Fro-yo and Pearl Tea

Fro-yo girl here. Recently, I posed the following question: “You're in the mood for fro-yo but there isn't any around. What do you have instead?”

The options included ice cream and gelato (which are the most similar to fro-yo), baked goods (cake, cupcakes, cookies), Asian desserts (egg puffs, boba tea) and a healthier option (smoothies). Surprisingly, boba tea was the overwhelming favorite substitute for fro-yo, capturing 58% of the votes. Gelato was a distant third with 17% of the votes. The cold desserts/snacks were more popular with readers.

At first I thought that most of my readers are Asian (and that could be true) but then why aren’t egg puffs more popular? Boba/pearl tea isn’t healthy but it is refreshing (like fro-yo). I’ve certainly seen the crowd move from Quickly on Irving St. to Tuttimelon (which prompted Quickly to come up with their own fro-yo). I’m still not sure to what extent the results are based on the Asianness of voters.

I’ve compiled a list of Bay Area shops that offer both fro-yo and boba/pearl tea. Maybe someone should create milk tea flavored fro-yo? I’ve seen (and tried) milk tea gelato.

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

* HELLO DESSERTS: 1698 Hostetter Rd, San Jose, CA 95131
* HONEYBERRY: 3488 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95052
* LOVE BERRY: Winston Way (Stonestown Galleria), San Francisco, CA 94132
* POCO CAFÉ: 1688 Hostetter Rd, San Jose, CA 95131
* ROCK IT SWIRL: 2810 Diamond St, San Francisco, CA 94014
* TRENDY BEAN CAFÉ: 1054 Kiely Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95051
* TUTTIMELON: 601 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133
* YUMYGURT: 650 Central Ave Ste G, Alameda, CA 94501
* YOLATEA: 600 Main St #F, Pleasanton, CA 94566

Fro-Yo Shops with Free Wi-Fi

Fro-yo girl here. The other day I saw the most adorable free wi-fi signs at Tuttimelon West Portal. They inspired me to make a list of Bay Area fro-yo shops with free wi-fi. Very few have power outlets. With the exception of Tuttimelon, I’ve only reviewed the ones that I’ve been to with my laptop.

* TUTTIMELON (2240 Chestnut St. and 44 West Portal Ave., San Francisco, CA): Other Tuttimelon locations may have free wi-fi but these are the only two that I’m certain have it.

Advantages: Tuttilicious fro-yo, gelato & more, bathroom, general feeling of tuttiliciousness
Disadvantages: Parking can be a challenge, lack of power outlets

* GELAYO GUSTO (856 W El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA): I haven’t been here for months but based on my last visit, it’s the best fro-yo shop to for your laptop. It hasn’t been the same since the ownership changed though.

Advantages: Free, plentiful parking with no time limit, power outlets, food (sandwiches), drinks (coffee), accepts credit cards, music isn’t too loud or annoying
Disadvantages: None that I can think of except that it’s not what it used to be

* RED MANGO (852 Laurel St., San Carlos, CA): This is a nice place to hang out with your laptop and a cup of fro-yo though I seem to recall that I couldn’t find a power outlet.

Advantages: Comfy seating, great ambiance, free & easy parking, great iced tea drinks
Disadvantages: Lack of power outlets, too many pillows to contend with in San Carlos

* JUBILI (1515 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA): I was able to work on my laptop for a few hours here. I like the design but it’s not the best place to work.

Advantages: Like the clean, white décor, bathroom, open earlier than most fro-yo places so you can have breakfast there (hot cereal, cold cereal, regular yogurt parfaits), secure wi-fi, not too noisy
Disadvantages: Parking is a pain, one power outlet in an inconvenient location

* SWEET CONNECTIONS (430 San Mateo Ave., San Bruno, CA): They have power outlets but the noise level is distracting.

Advantages: Power outlets, coffee, free parking should be available
Disadvantages: Feels like being in a day care center, décor isn’t as nice as some of the other more sophisticated looking fro-yo shops

* SIP CAFÉ (1412 Camden Ave., Campbell, CA): I may have gone on a bad day but it felt very warm inside and I couldn’t find a power outlet

Advantages: Opens early, coffee, pastries, plenty of seating, free & easy parking
Disadvantages: Closes early, hard to find power outlet

* BLUSH DUBLIN (4640-A Tassajara Rd., Dublin, CA): What a cute shop. It always feels lively and welcoming.

Advantages: Great fro-yo, free parking, Peet’s nearby, bathroom, likely to be offered free water or juice
Disadvantages: Music is louder than average, just one power outlet

* CAFÉ VERONA (46999 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA): It has a coffee house feel which makes me feel comfortable hanging out there with my laptop.

Advantages: Relatively inexpensive fro-yo, comfy booth seating, sandwiches, easy (and free) parking
Disadvantages: Closes early, couldn’t find a power outlet

* HONEYBERRY (3488 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA): Many pros but I didn’t like my sandwich and the tables are too close together.

Advantages: Sandwiches + fro-yo, free parking
Disadvantages: Couldn’t find power outlet, noisy (maybe because tables are so close together)

* PINK SWIRL (43423 Mission Blvd., Fremont, CA): It was easy & comfy to hang out here with my laptop.

Advantages: Free (and easy parking), relaxed environment, flatscreen TV, power outlets
Disadvantages: There’s a room for little kids

Other fro-yo shops with free wi-fi: So Frais, Nubi, Green Cup, Yogurt Bees, Delatti, Yogurt Harmony, Park Mini Mart, Union Street Coffee Roastery, Hello Desserts, McBerryZ Frozen Treats, Whimsical Frozen Yogurt, Café Verona, Yogurt Paradise, Café Yolicious, Quickly

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

Tartini Now 30 Cents an Ounce

Fro-yo girl here. This morning I saw Tartini’s shocking announcement; they lowered their price from 38 cents an ounce to 30 cents an ounce. Go there. Their tart flavors are more natural than most self-serve fro-yo shops. It’s my impression that they have higher quality fro-yo by self-serve standards. I haven’t tried their sweet flavors but the tart ones are definitely better than Yogurtland’s.

Thinking about the announcement also made me think about the trend towards self-serve fro-yo. I looked at my list of fro-yo shops that opened this year and new self-serve shops outnumber full-serve fro-yo shops. Some full-serve shops like Papamingo and Café Aroma (now Honeyberry) even changed formats, going from full-serve to self-serve. Even Tuttimelon has a self-serve store now.

Self-serve really appeals to a younger crowd that doesn’t seem to mind the germs. I guess it’s a good trend since it increases demand for fro-yo and appeals to a wider audience.

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

* TARTINI: 20488 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 2040, Cupertino, CA
* PAPAMINGO: 2510 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA (also 30 cents an ounce – they must have seen the crazy lines at Yogurtland)
* HONEYBERRY: 3488 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA
* TUTTIMELON UNION CITY: 32280 Dyer St., Union City, CA