La Dolce Vita Gelato in Milpitas Serves Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. La Dolce Vita Gelato opened late last year (December?) inside the Great Mall in Milpitas. The shop is in the main food court area. While it is a gelato shop, the sign also says frozen yogurt. They have one froyo machine and two flavors a day. They’ve been rotating the froyo flavors. I think one is usually dairy-free and one is dairy-based. During my visit they had strawberry (dairy-free) and vanilla (dairy). A small is $6 and comes with up to 6 toppings, a medium $7 with up to 7 toppings, a large $8 with up to 8 toppings. They didn’t have that many toppings to choose from though: fresh fruit, sprinkles, candy, nuts, chocolate chips, granola, coconut, sauces, etc. Half of the toppings containers were empty.

Vanilla froyo (small, $6): This was an interesting froyo – lots of vanilla flavor (visible bean specks) and a very tangy yogurt flavor (tangier than average). I don’t encounter tangy vanilla froyo too often. The texture was thick, smooth, and creamy. It tasted natural and had a tangy aftertaste. Some of the toppings I tried tasted stale. They give you a lot for your money. I’d prefer a smaller size.

Strawberry sorbet (soft-serve): I received a sample of this and was impressed by how thick and creamy it was, without adding dairy. Their sorbet is good, better than the usual soft serve sorbet.

In addition to froyo and gelato, they serve Illy coffee, crepes, and waffle bites.

LA DOLCE VITA: 170 Great Mall Dr, Milpitas, CA 95035

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.

Yoga-urt Introduces New Fall Flavor, Pecan Praline

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt just introduced a new flavor for the fall, Pecan Praline. This is actually their frist new flavor of 2021. The flavor is made with toasted organic pecans, housemade caramel sauce and Yoga-urt’s proprietary housemade almond/cashew base. And yes, Yoga-urt’s probiotic, dairy-free soft serve is hand-crafted, made from scratch, organic, kosher, gluten-free, and soy free.

Pecan praline is a pretty popular flavor, especially during the fall. It reminds me of my father-in-law and my father too. They both liked pecan praline.

Pecan praline froyo: Very smooth, rich, and thick, with visible pecan bits. The caramel makes it sweeter and warmer – very fall like. You can definitely taste the pecans more so than the almonds and cashews in the base. Recommended toppings: pecans, granola, 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.

Stepladder Creamery Goatgurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. Stepladder Creamery, based in Cambria, CA, makes small-batch artisanal cheeses. They also have a stall at farmers markets in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Cambria. I found their stall at the Altadena Farmers Market. 

They make goat milk yogurt, called Goatgurt, in the European style (not as thick, not strained, cream on top). The goat milk is pasteurized and contains hundreds of billions of probiotics per serving. It’s a seasonal treat that they just introduced this fall. It’s made with no hormones or antibiotics. 

One yogurt was $6 for 5.3 oz or 2 for $10.

Goatgurt: It’s definitely on the thin side with a fresh, sour taste. It didn’t taste goaty or like goat milk. The aftertaste was like cream. The texture was smooth but thin. I like my yogurt to be thicker but if you like European style yogurt with a cream top, Goatgurt could be for you. Goat milk has less lactose than cow’s milk.

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

STEPLADDER CREAMERY: 4450 San Simeon-Monterey Creek Rd., Cambria, CA 93428

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.

Blogiversary Number 13

Fro-yo girl here. I’m celebrating blogiversary #13 on October 20 and reflecting back on the previous year. While the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, things are much better in California now, thanks to higher than average vaccination rates and the continued requirement to wear masks indoors. Most self-serve froyo shops have resumed offering self-serve. While some shops still offer hand sanitizer and gloves, they seem less vigilant about it.

As for froyo, it’s still been a tough period with supply and labor shortages, as well as inflation and higher prices. Some shops changed ownership during the pandemic or are barely getting by. Older froyo shops are closing for good, including multiple locations of Menchie’s, Yogurtland, and Pinkberry, but a few new ones have opened. There have been way more new froyo flavors and new froyo spoons than in 2020, so that’s something for which to be thankful. It does seem like froyo innovation has waned though.

I was able to catch one episode of the new Gossip Girl (wasn’t a fan) but it’s on HBO Max, to which I don’t have a subscription. I got tired of those boba ice cream bars and I like purple rice yogurt but I don’t crave them the way I do froyo.

I’ve only been to one grand opening this year: Yoga-urt’s grand opening in Santa Monica on October 16. I suspect it’s the only froyo shop grand opening I’ll attend this year. But, I’m still going to froyo shops that I haven’t been to in and around Los Angeles and Orange County. There are still plenty left but the majority are chains. I did have some wonderful new froyo at Tahini in Alameda; I’m still loving plain Greek froyo with Greek toppings!

Last year I only attended one froyo grand opening, Razzle Dazzle in Upland. Sadly, they closed last summer.

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.

Menchie’s Santa Monica Ocean Park Has Reopened After a Long Closure

 

Fro-yo girl here. I had to meet friends in Santa Monica last spring and I tried to go to Menchie’s Ocean Park in April. The shop was closed on a Saturday night. The machines and signs were inside, like they hadn’t left it that long ago. I checked for months and the store did not reopen. I thought it had closed for good only it was still listed on the Menchie’s website.

They opened briefly the summer after the pandemic (in 2020) but then they were closed again for months. I contacted the owner and she said she wasn’t sure when the shop would reopen.

Well, the shop reopened under new ownership. I’m not sure exactly when it happened since I’m rarely in the area but it might have been June or July 2021. I went on a Saturday afternoon and lots of families were sitting outside enjoying froyo.

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

MENCHIE’S OCEAN PARK: 2901 Ocean Park Blvd, Ste 107, Santa Monica, CA 90405

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.

Yoga-urt Opens First Location on Westside, Grand Opening This Weekend

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt is LA’s first and only all organic, plant-based, allergy-friendly soft serve concept. The first location opened in Glendale’s Kenneth Village in 2015 and the Echo Park shop opened in 2019. The Santa Monica location (1700 Ocean Park Blvd.) just opened last weekend and the grand opening celebration is taking place this weekend.

Grand opening details: Enjoy free smalls between 2 PM - 4 PM on October 16 & 17. For every purchase during grand opening weekend, get a raffle ticket. The prize is a $100 Yoga-urt gift card.

Founded and led by female entrepreneur, Melissa Schulman, Yoga-urt takes pride in creating hand-crafted, premium soft serve in small batches. It starts with a base of hand-squeezed almond and cashew milk, enriched with four probiotic strains. The soft serve is dairy-free, gluten-free, kosher, soy-free and all-natural.

They make their own gluten-free cones (super crispy, super delicious), sauces (the chocolate shell is to die for), cookies, pie-crust, and more. The cookies and pie-crust are made with the almond pulp, the byproduct of their housemade almond milk.

Taking over the Treats space, Yoga-urt Santa Monica has a menu that's similar to the other locations: The best hand-crafted organic, vegan, gluten free, soy-free, kosher, probiotic froyo/soft serve! Unique flavors - over 30 of them that rotate. My favorites are Vanilla Harmony, Sweet Greens, Pistachio Passion, True Tahini, Strawberry Serenity, Green Tea Tranquility, PB Prana, Pumpkin Spice, Gingerbread...They also have shakes, smoothies, kombucha floats, froyo pie, brownies, cookies, coffee, soft serve pints, banana splits, and more. And yes, everything is organic, gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, and kosher.

Expect to find 10 soft serve flavors a day. The portions are generous and their high-quality froyo is so dense and filling that it feels like a fair price. Anything larger than a small feels like too much unless you plan to share.

Cups and spoons are compostable of course. Their products are good for you and they care about the Earth.

Yoga-urt is the only froyo Mr. Froyo will eat. The new location isn't exactly convenient for us but we're excited for Westside residents.

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.

Calling All US Froyo Shop Owners: The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey is Now Open

 

Fro-yo girl here. The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, sponsored by the International Frozen Yogurt Association, is now open.

Who Should Take the Survey

Anyone who owns a frozen yogurt shop or a business that serves frozen yogurt in the US is invited to participate. Owners who take the survey will be able to sign up to receive the survey results while taking the survey. The results will help froyo shop owners better understand how their shop compares to other shops. This year’s results will also be compared to last year’s results. The results should be available in November.

The National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey asks shop owners about shop performance, satisfaction with suppliers, operational practices, management practices, outlook, etc. This year's survey includes new questions about profitability and pricing.

The anonymous online survey takes about 7 minutes to complete and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/2021froyoowner

The survey will remain open from now till midnight PST on Sunday, October 31, 2021.

How to See the Results

Suppliers and others who are interested in the results but do not own a frozen yogurt store can receive the survey results by sharing IFYA’s pinned Facebook (@froyoassociation) post about the survey, reposting the Instagram post about the survey (@froyossociation) or retweeting the pinned survey tweet (@froyogirl).

Only foodservice business owners who participate in the current National Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner Survey, those who share the survey URL, and IFYA advisory board members will have free access to the full results of the shop owner survey. IFYA members will have free access to a limited set of results.

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.