Innovative Froyo Shop: Victory Garden in New York City

Fro-yo girl here. Goat milk – yay or nay? If you love goat milk, you’ll likely love Victory Garden, a unique goat milk soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt shop in the West Village of NYC. The petite shop is an ode to the goat and to healthy, local eating. A large picture of goats dominates one brick wall. The logo is a stylized image of a goat’s head.

The goat milk is sourced from a local farm. Soups, baked goods and some of the toppings are housemade, others are locally sourced. Flavors and toppings are seasonal. Gluten free baked goods and toppings are offered. The flavors are more sophisticated and the toppings healthier.

Flavors of the day:

* Tangy goat milk: The goat milk yogurt flavor is distinctive and delicious without being too strong (or too weak). The texture is smooth, dense and creamy and the aftertaste is sweet and clean. It tasted “cleaner” and less processed than the typical frozen yogurt. The flavor was tangy but moderately so and the slight refreshing edge was also pleasant.

* Date yogurt

* Salted caramel: Sweeter than the tangy goat milk flavor, salt flavor is subtle

* Chocolate rosemary

Toppings included fresh fruit (just strawberries during my visit), cocoa nibs, sauces (rose quince, honey, agave), sprinkles, nuts, cookies, coconut, granola and dried mulberries. Toppings labeled premium (vs. regular) are available for an additional charge ($2.19 for one premium topping, $1.09 for one regular topping). I enjoyed the sour cherry topping, with lots of chewy whole sour cherries in a sweet syrup. Look out for unusual toppings and sauces like mole sauce, raspberry rose sauce, edible flowers, blackcurrant bay leaf sauce, fennel pollen, bitter orange drizzle, and candied pine nuts.

Prices: Kid ($4.75)/ Doe ($5.50)/ Buck ($6.75)/ Hero ($12.99)

In addition to soft serve in a cup or gluten free cone, Victory Garden has juices, chia parfaits, baked goods (e.g., brownies, carrot cake with goat cheese frosting), goat milk smoothies, sandwiches, mastic coffee, tea and goat milk Greek yogurt (not frozen). Baked goods are made with housemade goat milk butter. They also sell Victory Garden t-shirts and goaty products like soap and so forth. Pick up your loyalty card. Seating is limited.

4.5 out of 5 stars

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

* VICTORY GARDEN: 31 Carmine St., New York (West Village), NY 10014

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.

Innovative Froyo Shop Spotlight: Yoga-urt in Glendale, CA

Fro-yo girl here. It’s been quite some time since the last innovative froyo shop spotlight. I’m thrilled to have found a new innovative froyo shop. Yoga-Urt, which just had its soft opening last weekend, July 18-19, combines froyo with yoga and it’s organic, vegan, kosher and soy free. It’s LA’s first all organic non-dairy froyo place.

What makes Yoga-urt innovative is that it’s dairy-free, organic, all natural, and handcrafted.  Their soft serve is made with dairy milk alternatives, mostly almond milk but they also have coconut and cashew bases. They actually make their own almond milk. Plus, all Yoga-urt soft serve has four strains of live probiotics. It’s all natural and good for you. They make their own gluten free vegan cones. Yes, it’s more expensive but the quality is higher.

They've developed nine dairy-free soft serve flavors that rotate. There are six flavors a day and it’s not self serve. The flavor names are influenced by the yoga theme. I saw one tart flavor on the menu (Tantric Tart) but it wasn’t being offered that day. The flavors are true to what they should taste like. Except for Tantric Tart, the flavors aren't tangy.

Toppings include fruit (fresh and dried), granola, coconut, mochi, nuts, chocolate chips and cacao nibs. Even the toppings are healthier. The gluten free waffle cones are made with rice milk and gluten free flour.

Froyo flavors of the day:
* Vanilla harmony: I’m a big fan – it reminds me of Pressed Juicery’s vanilla almond milk soft serve (Freeze) but much better. Vanilla harmony is creamier, less icy and less gritty but it still has that nutty flavor and very clean finish. It tastes less processed/more natural and less sweet. 
* Chocolate bliss
* Salted caramel zen
* Strawberry serenity - tastes so good, like fresh strawberries but creamier
* Ganesha’s sweet greens: Features a thick cashew base, lots going on with kale, spinach and other ingredients but I kept tasting fresh mint which I really liked
* Peanut butter prana: super dense, thick, creamy with lots of peanut butter

Froyo prices: Mini $3.75/ Small $5.25/ Medium $6.75/ Large $8.25, first topping $1, 50 cents for all additional toppings

In addition to froyo, Yoga-Urt has organic smoothies and organic drinks. Cups and spoons are compostable of course. Their products are good for you and they care about the Earth.

Yoga-urt was founded by Melissa Schulman, LA based project manager and certified yoga instructor. Her dream was to provide a healthy treat for her vegan yogi friends. Yoga-urt is in quaint, health conscious Kenneth Village, close to a yoga studio.

Grand Opening July 25-26

Yoga-urt is having its grand opening event this weekend. Mini cups will be $1 and everything else is half off. They’ll be open 10:30 AM – 8 PM on Saturday, July 25 and 11 AM – 6 PM on Sunday, July 26. Also with any purchase during the grand opening weekend, you’ll get one raffle ticket and a chance to win prizes from Kenneth Village businesses.

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

* YOGA-URT, 1407 ½ W Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA 91201

http://www.yoga-urt.com/, @yoga_urt

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.

Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight: Go Greek Yogurt in Beverly Hills

Fro-yo girl here. Standards are high in Beverly Hills and the yogurt of choice is flown from Greece. Go Greek Yogurt offers authentic Greek fresh and frozen yogurt and other Greek imported products, including olive oil, honey, coffee, and toppings.

The triple strained plain yogurt is available with 0%, 2%, or 10% fat. Top it with imported Greek toppings like carrot, quince, rose, strawberries, or sour cherry. You may think a strawberry is a strawberry but a Greek strawberry tastes different. Other toppings range from sweet to savory: cucumbers, olives, olive oil, basil, nuts, Greek honey, raw peanut chews, fresh fruit, figs, dates, nuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, housemade granola and more. Or opt for a parfait. They’re open early on weekdays.

Then there’s the self-serve frozen yogurt, made with their 2% or 10% Greek yogurt. There are four flavors a day for 60 cents an ounce. The plain and honey frozen yogurt flavors are the best. Made with 2% yogurt, the texture is super smooth, rich, dense and creamy and the yogurt flavor comes through. It’s on the sweeter side but has a bit of tang. Some customers like to mix the fresh yogurt with the frozen yogurt.

They’re eco-friendly and buy their farm fresh toppings from local farms. You can get a signature Go Greek terracotta pot for storing your yogurt. It’s made in Greece and biodegradable.

They also sell gift boxes and Go Greek aprons.

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

Rating: 5/5

GO GREEK YOGURT: 425 N Bedford Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

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.

Los Angeles Froyo: Froyo Waffle Tacos at A Tea Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. At first glance, A Tea Yogurt looks like a fairly typical Asian owned frozen yogurt and milk tea shop but they’ve invented something that’s like a frozen yogurt version of a Choco Taco. They have about a dozen frozen yogurt waffle tacos ($3.50 and up) with the option to create your own. 

Some interesting frozen yogurt waffle taco creations include:

* Chocolate peanut butter attack: chocolate frozen yogurt, peanut butter, Reese’s peanut butter cups, hot fudge in a chocolate peanut butter waffle taco

* Banana o’ split (their best seller): vanilla, chocolate and strawberry frozen yogurt, sliced bananas, strawberry syrup, crushed pineapple, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, boba in a cinnamon banana waffle taco

* Coffee toffee: vanilla frozen yogurt, crushed Heath bars, coffee syrup in a cappucino waffle taco

They make their own waffle taco shells and they come in different flavors like cappuccino, chocolate dipped, cranberry, cinnamon banana and chocolate swirl. The frozen yogurt flavors (basic flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) are available in a cup or in the waffle taco. The waffle taco shape allows for more toppings than a waffle cone.

A Tea Yogurt opened a few weeks ago. They also operate a food truck called Boba ni Taco and they plan to sell pre-made frozen yogurt waffle tacos from the truck.

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

* A TEA YOGURT: 137 W. Main St., Alhambra, CA 91801

Milky’s: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. While there are other kosher fro-yo places out there, including large fro-yo chains like Red Mango, Menchie’s and Tutti Frutti, Milky’s takes it one step further, offering 14 dairy and 4 kosher parve vegan self-serve fro-yo flavors a day. All their fro-yo and toppings are kosher but some are also parve and vegan. The vegan “fro-yo” is made with soy milk.

Plenty of toppings are kosher, including cheesecake bites, cookie dough, coconut, cereal, candy, nuts, sprinkles, cookies, chocolate chips and syrups, but not mochi.
I tried the simply tart (original fro-yo) and the original vegan fro-yo. Simply tart was soft, creamy, smooth and thick. I liked the sour, real fro-yo flavor. The original vegan soy fro-yo was a pleasant surprise. It was sweeter than I expected but also had a pleasant, mild tang. I could definitely taste the soy. It was icier than the simply tart but still smooth.

The prices differ (39 cents an ounce for non-vegan, 45 cents an ounce for parve/vegan) so if you want the vegan flavors, use a separate cup.

Sample cups are easily accessible and the toppings are labeled so you can easily identify which ones are parve. It’s a modern looking café with cute cups, a cat mascot, and free wi-fi. The cup was so cute that I saved it. I noticed the sign said smoothies but I didn’t see a smoothies menu.

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

* MILKY'S FROZEN YOGURT: 1429 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035

Oasis Ice Cream: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. Oasis Ice Cream is a hidden gem in a primarily residential part of Highland Park. From the outside it appears to be your typical Mexican ice cream and juice shop. Once you step inside, you’ll find a case filled with over a dozen flavors of freshly made, scoopable frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt flavors weren’t labeled, so ask what’s available and ask for a sample. I was told they use organic fruit and vegetables, yogurt and agave nectar. The result is fresh, clean, not too sweet and naturally tart. 

During my visit the fro-yo flavors included: vanilla, plain, banana, cactus pear, spinach, celery, beet, mixed berry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc. They also had some toppings (fresh fruit, granola).

* Spinach fro-yo: It’s really good. The fro-yo didn’t have a strong spinach flavor. The plain tart base had tangy yogurt flavor. The fro-yo was sweet, clean, creamy and refreshing.
* Celery fro-yo: Lighter, icier than the spinach fro-yo, the celery flavor was much more pronounced. The fro-yo tasted like a tangy, very refreshing sorbet.

I received 3 huge scoops of fro-yo for $3.50 (enough for lunch). The fro-yo isn’t as uniformly smooth as fro-yo that comes out of a machine, and it’s denser.

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

* OASIS ICE CREAM: 5526 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles, CA

Vanilla Jill’s: Innovative Fro-yo Shop Spotlight

Fro-yo girl here. There are plenty of fro-yo shops out there but very few offer something unique and innovative. Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR is one of the few shops that took me by surprise and provided me with something truly different. The shop clearly reflects the vision of the owners.

Their frozen yogurt is organic and made with local ingredients like Nancy’s organic kefir. It comes in scoopable and soft-serve form. They have vegan flavors too. You can find Vanilla Jill’s fro-yo pints at the shop and several markets in Eugene. They offer a great vanilla bean flavor (of course), tart, and creative flavors like carrot-cinnamon and coconut-lime.Their fro-yo tastes like natural yogurt. It’s on the icy side (but not watery), making it extra refreshing.

The toppings are not what you typically see either. They carry specialty syrups (flavors include rose, lavender and espresso), nuts, cookies, crystallized ginger, steamed brown rice, fresh fruit, applesauce, maple syrup, chocolate ganache sauce, etc. I loved the sweet steamed brown rice under my tart fro-yo. The nutty, warm, chewy texture was a perfect complement to the fro-yo. Organic rainbow sprinkles are always free.

Vanilla Jill’s also has fro-yo shakes, smoothies, kombucha, and shop special combos.

The place has family friendly wholesome charm and doesn’t look or feel like your typical fro-yo shop. There’s a cute story about the company on the wall, children’s crayon drawings on the wall and a Vanilla Jill’s cart on wheels. It's eco-friendly too.

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

* VANILLA JILL’S: 460 Coburg Rd. #300, Eugene, OR