Fro-yo girl here. I love finding innovative froyo shops. Zooies is definitely a hidden gem. It’s inside a gas station convenience store called We Got It! They opened a few years ago in San Diego as a cookie and ice cream shop inside the We Got It! United Oil convenience store. Now they’re in LA at the We Got It! The United Oil gas station looks new and the gas prices were the lowest in the area.
The convenience store looks new too. Zooies is to the right when you walk in. They had over 20 kinds of cookies and bars to choose from, including vegan, paleo, diabetic friendly, and gluten free options. The staples are there: chocolate chip, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and some creative kinds like s’mores, baklava and morning glory.
The froyo is self-serve and they have four flavors. The froyo is average but what stands out is the toppings bar. The toppings are their chopped up cookies!!! The limited time special is a steal, $3.50 flat rate for a 16 oz cup. The only toppings they have are cookies and syrups but who cares. They have over a dozen types of chopped up cookies. The baklava cookies have a strong cardamom flavor. Love.
Froyo flavors of the day:
* Vanilla: creamy, like soft serve ice cream
* Chocolate
* Plain tart: didn’t have much tang and didn’t have a clean finish
* Passionfruit orange sorbet
They also have coffee cake and coffee drinks. There isn’t any place to sit. If I lived nearby, I’d fill cups with chopped cookies and froyo and freeze them for future consumption. Also note that they close earlier than the gas station.
Rating: 4/5
* ZOOIES: 9815 National Blvd., Los Angeles (Cheviot Hills), 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.
Fro-yo girl here. I’ve had my eye on Eb & Bean since they first opened in June 2014 – their use of local organic milk, handmade flavors and artisanal toppings definitely appealed to me. They also offer vegan and gluten free froyo and toppings. It was my #1 Portland must see.
Their organic probiotic frozen yogurt is rBST free, GMO free and 100% natural. The thin, tall spirals of froyo on Instagram always look amazing.
They carry three everyday flavors (Vanilla, Chocolate, Tart) and special seasonal flavors. During my visit these were Ginger Caramel, Lemon Marionberry Buttermilk and Salty Pistachio (Non-dairy, made with almond milk). They’re always creating new flavors like Apricot Crème Fraiche, Grasshopper Pie, Garden Mint, Cardamom Caramel, etc. They haven’t had any seasonal flavor repeats. In their first year, they served 72 flavors.
Toppings are housemade or sourced from small batch local producers like Pinkleton’s salted vanilla caramel corn, Cary’s of Oregon almond toffee crumbles, and Honey Mama’s cacao nectar crumbles. The toppings aren’t what you’d find at your typical froyo shop. They have Bakeshop cookies, streusel, candy, Jacobsen salt, nuts, local honey, candied ginger, marionberry compote, bourbon sauce, non-dairy magic shell, cinnamon sugar potato donuts, honeyed whipped cream and the list goes on. I wanted to buy the toppings and bring some home.
Prices: Small $3.75, Large $4.75, Tots $2.75 (for kids only), Pints $6, toppings $1 for the first topping
The tart flavor was mild, lightly sweetened, and milky – it tasted more like milk than tangy yogurt. The tang wasn’t there but it had a smooth, light, refreshing quality. I liked the lemon marionberry buttermilk flavor better – it was light, fruity and smooth. It tasted more like berries than lemon and the flavor wasn’t so intense that it overwhelmed the yogurt flavor. The texture isn’t creamy but it is smooth and on the icier side. The salty pistachio (non-dairy) was very sweet and it had so much pistachio flavor that I couldn’t taste the almond milk.
The shop is sleek, minimalist yet still cute (that polar bear, the wall of paper mache froyo cones and cups). There’s one communal wood table, kids’ tables and counter seating by the window. They sell Eb & Bean t-shirts – I want one.
Cups and spoons are compostable, of course. Pick up a frequent buyer card.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Rating: 4/5
* EB & BEAN: 1425 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232
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.
