Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland just launched their fall, back to school froyo flavor, inspired by childhood breakfast memories. Milk ‘N Fruity Cereal froyo is a lowfat flavor made with vanilla wafers (from the picture, it looks like it’s supposed to taste like Fruit Loops cereal). I can’t remember the last time I had Fruit Loops. I didn’t like it as a kid. What does it even taste like?
Milk ‘N Fruity Cereal froyo is described as, “Our back-to-school inspired froyo flavor that takes you back to your favorite breakfast childhood memories!” Okay, that doesn’t reveal much. I tried some and it tasted predominantly like vanilla with a hint of fake fruit like the kind you find in powdered drink mixes. The texture was smooth and creamy. It looked white like vanilla. I wasn't a fan; however, the fruit flavor wasn’t that strong so it could be overlooked with the right toppings. Recommended toppings: Fruity Pebbles, Nilla Wafers, and whipped cream.
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.
Pinkberry Monrovia
Fro-yo girl here. Who knew that Monrovia, CA, a city of 36,000 inhabitants in the San Gabriel Mountains (Northeast Los Angeles County), was such a froyo hot spot? Most of the froyo shops were in downtown Monrovia, on or off Myrtle Ave. There are two froyo shops left: Yogurtland and Pinkberry. They’re within a few blocks of each other in downtown Monrovia. The first froyo shops opened in 2008.
Froyo shops of Monrovia:
- AM Donut & Yogurt, 305 W Huntington Dr, used to have self-serve froyo from 2011-2013. The wall still has cutouts though, 3 of them, for 3 froyo machines.
- Cherry on Top, 176 West Foothill Boulevard, was part of a national self-serve froyo chain. The Monrovia location first opened in 2008 and closed in 2015 with an eviction.
- Menchie’s, 606 W Huntington Dr, was one of the better Menchie’s locations in the area. Located at the Huntington Oaks Shopping Center, it first opened in 2014 and closed in 2018.
- N2 Lab, 131 S Myrtle Ave, was open in 2019 and probably closed in 2019. They had a few locations in Southern California and specialized in making ice cream or frozen yogurt with liquid nitrogen.
- Pinkberry, 612 S Myrtle Ave, opened in 2008 and the next closest one is in Los Feliz or Burbank. RIP, Pinkberry Pasadena and Azusa.
- White Tara Yogurt, 346 W Huntington Dr, Monrovia, CA 91016, was a short-lived, self-serve, independent froyo shop that was in business from 2010-2011. It doesn’t look like there were other locations.
- Yogurtland, 104 S Myrtle Ave, opened in 2012 and offers 16 self-serve froyo flavors a day.
While Monrovia hasn’t had the most innovative or unique froyo shops, they’ve kept people in the area supplied with froyo for 13 years and counting.
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.
Spin! is the first Disney Channel Original Movie to star an Indian-American. Directed by Manjari Makjiany, the movie is about “Rhea is an Indian-American teen who discovers her passion for creating DJ mixes that blend the rich textures of her South Asian culture and the world around her. Her life revolves around her eclectic group of friends, her after-school coding club, her family's Indian restaurant and her tightknit, multigenerational family. Everything changes when she falls for aspiring DJ Max, and her long-lost fervor for music is reignited.”
I visited my local Menchie’s and received my free froyo. I spotted a poster for Spin and also some postcard size promotional cards. It was also my chance to try the new flavor, Fruity Candy Sorbet.
Fruity Candy Sorbet: The color was strikingly bright pinkish red. Fruity Candy Sorbet is made with Swedish Fish flavor. What’s Swedish Fish flavor? It’s supposed to be lingonberry. However, lingonberry is tart and reminds me of cranberry. Fruity Candy Sorbet tasted more like cherry crossed with fruit punch. It seemed extra sweet and had no tartness. I wasn’t a fan. Fruity Candy Sorbet is dairy-free, gluten-free, and made with no high fructose corn syrup. Recommended toppings: Fresh berries
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 spotted Yoghurppe yogurt drinks at Tokyo Central in Torrance, CA. The drinks were $1.28 each. One small carton is 200 ML and comes in a Tetra Pak with a wrapped plastic mini straw. The drinks are produced in Japan by Minami Nihon Rakuno.
Yoghurppe is “made from raw milk from dairy cows reared at the base of the Kirishima mountain range in Southern Kyushu. After being acquired, the milk undergoes mild lactic acid fermentation using bifidobacterium, acidophilus, and streptococcus thermophilus. This results in a smooth, mild-flavored drink without the sourness of yogurt.” It’s a beverage that’s recommended for children because of the calcium and protein content. It’s made with lactic acid bacteria from Europe.
Original Yoghurppe: I was hoping it would taste like yogurt but it tasted more like Yakult. And it’s very sweet but with little tang. It’s a thin consistency similar to milk. They added sugar and high fructose corn syrup. One serving is 120 calories, 0g fat, 27g total sugars and 2g protein. That's a lot of sugar for a small carton.
Apple Yoghurppe: The apple flavor masked that awful Yakult flavor, so I liked it better but it was still very sweet and didn’t have real yogurt flavor.
Hmm, I like the sourness of yogurt…it’s sad when the sourness is removed or masked.
2.5 out of 5 stars.
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. Ice Cream Alley 2020 at Smorgasburg LA was cancelled due to COVID-19 (Smorgasburg, the outdoor food event held at The Row in downtown LA, wasn’t held for over a year) but they brought it back for National Ice Cream Day last month (July 18 to be specific). Ice Cream Alley is open every Sunday from 10 AM – 4 PM through Labor Day weekend.
List of Ice Cream Alley vendors (during my visit):
- Afters Ice Cream “Test Kitchen" – ice cream made fresh with liquid nitrogen
- Churro Boss – ice cream and churros
- Happy Ice – Italian ice
- Lei’d Cookies – cookies and ice cream cookie sandwiches
- Madame Shugah – vegan ice cream and cookies
- Scoops on Tap/Smoreology: ice cream s’mores sandwiches
- Sweet & Hollow – chimney cones with ice cream
- Tasty Food 626 – Asian ice cream
- Van Leeuwen – ice cream scoops, vegan and regular
- Wanderlust Creamery – scoopable ice cream
I noticed they had the same photo backdrop and inflatable ice cream cone from previous years. Smorgasburg was busy but Ice Cream Alley wasn’t as busy as the rest of the market. I didn’t see any frozen yogurt, unfortunately and nothing new or innovative (but then once I didn’t see froyo, I lost interest). The only thing that tempted me was the matcha escape bar at Wanderlust.
SMORGSABURG LA: ROW DTLA, 777 Alameda St., Los Angeles
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.
Vegan Wild Cherry Sorbet with a Touch of Lime: It was icier and not super smooth, but I enjoyed the flavor and texture as it reminded me of a Slurpee or Icee. The lime added a little tang but the cherry flavor was much stronger. Vegan Wild Cherry Sorbet with a Touch of Lime is gluten-free and is made with no artificial flavors or high fructose corn syrup. Recommended toppings: Raspberries, Skittles, and gummy bears.
S’mores froyo made with Hershey’s Milk Chocolate is labeled as new on the Menchie’s website but they introduced that flavor back in 2019. Maybe they tweaked it? Anyway, I did like it because the marshmallow and chocolate flavors were mild and it didn’t seem super sweet. The texture was smooth and creamy. Recommended toppings: Nilla Wafers, Hershey’s Kisses, graham cracker crumbs, whipped cream.
I noticed they had Swedish Fish available at the toppings bar. I’ll have to try Fruity Candy Sorbet made with Swedish Fish later.
FYI, Menchie’s is partnering with the Disney Channel to promote Disney’s new movie, Spin!, which premieres on August 13. On August 13, the first 50 guests in line at 3 PM will get 5 oz of free 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.
Fro-yo girl here. Last April, I posted that Menchie’s in Redondo Beach, CA was temporarily closed and had been for many months. Google marked it as permanently closed and the phone number had been disconnected. While I thought the location had closed for good, it did reopen, possibly in late March. I just visited and saw the grand re-opening banner. It’s open 7 days a week and self-serve froyo is back. I noticed they had generic cups and spoons though.
Menchie’s in Westchester, CA did close for good. According to Menchie’s website, Menchie’s Santa Monica on Ocean Park Blvd. has reopened. Their Facebook page was removed though.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* MENCHIE’S OCEAN PARK: 2901 Ocean Park Blvd, Ste 107, Santa Monica, CA 90405
* MENCHIE’S WESTCHESTER VILLAGE: 8815 S Sepulveda Blvd, Westchester, CA 90045
* MENCHIE’S REDONDO BEACH: 2515 Artesia Blvd. Ste E, Redondo Beach, CA 90278
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.
