Love Berry at Stonestown Galleria, San Francisco, Closes

Fro-yo girl here. Love Berry inside Stonestown Galleria wasn’t the first place to carry tart froyo in San Francisco (that was Yogurt Bar) but it was one of the earliest. They started offering tart frozen yogurt back in late 2007. It wasn’t a great froyo shop but the location did provide them with a steady stream of customers. And they did outlast Yoppi Yogurt's Stonestown Galleria location, the first wave of tart froyo shops and most of the shops at Stonestown Galleria.

With Love Berry’s closing, Stonestown Galleria no longer has a shop that serves frozen yogurt. Now there are multiple places for milk tea and juice. And you can get ice cream sandwiches at CREAM.

The Love Berry space is behind scaffolding. I’m not sure what will replace it.

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

* LOVE BERRY: 400 Winston Dr., San Francisco, CA 94132

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.

Wow, I Wrote 300 Fro-yo Reviews

Fro-yo girl here. Today I posted my 300th fro-yo review on Yelp. I remember my first fro-yo shop review clearly. It was for Jubili in San Francisco and I posted it on December 16, 2007. At the time, I had just learned about mochi balls and I couldn't stop thinking about them. The first time I went to Jubili, they were out of mochi.

The next day, December 17, 2007, I posted another fro-yo review for Love Berry at Stonestown Galleria. I can't remember my 100th fro-yo review or my 200th fro-yo review (I should have paid closer attention). My 500th Yelp review was for Cafe Delatti in Los Gatos.

My first Tuttimelon review was posted on January 27, 2008 for their very first location, on Irving St. in San Francisco. Tuttimelon Blackhawk opened at the perfect time - it's my 300th fro-yo shop review.

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

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