My last Chicago fro-yo report covered the downtown area. This one focuses on the neighborhoods of Chicago. I heard about the car driving into Forever Yogurt. FY sorry to hear about that. On the positive side of things, they're supposed to open 3 additional shops this month with 12 locations planned for 2011.

I've had good yogurt gelato and yogurt ice cream (if that makes any sense) but I still haven't had good custom fro-yo. I'm talking about places like iCream where they make the ice cream or frozen yogurt after you order it...using liquid nitrogen. iCream's frozen yogurt ranks among the worst I've ever had. The texture was lumpy and sticky and the taste was like a bad pear syrup. Horrific.


Things are looking up food-wise at O'Hare, thanks to the Red Mango kiosk. They're at Midway Airport as well.

In Evanston, Northwestern students can choose between Red Mango, 38 Degrees, and a couple of non-fro-yo only shops. Having tried 38 Degrees, I would choose the creamier and better tasting Red Mango shop.

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

* iCREAM: 1537 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL
* 38 DEGREES: 940 Church St., Evanston, IL
* RED MANGO: 809 Davis St., Evanston, IL
* RED MANGO: 1000 W. O'Hare Airport Terminal B5, Chicago, IL

Fro-yo Chicago Report: Downtown

Fro-yo girl here. I found the best fro-yo in downtown Chicago...but it's not at a fro-yo shop. It's at Graham Elliott's fancy/fun sandwich shop, Grahamwich. They only have one kind of fro-yo, Greek yogurt and it comes with paired toppings: pomegranate seeds, shaved chocolate and chestnuts ($4). Pomegranate season is almost over, so I wonder what new fro-yo/toppings combination they'll come up with next. I hope they keep the Greek fro-yo. I loved how it was sour and not too sweet and actually tasted like yogurt, not ice cream. The texture was smooth and icy (but not watery).

Kingoberry opened up in the Printer's Row area about three months ago, inside Pockets. They serve Love's Yogurt. They will deliver fro-yo to you. The price is very reasonable but they only have two fro-yo flavors.


It was sad to see the shuttered Berry Chill. The sign said it was closed temporarily closed for emergency repairs. I spotted two "coming soon" freshii signs downtown, so I'm guessing that means more fro-yo is on the way.

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

* GRAHAMWICH: 615 N. State St., Chicago, IL
* FRESHII (coming soon): 161 North Clark, 200 W Randolph, Chicago, IL
* KINGOBERRY: 555 S. Dearborn, Chicago, IL
* BERRY CHILL: 635 N. State St., Chicago, IL

No Fro-yo at Wrigley Field

Fro-yo girl here. On the way to our seats at Wrigley Field, I spotted a picture that looked like a cup of Edy's fro-yo. Edy's/Dreyer's does make fro-yo mixes, so it seemed like I may have found fro-yo. There was even a kiosk called CC's that specialized in frozen treats and frozen drinks. After spending a few hours at Wrigley Field, I can say with confidence that fro-yo isn't served. The picture I saw was a cup of soft serve ice cream. It seems that Wrigleyville doesn't have a fro-yo shop of its own. The nearest fro-yo shop seems to be Yogen Fruz at 843 W. Belmont Ave. (Lakeview).

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

Chicago Fro-yo Report: Berry Chill vs. Starfruit

Fro-yo girl here White Sox vs. Cubs, Thick Crust vs. Thin Crust, Chocolate vs. Vanilla...in Chicago, the two homegrown chains that come to mind when someone thinks of fro-yo (or frozen kefir) are Berry Chill and Starfruit Café. Berry Chill was the first tart fro-yo shop to open in Chicago, swirling since late 2007. Starfruit soon followed in April 2008. I was eager to try both places to see how they’d compare (and I brought Tuttimelon Bear along for a second opinion).

* PRICE: They're the same but Berry Chill charges a dollar more for their flavored tart fro-yo, but I think Berry Chill has larger portions. Advantage: Tie

* TOPPINGS: Both serve Milk & Honey granola and have better than average toppings. Starfruit toppings seem healthier since they have goji berries and flaxseeds, whereas Berry Chill has Thin Mints, peanut butter pretzels. Fruit toppings looked equally fresh. Advantage: Tie



* VARIETY: During my visits, they were offering very fro-yo/frozen kefir flavors. Both offer smoothies. Starfruit has some organic frozen kefir flavors. Advantage: Tie again

* MARKETING: Berry Chill has the cutest signature cups and spoons, delivery, self-serve order kiosks and Yogi the bear mascot. YogiJones is constantly tweeting. Starfruit has a very bright and fruity image. I like how you can create your own frozen kefir creation on their website. Advantage: Berry Chill



* TASTE: I like kefir and everyone knows that I'm obsessed with fro-yo. For me, taste is the most important and Starfruit wins here. Berry Chill is too icy and the original tart tastes too lemony. Starfruit tastes more natural and doesn't taste lemony. Advantage: Starfruit

Since taste is the most important, I’m picking Starfruit Café (so sorry Yogi). It isn't enough to be cute (but thanks for the cup and spoon, Berry Chill).

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

Fro-yo at O'Hare International Airport, Terminal 1

Fro-yo girl here. I missed the grand opening of Starfruit at Block 37 (which occurred during my visit) and endured three days without any fro-yo in the suburbs of Chicago. My first reencounter with fro-yo occured at O'Hare Airport, Terminal 1. My main goal was to find fro-yo. Before I found a directory, I spotted The Grove/Smoothie King (B7). I saw the fro-yo machines and pictures of fro-yo!



I thought they would just have sweet fro-yo but they did have one tart flavor (which was icy, runny and too sweet). They've been open about a year. The fro-yo is still primarily old school/classic sweet. They didn't have any fruit toppings and you can get the fro-yo blended with candy or cookies, as a banana split or as a sundae.

The vanilla ($2.99 for a small, $3.49 for a medium) was sweet, creamy and satisfying.



TCBY was on the directory but I walked by C19 and didn't see it. I also asked the Grove employee about TCBY and he didn't know about it. There is fro-yo in Concourse C, in the food court (C19) at Cafe Zoot. They serve Edy's ice cream and YoCream fro-yo (2 flavors). Perhaps it replaced the TCBY? I also saw another place with Edy's ice cream but no fro-yo in Concourse C.

I'm curious about Windy City Yogurt in the International Terminal but I don't think I'm allowed in that terminal (and it doesn't connect to the domestic terminals).

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