Favorite Food & Froyo Combinations

Fro-yo girl here. While it seems natural for Greek/Middle Eastern quick serve restaurants like Souvla, Spread, GRK and Yalla to offer Greek frozen yogurt, there are other cuisines that pair well with froyo.

I’ve seen froyo offered at pho shops, pizza places, Korean restaurants, delis, salad bars, sushi restaurants, burger shacks and more. My favorite food and froyo pairings are:

* Banh mi (one Lee’s Sandwiches shop in San Jose, CA used to offer their own froyo, including a flavor based on their Vietnamese coffee, but they stopped carrying froyo years ago)

* Bibimbap: Froyo really freshens one’s breath which is helpful after a Korean meal. Sunny Bowl in Mountain View, CA used to offer bibimbap and froyo. They’re still open but they stopped serving froyo.

* Omusubi/onigiri at Sunny Blue in Santa Monica and Culver City. I like meals that aren’t totally filling and heavy followed by a small cup of froyo. I’ve always liked omusubi (Japanese rice balls) and Sunny Blue has the best ones. They’re made to order with warm, furikake topped rice and generous amounts of tasty, healthy Japanese fillings like miso beef, shiso ume, tuna, spicy salmon, etc. So far my favorite omusubi is the Sunny Blue Curry (chicken with wafu curry). One omusubi ($2.85-$4.45) is a great snack.

Both of their shops are adorable and both offer froyo (2 flavors a day). The Culver City shop is a bit larger. During my visit the froyo flavors were tart and creamsicle (I wish they were still offering black sesame froyo). The toppings included red beans, Pocky, yuzu jam, Hello Panda, strawberries, etc. It’s not self-serve. The tart froyo was thick, smooth, creamy and tangy. Another tip: Their complimentary chilled barley tea is excellent and pairs well with rice balls and froyo.

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

* SUNNY BLUE: 2728 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90405

* SUNNY BLUE CULVER CITY: 12608A Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066

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.

Hidden Froyo Gems 2016

Fro-yo girl here. What’s a hidden froyo gem? It’s a place that doesn’t have a clearly visible froyo sign. It’s a place that you might not expect to see froyo. Also, I’m limiting the list to places that serve good froyo.

I haven’t written a post about hidden froyo spots since 2008. It’s definitely time for an update. All but one of the Bay Area shops in the 2008 post have closed. This new list is for Southern California.

* LOHA’S FRESH MART (300 W Main St., Alhambra, CA 91801): LOHAS Fresh Mart is the healthy, organic Asian market that opened recently in downtown Alhambra. Head to the deli for a big cup of organic frozen yogurt. They only have one flavor.

* NICOLE’S GOURMET COFFEE & CHOCOLATE (928 S Western Ave., Ste. 145, Los Angeles, CA 90006): Located in Koreatown Plaza, Nicole’s is a popular Korean café that serves coffee, patbingsoo, taiyaki and frozen yogurt. They only have one flavor of frozen yogurt, plain/original, but it’s a good flavor and $4 gets you a big cup piled high with frozen yogurt.

* SPREAD MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN (334 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90034): The Middle Eastern food is tasty and you can get a mini housemade Greek froyo with topping for just $2.50. It’s a casual place so it’s easy to stroll in, order your froyo at the counter and go.

* SUNNY BLUE (2728 Main St., Santa Monica, CA 90405 & 12608A Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066): Sunny Blue has the best omusubi (Japanese rice balls). They’re made to order with warm, furikake topped rice and generous amounts of tasty, healthy Japanese fillings like miso beef, shiso ume, tuna, spicy salmon, etc. Both of their shops are adorable and both offer froyo (2 flavors a day) that they've flavored themselves. The toppings included red beans, Pocky, yuzu jam, Hello Panda, strawberries, etc.

* YALLA (multiple locations in CA, http://www.yallamedi.com/): Yalla has a set up that’s similar to Chipotle only they serve Mediterranean food; you choose your style/base and choose your protein, sauces and toppings. They have one flavor (plain) of Greek frozen yogurt that’s available with honey, chocolate, sour cherry sauce or chopped baklava. The small size is just right for dessert. Their froyo is their own proprietary recipe.

Did I miss any hidden froyo gems in Southern California? If so, let me know.

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.

SoCal Fro-yo Report: Onigiri & Fro-yo, Vegan Soft Serve

Fro-yo girl here. I returned to SoCal, land of fro-yo, the capital of fro-yo. Fro-yo shops have continued to close. Cities like Moorpark have lost multiple fro-yo shops (Froyo Life, Menchie's). Of course there are still plenty of fro-yo shops. I look for innovative shops and I found the following:

* SUNNY BLUE (2728 Main St, Santa Monica, CA): I knew I had to go to a shop that specializes in two things I love: fro-yo and Japanese rice balls (omusubi/onigiri). The rice balls were better than the fro-yo. They're assembled after you order them so the onigiri is still warm and fresh. There aren't too many places to get a warm, freshly made onigiri. The fro-yo was organic. I did like their fro-yo toppings which included Pocky, cornflakes, mochi and red bean.


* KINDKREME (3701 Cahuenga Blvd. Studio City, CA): Gourmet raw vegan food...It's not a fro-yo shop but they do have soft serve ice cream. It isn't tart and they only seem to have chocolate and vanilla flavors (flavors aren't rotated). That was disappointing. I know that yogurt can be made with soy, rice milk, almond milk, etc. so I was hoping for a tart fro-yo. The vanilla soft serve is made with almond milk, giving it a nutty flavor. It was icy.

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