Looking for Used Taylor Machines

Fro-yo girl here. A buyer is seeking at least three late model (712 or 713) used Taylor frozen yogurt machines in excellent condition, preferably water cooled. Contact me at froyogirl@gmail.com for additional information. 

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

Yogurtland to Open First Store in SF

Fro-yo girl here. The San Francisco Planning Commission met this week to discuss Yogurtland’s plans to open at 1250 Ocean Avenue. Thanks anonymous tipster for the heads up! The space in question is brand new (the Avalon building), by City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Whole Foods is opening up in the same complex. My fingers are crossed that SF will finally get a Yogurtland.

What a momentous week it’s been for Bay Area fro-yo.
* July 10: New Sanrio spoons arrive at Yogurtland
* July 12: Pinkberry opens first SF store, store #200, Planning Commission meets to discuss Yogurtland’s application
* July 13: Easy Breezy opens in Noe Valley

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

Pinkberry’s 200th Store Opens in SF

Fro-yo girl here. I just returned from the grand opening of Pinkberry Union Square, the first Pinkberry in SF. I’m perplexed by the lack of publicity for the event...I didn’t get a Pinkberry Groupie email or see a Pinkberry tweet. But Union Square is open FINALLY (as of a few minutes before 5 PM)..

They’re giving away free fro-yo (small size with any toppings you want) till 10 PM tonight. There’s a big tent out front with tables and a DJ. I saw them roll out the famous pink carpet. The employees are really friendly. There must have been 30 of them. They’re squeezed in tight behind the counter. It’s really loud inside. I recommend getting those luxe toppings today. If you don’t want to wait in line, they had free samples for passerbys (you don’t have to be in line).

Fro-yo flavors:
* Original: a great balance of tangy and sweet, creamy yet refreshing, very smooth, sweet aftertaste
* Strawberry: very nice, tangy, sweet, smooth
* Mango
* Watermelon
* Chocolate
* Peanut butter

Tomorrow is the first official day. Welcome to SF, Pinkberry!

Fro-yo prices (without toppings): Cone/Mini ($2.95)/ S ($3.50)/ M ($4.50)/ L ($6.50).

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

* PINKBERRY UNION SQUARE: 170 O’FARRELL ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Sanrio Loves Yogurtland, Part 2

Fro-yo girl here. I’m so thrilled that Sanrio and Yogurtland have partnered up again. The new cups, spoons and products hit participating Yogurtland stores today.The Hello Kitty spoon is the first of the four designs released. Every two weeks a new spoon and new cup design will be released.

• July 10: Hollywood cup & pink Hello Kitty spoon
• July 24: Miami cup & light blue TuxedoSam spoon
• August 7: San Francisco cup & purple Little Twin Stars spoon
• August 21: Honolulu & black Bad Badtz Maru

The co-branded merchandise includes:

• Tote bags (2 colors: pink, green) with Hello Kitty, TuxedoSam, Little Twin Stars and Bad Badtz Maru, $2.50
• Plush Hello Kitty doll in pink and black Yogurtland uniform, $13.50
• Set of 4 buttons, $4.99 per pack
• 4 keychains, $3.99 each
• Gift card case, $2.50, gift card sold separately

The Hello Kitty on the Hello Kitty keychain now has a pink bow. Last time she had a red bow. Her outfit is now pink rather than green.

I think I was so excited by the Hello Kitty cup and spoon that I wasn’t paying as much attention to the fro-yo. They had new flavors: Salted Caramel Pecan and Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet. The salted caramel pecan didn’t taste that different from dulce de leche but it was less sweet (which I appreciated) and had a hint of nuttiness. There was a sign that said Hello Kitty Loves Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet. So cute.

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

Fro-yo West Coast Road Trip

Fro-yo girl here. It’s summertime and the perfect time for a fro-yo road trip. I recently took a road trip from Washington to California, stopping at Vanilla Jill’s in Eugene, OR for fro-yo. During the drive through Southern Oregon on the I-5, I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the “larger” towns had fro-yo shops. It’s not a fro-yo wasteland out there. 

Yogurt Hut in has three locations in Southern Oregon: Medford, Grants Pass, and Ashland. Each location features 10 flavors of self-serve fro-yo a day. Medford has two fro-yo shops..

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

Future Fro-yo Shop Pictures: Easy Breezy Frozen Yogurt

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks Genevieve Y. for the fro-yo tip. She spotted a new fro-yo shop about to open up in Noe Valley called Easy Breezy. They were supposed to open in June but now it looks like it will definitely open in July. I peeked inside. The shop is adorable, rustic looking with cypress walls. I spotted space for three fro-yo machines, so they must plan on carrying six flavors of fro-yo a day. It’s going to be self-serve, featuring organic, locally produced fro-yo recipes and toppings like organic fruit. I must have driven by multiple times on my way to Whole Foods without noticing the sign.

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

* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, 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