Showing posts with label
Culture: An American Yogurt Company.
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Showing posts with label
Culture: An American Yogurt Company.
Show all posts
Fro-yo girl here. This is embarrassing, but I forgot to acknowledge my tenth blogiversary on October 20, 2018. I was so busy planning for Halloween that it just slipped my mind. This week I finally organized my froyo spoon collection and I realized I’ve been collecting froyo spoons for almost ten years. I have so many spoons that I need to sell or trade some of them (see my next post).
Ten years. I’ve seen so many froyo shops come and go. The ones that closed that I really miss are:
- Culture Organic Frozen Yogurt in Palo Alto (my 2008 cup of Culture strawberry froyo with nectarines is pictured, the first picture ever posted to this blog)
- Jubili in San Francisco: The first place I tried tart froyo and mochi balls
- The original (1st) Tuttimelon on Irving St. in San Francisco
- Pinkberry in Pasadena and Glendale
- Sno:la in Beverly Hills
The question I get asked the most is who has the best froyo. During the past few years while froyo shops have added soft serve ice cream, gelato, and frozen custard, along with indulgent flavors, I’ve been obsessed with the simplicity of the plain Greek frozen yogurt with Greek toppings at Souvla in San Francisco, the organic, sophisticated flavors at Easy Breezy in San Francisco, and the plant-based, organic, kosher, soy-free, probiotic luscious offerings at Yoga-urt in Glendale, CA. The frozen yogurt at the three places I listed tastes fresher and less processed.
If I lived in NYC, I’m sure that I would be a frequent visitor to Culture. I’m happy that I’ve been there more than once.
My favorite froyo memories over the years are:
- Attending the 2014 Critics Choice TV Awards as Yogurtland's guest. Yogurtland served froyo at the event. The big winners that year were Orange Is the New Black, Masters of Sex, and True Detective. Thanks, Yogurtland!!!
- Attending YoCream's Froyo Conference in 2011 as YoCream's guest. I learned about froyo store operations, toured the factory, and met the founder of YoCream, John Hanna, and other important people in froyo. Thanks, YoCream!!!
- Visiting Yogurtland HQ and talking to Phillip Chang in his office.
- Visiting Menchie's HQ and talking to Amit Kleinberger. He kept smiling!
- Meeting the Pinkberry team, including Ron Graves, and sampling test flavors at Pinkberry HQ
- Attending the NRA Show in Chicago
- Meeting Roy Lam of Tuttimelon and getting the VIP treatment at Tuttimelon openings. I still have all the t-shirts, Tuttimelon merchandise, and Tuttimelon bear.
- Visiting Jonathan Rim, the owner of Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt in Dublin and getting free froyo to take home
- Spending time with the owners of the Bay Area Red Mango locations: Richard, Steven and Yul
- Every National/International Frozen Yogurt Day
- Starting the National Frozen Yogurt Association
- Conducting froyo research
- Winning the Yogurtland San Francisco marketing plan competition
- The time Yogurtland sent me a set of Tokidoki froyo spoons and a Tokidoki t-shirt
I started the blog in 2008 to track frozen yogurt news – and that’s still the main purpose. Thank you so much to my fans and readers and keep eating frozen yogurt!
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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 girl here. It’s June which means it’s the 24th annual National Frozen Yogurt Month. The first National Frozen Yogurt Month was declared by TCBY. National Frozen Yogurt Day is the first Sunday in June, or June 4, 2017. It’s also the time of year that I like to look at frozen yogurt trends.
Looking at Google Trends, one sees the continual slow decline in the number of searches for the term, frozen yogurt. The peak occurred in July 2013. The number of searches for frozen yogurt shows a cyclical pattern, with fewer searches during the winter months and localized peaks in the summer months.
Interestingly, the number of searches for the term "Greek yogurt" also peaked in 2013 and have been declining since. The search pattern there is different because the number of searches peaks in January, when people are presumably thinking about New Year’s resolutions like eating healthier. The number of searches for the term acai bowl is definitely on the rise though more so in Australia than in the US.
It's interesting to look at the searches by region. The top 5 countries by interest in frozen yogurt are #1. United States, #2. Canada, #3. Denmark, #4. Greece and #5. Australia. These were also the top five countries last June though tiny Denmark (population 5.676 million) has overtaken Greece (population 10.82 million). The two most popular related queries were “yogurt near me” and “frozen yogurt near me.” Consumers are clearly looking for frozen yogurt shop locations. A couple of years ago, they were searching for Pinkberry but now they're searching for Menchie's.
Everyone that I’ve spoken to has mentioned the number of frozen yogurt store closures. I’ve seen many frozen yogurt stores that didn’t have anything unique to offer. Even some frozen yogurt chains lack personality. This is the time that the shops that survive should be sure that they have established a distinct brand identity and that they’ve actively cultivated the loyalty of their customers. It’s a good time to emphasize product quality and customer service. In the end, the places that I want to return to are the higher quality shops. I’d like to see healthier options (lower sugar) too. Places like Yoga-urt in Glendale, CA, Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt in San Francisco, CA and Culture in New York that make frozen yogurt in small batches, from scratch.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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 girl here. New York City has always been a trendsetter when it comes to food and it’s no different when it comes to froyo. I’m always excited to visit and check out the froyo offerings. The diversity of froyo offerings is impressive and the city offers much more than your typical froyo, including many counter serve shops and innovative froyo offerings.
Homegrown Favorites
GRK is a quick-serve chain of Greek cafes serving fresh Greek food, Greek drinks and Greek yogurt (fresh/refrigerated or frozen). GRK started in NYC and now has a Washington DC outpost.
There’s a separate express line for counter-served fresh or frozen yogurt (spelled ygrt on the sign). Toppings are limited but include interesting Greek toppings like cherry preserves, fig preserves, rose petal preserves along with figs, fresh fruit, Greek honey and nuts. They only have one flavor of yogurt, plain. The yogurt contains no added sugar and is sweetened with honey. It’s on the icier side with a sweet, clean finish – it tastes like real yogurt with natural tanginess.
Culture: An American Yogurt Company is still my favorite NYC froyo shop. The housemade yogurt and housemade toppings are a notch above what you can find elsewhere. They take their yogurt very seriously, making Greek yogurt from scratch from locally sourced Hudson Valley milk and live probiotic cultures. The counter-served yogurt is available fresh or frozen. One variety per day is organic. The frozen yogurt is super thick, clean, tangy with a refreshing edge, less sweet – what froyo should taste like. Gourmet toppings include fresh key lime custard (recommended, very tangy), strawberries macerated in balsamic vinegar and pineapple roasted with cardamom in maple syrup. The key lime pie sundae features key lime custard, lime syrup and graham cracker crumbs (yum). They also have yogurt drinks, froyo cookie sandwiches and Stumptown Coffee. Culture has two locations in NYC and its fresh Greek yogurt is available at select local markets, including Whole Foods.
Victory Garden (31 Carmine St., New York (West Village), NY) is the only goat milk soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt shop in town. The goat milk is sourced from a local farm. Flavors and toppings are seasonal. The goat milk frozen yogurt flavor is distinctive and delicious. The texture is smooth, dense and creamy and the aftertaste is sweet and clean. It tasted “cleaner” and less processed than the typical frozen yogurt. The flavor was tangy but moderately so and the slight refreshing edge was also pleasant. You can taste the goat milk. The flavors are more sophisticated and the toppings healthier. Look out for unusual toppings and sauces like mole sauce, raspberry rose sauce, edible flowers, blackcurrant bay leaf sauce, fennel pollen, bitter orange drizzle, and candied pine nuts.
Butterfield Market (1114 Lexington Ave., New York, NY) is a smallish Upper East Side gourmet market with a froyo/smoothies counter and walkup window. The froyo is counter-served and they serve Frogurt, the same frozen yogurt carried by Forty Carrots (Bloomingdale’s, 1000 3rd Ave., New York, NY).
Blue Olive Market (210 E 41st St., New York, NY) is an upscale Greek market and café in Murray Hill known for its made to order frozen Greek yogurt. The yogurt and toppings are combined and then frozen with liquid nitrogen.
Greecologies (379 Broome St., New York, NY) serves grass-fed Greek fresh yogurt served in terracotta bowls, smoothies, desserts, coffee and tea in Little Italy. The yogurt is made with local milk and can be topped with sweet or savory toppings like sour cherry, quince, quinoa, muesli and olive oil. There was talk of adding frozen yogurt but they are currently still working on the recipe.
Invasion of the Foreign Froyo Chains
“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere. It’s up to you, New York, New York.” New York is where Chillbox (of Greece) and Yooglers (of Spain) chose to open their first US locations. Yooglers recently closed for good before I had a chance to try it.
Chillbox (204 E 60th St., New York, NY) has one Upper East Side location. I was told that the frozen yogurt comes from Greece and so do some of the toppings like the honey and sour cherry syrup. I suppose this explains the price, 78 cents an ounce. While the frozen yogurt is good (tangy, whipped, light and smooth), it isn’t the best in town and some of the toppings didn’t look that fresh.
Yogorino (657 Broadway, New York, NY) of Italy opened its first US location in Philadelphia. The NYC location added a new flavor, chocolate, a few months ago. The chocolate flavor tasted too much like cocoa powder, but the original flavor is as good as I remembered it: thick, creamy, whipped/light with a light tang and mild flavor. It’s not as tart as tart froyo but it does have some tang. This location also offers crepes, gelato, milkshakes and beverages.
Froyo for Travelers
Penn Station’s Chickpea cafes feature Red Mango frozen yogurt. You can also find Red Mango at JFK International Airport Terminal 7 and LaGuardia International Airport.
Of course there are many other froyo shops in NYC, including 16 Handles, Pinkberry, Yogurtland, Red Mango, Off the Wall, YoArt, Yorganic, Fresko, Uptown Swirl, etc. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to visit them all.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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 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.
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.
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