Tahina Opens in Alameda, California and They Have Greek Froyo

 

Fro-yo girl here. I recently visited Tahina in Alameda. Tahina is a new fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant that opened in the Alameda Marketplace last June. The owner also owns the Beanery inside Alameda Marketplace. The menu includes mezze, soups, desserts, and wraps, pitas, bowls and plates with your choice of falafel, chicken shawarma or beef shawarma.

And yes, they make their own Greek frozen yogurt. There’s one flavor, plain, and three toppings: baklava crumble, honey, or sour cherry. You can choose 1, 2 or 3 toppings for the same price. There is one size. A froyo with toppings is $5 and you get a lot of froyo.

The menu and froyo reminded me of Souvla and Tahina’s frozen yogurt tasted like Souvla’s. It tasted natural with few additives and less sweet than usual. The texture was crazy thick, smooth, and dense – denser than Souvla’s. It tasted like real yogurt but not tangy and less sour than Souvla’s. Really good! They weren’t as generous with the baklava but the sour cherry sauce was fantastic with the plain yogurt. Also, my shawarma wrap was great too. I like Souvla’s froyo better but Tahina’s is close and more convenient for East Bay folks.

* TAHINA: 1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

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.

Yalla Mediterranean No Longer Serves Greek Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. Some time last year I was in Orange County and on the way back home, I took a detour to Seal Beach for froyo at Yalla Mediterranean. However, when I visited, I was told that the soft serve machine wasn’t working and that it had been broken for six months. The employee said that they probably wouldn’t fix it because of the high cost of the repair. I was told that it would be cheaper to get a new machine than repair the old one. While I was quite disappointed at the time, I didn’t think too much about it.

Recently, I read that the soft serve machine is “broken” at the Yalla locations in Burbank, Culver City, and Walnut Creek. The Seal Beach experience was not an isolated incident. It made me wonder what’s going on with Yalla.

The newer paper Yalla menu does not list frozen yogurt, though frozen yogurt is still shown on the Yalla website, including the online menu. The last Yalla post showing froyo was on November 25, 2018 on Instagram.

From what I can tell, the frozen yogurt is no longer offered at any Yalla location. This is sad because they developed their own recipe for Greek froyo and offered tasty toppings like baklava and chocolate cookies. It was available in one flavor, plain tart. The frozen yogurt was rather icy but it was refreshing and I enjoyed the baklava topping. 

Also, for a few years (2016-2018), you could get a free froyo with baklava there with a Yelp check-in. I went fairly often to get a salad and froyo for dessert. I probably won’t go back there since they stopped offering Greek froyo. Would you still go? The food was decent but the froyo was the main attraction.

Yalla started in late 2014, when Daphne’s California Greek, the Greek fast casual chain, started the new concept. Yalla had a different look, a broader Mediterranean menu than Daphne’s, and an emphasis on sustainability by using local GMO-free ingredients, responsibly raised meat and fish, and eco-friendly packaging. Daphne’s was acquired by Victory Park Capitol Advisers earlier in 2014. The first Yalla location opened in Pleasant Hill, CA in December 2014.

The expansion phase followed, with new company owned locations opening in Northern California first, then Southern California. Most of the new locations were converted from Daphne’s. The last of the new locations opened in 2015.

FAT Brands, a global franchising company that also owns Fatburger, Ponderosa, Buffalo’s Café and other franchise brands, acquired Yalla in December 2018. At the time, Yalla had 7 locations. Since then, no new locations have opened but none have closed either. Yalla is looking for franchisees.

Currently, there are Yalla locations in

• Burbank, CA
• Culver City, CA
• Dublin, CA
• Fremont, CA
• Pleasant Hill, CA
• Seal Beach, CA
• Walnut Creek, CA
• Chicago (delivery only)

On a happier note, Nick the Greek, a fast casual Greek eatery, is expanding rapidly in California (13 locations and counting) and offering Greek froyo.

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.

Plain Greek Frozen Yogurt at Nick the Greek, Morgan Hill Location Opens on February 1

Fro-yo girl here. Late last year, some locations of Nick the Greek started offering Greek frozen yogurt. It’s offered at their San Jose location near Bascom, Willow Glen location and the brand new location in Morgan Hill. Once I heard about the froyo, I knew that I had to go.

I visited the location in San Jose off Bascom. They had one kind of frozen yogurt, plain Greek frozen yogurt. You can get it plain ($4.95) or with honey and baklava ($5.95). There were no other toppings. I like how they keep it simple, but the portion was too large for a snack and there’s only one size offered.

* Plain Greek frozen yogurt w/ baklava and honey: I admired the care that went into this cup of froyo. I think honey was added to the bottom and sides of the cup, then froyo was added till the cup was half full, next baklava was added, more froyo was added, and the creation was finished off with more baklava crumbles and honey. The baklava was excellent – moist, chewy, with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. There was a generous amount of baklava, froyo, and honey. The honey made some of the froyo parfait pretty sweet, but the frozen yogurt itself was not as sweet as usual. The texture wasn’t optimal – it wasn’t that smooth and it melted fast, but I did like the flavor – uncomplicated, not too sweet, less processed tasting, tangy with a hint of sourness. The texture was denser than Souvla’s and more creamy than icy. It certainly wasn’t watery and I didn’t find it too icy, but it could have been smoother.

Nick the Greek was established in 2014 by three cousins, all named Nick, and 2nd generation Greeks. The mini chain currently has 10 locations in the Bay Area. The authentic Greek fare served in a fast casual setting. The specialities are souvlaki and gyros. I’d definitely like to see more locations open and they’d better have froyo.

The Morgan Hill Location is having a grand opening celebration on February 1. Lunch will be free from 12 PM-3PM (but not froyo, I think). The address is 632 Tennant Station, Morgan Hill, CA 95037.

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

* NICK THE GREEK: 2223 Business Cir., Ste. 30, San Jose, CA 95128

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.

The Argentum Project Offers Authentic Greek Yogurt in San Francisco, CA

Fro-yo girl here. When I first heard about the Argentum Project, which opened in July of this year, I knew it was a place that I had to visit. The owners grew up in Greece. The Argentum Project is a “Greek-style coffee cafe featuring Greek specialties, take away sweets & savories and gift items." One of the items on the menu is award winning soft serve frozen yogurt from Greece (Kayak brand).

The soft serve frozen yogurt is available in two flavors, original 0% no sugar added or vanilla.

Small $5/ Medium $7/ Large $9

The price includes your choice of honey syrup, sour cherry syrup, or housemade baklava crumbles. Or you can add a Greek spoon sweet (+$1.25), organic fruit (+$1.50) or granola (+$0.50).

* Original, 0% fat, no sugar added. This was icier than the vanilla. It was sweeter than I expected because the yogurt has Stevia. There was no tang and it didn’t have much flavor.

* Vanilla: Fat and no Stevia made this the better flavor. It was rich, velvety smooth, and very creamy. The vanilla flavor was subtle. While the texture was nice, the yogurt seemed to melt quickly and was never that firm, even when I first received the cup. The frozen yogurt had little tang. While it was good, it wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped. It was different than the usual vanilla froyo – less like ice cream and more like froyo but not tangy.

In addition to frozen yogurt, the Argentum Project offers Greek specialties like spanakopita, bougatsa, hortopita, tiropita, tahinopita, baklava, kataifi, pastachio, beeftekia, Greek desserts, sandwiches, spreads, salads, and more.

If you want to check it out, be aware that it’s in a rundown area with a lot of pawn shops.

4 out of 5 stars.

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

* THE ARGENTUM PROJECT: 47 6th St, San Francisco (SOMA), CA 94103

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.

Spread Mediterranean Kitchen Adds Baklava Topping to Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. When Spread Mediterranean Kitchen opened in downtown LA last year, I was very excited because of their menu and their housemade Greek froyo with interesting toppings. There’s one flavor, plain (the best flavor). The toppings included beet salt & citrus powder, chai halva crumble, or harissa dry spice & pita chip.

I’ve visited Spread multiple times since it opened. I really enjoy the food and the froyo. I also enjoy the ambiance/décor. The food is high quality and very flavorful but served in a casual (no waiter) setting. I think their falafel might be my favorite, served on top of their creamy hummus. It’s full of herbs with a light crunch outside. Their frozen yogurt is a bit icy but refreshing, not as sweet and less processed tasting. The toppings have changed over time. They added baklava (replacing the halva) but when I asked about it, they said they didn’t have any. So disappointing – but I am craving more falafel and the citrus zest froyo topping is so good.

* SPREAD MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN: 334 S Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90034

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.

Kentro (Fullerton, CA) Adds Baklava Topped Frozen Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. When another restaurant starts offering its own housemade frozen yogurt with housemade baklava, I find it newsworthy. Kentro, a casual Greek restaurant, has been open in downtown Fullerton for several years. I learned that they recently invested in a Taylor froyo machine and started offering frozen Greek yogurt topped with housemade baklava. At the moment that’s the only froyo option they offer – one flavor with baklava and honey citrus syrup.

Kentro uses the same cup, only offers one flavor/plain and has baklava and honey as a toppings combination, so it does feel like they were inspired by Souvla, the Greek eatery in San Francisco. Being inspired by Souvla is a good thing.

* Baklava frozen Greek yogurt ($7): At Kentro, when you order the baklava frozen Greek yogurt, you get a cup of plain Greek frozen yogurt with honey citrus syrup drizzled on top and housemade crumbled baklava. It’s their own froyo recipe. I heard that they strain their own yogurt too. It wasn’t overly sweet but had a bit of sourness and tang. The frozen yogurt was good because it tasted closer to yogurt and less processed. The texture was icier and not as smooth as Souvla’s. The baklava was soft and very sweet. It must have had nuts, but I didn’t see or taste any. It tasted mostly of cinnamon. Souvla gives you more baklava and their baklava is better…but they’re in SF, so I can’t go there too often.

The restaurant is large and has an attractive, modern look. There’s a bar area where you can sit and dine. There was a lot of natural light inside. Service was very friendly. In case you’re curious, the menu includes appetizers (calamari, spanakopita, etc.), spreads (served with bread), soups, salads, flatbreads, pita sandwiches, entrees (moussaka souvlaki, brizola, etc.), sides, Greek wines, Greek coffee and desserts. Order at the counter and grab a number. They’ll bring your food and frozen yogurt to you.

P.S. Mr. Froyo recommends their dolmades. He says their the best that he’s ever had.

* KENTRO GREEK KITCHEN: 100 S Harbor Blvd. #A, Fullerton, CA 92832

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.

Baklava Froyo, Froyo Topped with Baklava

Fro-yo girl here. Did you know that today is National Baklava Day? Baklava is good on its own – the papery thin layers of filo pastry, chopped nuts and honey or sugar syrup – but it is dense, sweet and rich.

Baklava happens to be the perfect froyo topping, for plain froyo. It’s not as sweet or rich when paired with a light, tangy froyo. I became obsessed with baklava topped froyo when I had it at Souvla in San Francisco. Mini-chain, Yalla, also serves plain Greek froyo with baklava in Northern and Southern California. And it’s been spotted at the Pago cart and GRK in NYC, Yiaourtaki in Greece and Blu Spoon in Australia.

Turkey Hill had a baklava flavored froyo but I never had a chance to try it. Turkey Hill isn’t available in California, I think.

I found a recipe for homemade froyo with baklava: http://www.kalofagas.ca/2013/08/02/homemade-frozen-greek-yogurt/

Check out my Pinterest board for pictures of froyo with baklava: https://www.pinterest.com/froyogirl/froyo-with-baklava/

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.