Fro-yo girl here. I had the privilege of attending Lillie Frozen Yogurt’s friends and family night in Beverly Hills on February 21. The official opening is next Saturday night. They’ll be open on Saturday nights at Layla Bagels until they find a brick and mortar space (hope that happens soon).
The froyo is made with four ingredients. It’s all natural, organic, nutrient-dense, and has half the sugar of your typical froyo. And it actually tastes like real tart yogurt. I’m so thrilled because the froyo is phenomenal – thick, smooth, flavorful, tart, and natural. Even better, the toppings (except for the fresh fruit) are housemade.
It isn’t self-serve. There is one machine with two froyo flavor options (they have created a variety of flavors). Toppings include hard shell; fruit, honey, rice crunchies, brownies, honey oat shortbread cubes (so good), and praline toffee crumble.
I’m going to be a regular once the shop opens.
I met the owner, Ethan, and his passion for froyo impressed me! Follow Lillie on Instagram @lillieyogurt.
* LILLIE FROZEN YOGURT: 233 S Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
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 found out about the le zette pop-up at Maury’s Bagels in Silver Lake through Instagram. Le zette is an-LA-based artisanal maker of handmade sheep yogurt products. They started in 2023 with a Turkish yogurt drink called ayran, added yogurt dips last year, and this year they’re launching frozen yogurt which they call Not Baaad. The proceeds of their froyo pop-up are going to help with fire relief efforts.
During the pop-up, I sampled two flavors and took home a pint of sheep’s milk froyo for $15. They’ve tested a variety of flavors but during the pop-up, the two available flavors were Hot Honey Cardamom Crunch and Vanilla Bean & Olive Oil.
Both were super flavorful, complex, and tangy. The texture was smooth, creamy, and dense, without being too hard. They’re made with le zette’s own sheep’s milk yogurt.
Hot Honey Cardamom Crunch froyo had a lot going on, flavor-wise. It wasn’t cloyingly sweet. I could taste the cardamom (love cardamom) and I’ve never had it with hot honey, which is a bit spicy.
I took home a pint of the Vanilla Bean & Olive Oil froyo, made with sheep’s milk yogurt, organic cane sugar, olive oil, and salt. And I assume vanilla – but this wasn’t listed on the packaging. I could see and taste the vanilla bean. The olive oil was slightly fruity and it added complexity to every bite. The texture was a little chewy. It might benefit from a bit of air or some type of stabilizer. Plus, while it was very tangy, I found it a bit sweeter than I prefer.
Sheep’s milk yogurt has probiotics and protein. I didn’t see any specifics but sheep’s milk is higher in fat and protein than cow milk. It’s also easier to digest (less lactose) and more flavorful.
I loved meeting the maker and giving my feedback on the froyo. I’m excited to try other Not Baaad flavors and le zette products. I think their goal is to get Not Baaad into specialty grocery stores and bodegas like their other products.
You can follow le zette on Instagram at @drinklezette.
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. SWRLIES just started their froyo pop-up this month in Los Angeles. They’ve popped up in Eagle Rock and Highland Park so far. They set up a trailer with a freezer filled with frozen fruit and frozen yogurt bars, a hand-churned machine that blends them together, and some toppings and sauces.
They call their frozen yogurt Jalisco style. It’s all-natural frozen yogurt (they made their own yogurt base and formed it into blocks; I was told the yogurt was not sweetened) blended to order with your choice of fruit. Choose your size (Small, $4.25 or Large, $5.00), your fruit (you can pick more than one kind), and your toppings and sauces. They use organic frozen fruit. If you’d like a sweeter treat, they can add sugar or Splenda before blending or you can choose a sweet sauce. The price includes toppings and sauces.
* Frozen yogurt blended with strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry topped with mixed nuts and granola ($4.25): The frozen fruit made the yogurt icy but it also gave it a thicker texture (seeds, skins) and flavor. Since it was freshly churned, the texture was softer. It’s a simple treat that tastes natural and healthy. However, I’ve made better froyo at home. If they used a higher fat yogurt, maybe the texture would be creamier? It’s less creamy than Yogen Fruz, Loving Cup and the other mix-in froyo places that I’ve tried.
I was curious about Jalisco style frozen yogurt. I looked at places serving frozen yogurt in Guadalajara, the largest city in Jalisco, Mexico. There were shops that serve soft serve frozen yogurt dispensed from soft serve machines (some were self-serve, some weren’t) and the mix-in style frozen yogurt. Interestingly, there were multiple Yogen Fruz locations in the area.
You can find Swrlies by following them on Instagram, @swrlies.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* SWRLIES FROYO: 4956 York Blvd, Los Angeles (Highland Park), CA 90042
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.
