Farewell My Old Friend, Jubili

Fro-yo girl. I've seen many fro-yo shops come and go, but the closure of Jubili hurts. It was the very first place I tried tart fro-yo. It was one of those life-changing "first" moments that you never forget. My fro-yo preferences were just being formed at that time. I liked the clean, white, modern look of their shop and the free wi-fi. Jubili was also a cereal bar. Later they added cupcakes (Velveteen Sweets).

Jubili was the oldest surviving tart fro-yo shop in SF. Yogurt Bar was the first tart fro-yo shop in SF and it closed in 2009. I never liked Yogurt Bar, so its passing left me unmoved. Jubili was the second tart fro-yo shop to open in SF, back in October 2007.

Here's an excerpt from my December 2007 review...my first fro-yo shop review:

"Fro-yo girl here. Jubili is the place that started it all for me - my first taste of tart fro-yo and I came for the mochi balls. The first time I went to Jubili, they were out of mochi balls (it was 9:30 PM). He said people kept asking for them. Very disappointing, but of course I don't blame them for it. I couldn't stop wondering about the mochi balls, day and night (I love mochi). I even looked for mochi ball pictures online and I only found a few."

I always wondered why Jubili didn't (1) open another location and (2) change the fro-yo flavors. The fro-yo parfaits were so good that I continued to visit Jubili even after the fro-yo shop explosion. They used to be one of the few fro-yo places that opened early, opening at 8 AM.

* My favorite menu item: the fro-yo parfait, with crushed Nature Valley granola bars, mochi and fresh fruit
* My favorite fro-yo flavor: peach tart

I peeked inside Jubili and the furniture and fro-yo machines are gone.

Farewell Jubili. You will be missed.

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

* JUBILI FROZEN YOGURT & CEREAL: 1515 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA

Closures and Unexpected Places for Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurt Bar, SF’s first tart fro-yo shop, closed its doors about a week ago. I don’t think anyone is surprised though they did step up their promotional efforts during their last few months (e.g., fro-yo happy hour, win a free month of toppings contest, blood drive, sign up for their e-newsletter to get a free fro-yo) and they switched to organic fro-yo.

Ryno’s in Berkeley appears closed but the phone still rings, so they could be remodeling. How is it that they don’t even have a website?

A fro-yo tipster tells me that Bette’s to Go is now swirling plain Straus organic fro-yo. Thanks, A.B.!

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

* YOGURT BAR UNION: 2760 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA
* RYNO’S: 2380 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA
* BETTE’S TO GO: 1807 4th Street, Berkeley, CA

Memorial Day Weekend Specials at Yogurt Bar SF

Fro-yo girl here. This Saturday and Sunday, Yogurt Bar is offering their signature patriotic Red, White & Blue special (8 oz. Golden Gate size, 2 fruit toppings, & syrup for $4.75). Red is for strawberries, blue is for blackberries or blueberries and white is for original plain yogurt. And it’s all topped off with Ghirardelli chocolate syrup.

Happy Memorial Day!

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

* YOGURT BAR UNION: 2760 Octavia St, San Francisco

Mother’s Day at Yogurt Bar

Does your mother love fro-yo? Does your child, wife or sister love fro-yo? Yogurt Bar is having a special Mother’s Day all-day promotion this Sunday. Buy an 8 oz. Union Square or 13 oz. Golden Gate and receive a free 5 oz. frozen yogurt. Toppings not included. Plenty of fro-yo places offer gift cards (e.g., Blush, Red Mango, yoCup, Culture, Nubi), if you want to tuck a gift of fro-yo into a bouquet of flowers or a Mother’s Day card.

* YOGURT BAR: 2760 Octavia St, San Francisco, CA 94123

Give Blood, Get Fro-yo

Lululemon Athletica, Yogurt Bar and the Red Cross have joined forces for a blood drive with free fro-yo samples and hand massages. Sign up for a time slot for Saturday, April 18th at www.beadonor.com and enter sponsor code: lululemonSF

The blood drive will take place at Lululemon (1981 Union St., San Francisco) from 10 AM – 4 PM.

Yogurt Bar Switches to Straus Creamery Organic Yogurt (Free Fro-yo Coupon)

Fro-yo girl here. Several months ago I received word that Yogurt Bar uses Straus organic yogurt in their frozen yogurt mix – and I didn’t believe it. I’ve been to both Yogurt Bar locations and didn’t think I was tasting Straus. However, they seem to have switched over to Straus some time in August 2008 (my last visit was in July). Apparently their fro-yo is more sour now (which appeals to me because plain yogurt is sour). It looks like I need to revisit because I do like Straus.

The reopening of their Mission St. location was scheduled for April but it has been delayed till June.

If you go to their website and join the Yogurt Bar Club, you’ll get a coupon for a free 5 oz. fro-yo at their Union St. location! I already have my coupon. www.yogurtbarsf.com

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

* YOGURT BAR (Marina): 2760 Octavia St., San Francisco, CA
* YOGURT BAR (SOMA): 680 Mission St., San Francisco, CA

Best Cities for Fro-Yo in 2008

Fro-yo girl here. Happy New Year, fro-yoholics. For my first post of 2009, I'd like to recognize certain cities for leading the way in fro-yoland. In other words, these cities are the best in the Bay Area for fro-yo. To earn a place on the list, the city must have the following:

(1) Quantity of fro-yo shops
(2) Quality of fro-yo shops
(3) Innovativeness of fro-yo offerings

And the winners are:

1. Palo Alto - scores the highest on innovation thanks to Culture (homemade toppings, organic fro-yo of the highest quality) and Fraiche (great homemade mochi). Quality is also high with Red Mango in the mix, along with Culture and Fraiche. You can even find fro-yo on the Stanford campus at the Axe & Palm. Avoid Michael's Gelato and the future Orange Tree location.

2. San Francisco - Yogurt Bar was the first tart fro-yo shop in town but they have since been overtaken by many better tasting fro-yo shops. SF scores the highest on the quantity factor with fro-yo available all over town (with the highest concentration in the Financial District), including liquor stores (e.g., Michaeli's, New Russian Hill), pizza shops (Blondie's), malls (SoGreen, LoveBerry) and college campuses (Natural Sensations). Chains such as Yogen Fruz and Cefiore are represented along with homegrown high quality favorites, Tuttimelon, Jubili, Swirl Culture, Caffe Ambrosia, and Chill. Self-serve joints are represented as well (Yoppi, Icebee, Happy Yogurt). Chill ups SF's innovation score.

3. Cupertino - another high scoring city when it comes to quantity but not as high as SF in terms of innovativeness. Those who work and live in Cupertino have no shortage of fro-yo shops to choose from, including my one of my favorites, Red Mango, and a good self-serve spot, Tartini. For sweet fro-yo, check out I Love Yogurt for massive portions. Other fro-yo shops include the ever popular Yogurtland, Froyo? (you can eat fro-yo while watching a movie at Vallco), DIY Yogurt

4. Berkeley - started out strong with Ryno's, Yogurt Harmony, Papamingo and Michelle's Yogurt but new fro-yo shops have been slow to open. Of course Berkeley will forever be known as the home of Yogurt Park (known affectionately as YoPa). Though they specialize in soft serve ice cream, Sketch has fabulous tart fro-yo. The new year should see the arrival of Tuttimelon and other shops.

Support your fro-yo shop in 2009.

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

Happy Hour at Yogurt Bar (SF)

Fro-yo girl here. Yes, the fro-yo happy hour promotion has ended at Swirl Culture, but fear not fro-yoholics. Fro-yo happy hour is back - this time at Yogurt Bar's two SF locations.

* YOGURT BAR UNION: 2760 Octavia St, San Francisco - Tuesday thru Friday, 4-9 PM
* YOGURT BAR MISSION: 680 Mission St, San Francisco - Monday thru Friday, 3-6 PM

During happy hour, you'll receive a free fro-yo size upgrade - perfect for an afternoon pick me up.

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