iCream 24/7 Automated Showroom with Froyo, Acai & Ice Cream Opens in Los Angeles

Fro-yo girl here. iCream recently opened the Sky Lounge showroom in the Melrose District in West Hollywood. It’s open 24/7 because it’s fully automated. The showroom houses six intelligent vending machines. Three of them serve iCream's soft serve ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, salted butter caramel), one machine serves acai, and two machines serve Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Each machine offers one flavor. All the machines offer cups of ice cream, acai, or froyo for $6. The $6 for froyo includes toppings. A foldable spoon is attached to the bottom of the cup.

The Pinkberry vending machine offers 3 dry toppings and 3 sauces to choose from: Oreos, sprinkles, mini M&Ms, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, and caramel sauce.

The amount of yogurt dispensed is small (3 ounces?) but the texture and taste were pretty good, pretty similar to what you'd get at Pinkberry. The Oreo topping was a tiny bit of cookie dust. I appreciate the small portion but think it could be a dollar or two cheaper because the cup is so small. And the selection of toppings is limited.

The vending machine accepts cash (bills only) and credit cards but does not provide any change. You can pay with your phone.

The showroom provides seating and a restroom (hard to find in this area).

The vending machines provide consistent serving sizes in a sanitary setting and they can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Labor costs are obviously lower as is rent. However, the vending machines provide limited flavors and toppings. They do not layer the froyo and toppings.

* I-CREAM: 666 N Kilkea Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048

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.

MeloMelo Adds Greek Yogurt Series

 

Fro-yo girl. MeloMelo, which has seven locations in So Cal, specializes in coconut jelly desserts. Coconut jelly is made with fresh coconut milk and coconut water. Recently, they launched a new line of Greek yogurt. Their Greek yogurt is dairy-based and features fresh strawberry and fresh avocado. The Greek yogurt flavors are layered. One jar is $14.99. Yes, they make their own yogurt and even flavor it with a hint of coconut.

The ingredients were chosen for their health benefits. Strawberries are rich in vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and other antioxidants. Avocado is an excellent source of fiber, healthy fats, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, and folate.

Available flavors: Stravocado Pistachio, Stravocado Almond, Stravocado Macadamia, and Strawberry Peach Gum.

Stravocado Pistachio Yogurt: Strawberries and pistachio are delicious together. The strawberry yogurt tasted like it was made with lots of fresh strawberries. It had a mild tang and wasn’t sour. The texture was thick but not as thick as skyr. There was a layer of chopped pistachios between the strawberry yogurt and the avocado yogurt. I think it was avocado yogurt. There were also small chunks of fresh avocado. Delicious…bigger than the usual yogurt and with yummy add-ins.

They didn’t have any nutritional information available.

The yogurt comes in glass jars. If you return 10 of them, you get a free single coconut jelly.

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.

Humphry Slocombe Introduces Mango Lassi Flavor, Proceeds Benefit CAAM

 

Mango Lassi yogurt ice cream

Fro-yo girl here. Bay Area ice cream chain, Humphry Slocombe, recently introduced a new froyo/yogurt ice cream flavor called Mango Lassi. Mango Lassi features mango, whole milk yogurt, cardamom, and house-made lime coconut curry cookies. Plus, they’re donating $1 of every scoop of Mango Lassi sold in May to CAAM, the Center for Asian American Media (the non-profit responsible for CAAM Fest, the Asian American film and media festival).

The mango lassi flavor sounded scrumptious (love cardamom desserts) and it benefits a great cause during AAPI Heritage Month.

Mango lassi yogurt ice cream: Mango lassi froyo really tasted like a mango lassi (sweet, lots of fresh mango flavor, not tangy). The cookies didn’t seem to have much lime or coconut curry flavor. I didn’t notice much cardamom either. The texture was rich and dense.

Humphry Slocombe currently has eight scoop shops in the Bay Area.

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.

Salt & Straw’s Upcycled Foods Series Flavor: Lemon Curd & Whey

Fro-yo girl here. Salt & Straw’s limited edition flavors for June feature upcycled foods. One flavor caught our eye because it’s not froyo but it’s close. Lemon Curd & Whey is described as a gelato with a tart and tangy lemon curd. Whey is a liquid byproduct of strained yogurt and it’s rich in live probiotics and calcium.

Lemon Curd & Whey: Lemon Curd & Whey gelato is made with Spare Food Co’s lemon & ginger tonic. The tonic is made with whey. There were two textures – a thicker, creamier gelato and the icier, lighter lemon curd swirl. The lemon curd was tangy but not that tangy. The ice cream/gelato seemed less sweet than usual. The texture was more like ice cream than gelato and it had a sweet cream aftertaste. While the gelato was good, I wanted more lemon and ginger flavor. I thought it might taste like froyo but it didn’t.

Lemon Curd & Whey is the third froyo or froyo-related flavor created by Salt & Straw.

In January 2018, Salt & Straw introduced two Faux-Yo flavors, Candied Mango and Candied Apricot as part of their Veganuary flavor series. Faux-Yo was made with coconut cream.

In July 2021, Salt & Straw finally introduced a true froyo, Besharam’s Yogurt Lassi with Raspberries. I bought a few pints!

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.

New Menchie’s Spring for a Treat! Mellow Spoon

 

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s just launched a new spring collectible froyo spoon! The new magenta colored spoon features Menchie’s Sweet Friend, Mellow (he looks like a marshmallow creature) holding a cup of froyo. The froyo cup has Menchie’s face on it and the froyo is adorned with flowers. The spoon says “Spring for a treat!”

I heard that stores didn’t get many of these spoons, so try to get yours soon. Better yet, call first to see if your Menchie’s has the new Mellow spoon.

Spoons are available for a limited time only, while supplies last.

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.

AWAN Plant-Based Ice Cream

Fro-yo girl here. It feels weird to be writing about ice cream but AWAN is something special. AWAN is a vegan, plant-based ice cream made with Indonesian coconut cream and coconut water. It manages to taste even more decadent than dairy-based ice cream. When it comes to developing flavors, Chef Zen Ong is inspired by the best seasonal produce at farmer’s markets as well as collabs with chefs. They’ve made some of the most inventive flavors like strawberries & caviar, blue corn tortilla, and Nicole Rucker’s rhubarb pie. 

AWAN opened a walk-up window in late 2021, next to Dayglow Coffee. The founder of Dayglow, Tohm Ifergan, became a founder of Ong’s business partner and investor. They serve scoops ($5 - $9 per scoop) and sell pints from the window. AWAN is also available at specialty grocers like Sesame LA, Cookbook Market, LA Farmhome, and Wine + Eggs.

When I visited I encountered the following flavors:

• Balinese vanilla bean
• Chocolate mint chip
• Valencia orange: Super rich, dense, and creamy with bright fresh orange flavor and a coconut cream finish, like creamsicle but better
• Strawberry Meyer lemon & graham: Made with Harry’s Berries. Tasted like juicy, tangy, sweet strawberries with a bit of coconut. I didn’t notice the graham though.
• Black sesame & coffee
• Dayglow coffee
• Gaviota strawberry

The service was super friendly. The scoops are lovely and topped with a piece of freeze-dried fruit. Parking in this part of town is just about impossible unless you have a permit or the business you visit has parking.

It's not uncommon for them to sell out of flavors, so follow @enjoyawan on Instagram for flavor drops and sign up for the mailing list to get early access codes for the online store. You can also schedule a pickup, delivery, or shipment from the website.

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

5 out of 5 stars.

* AWAN: 866 Huntley Dr, West Hollywood, CA 90069

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.

Froyo in Brentwood, Los Angeles

 

Pinkberry, Brentwood, Source: Yelp

Fro-yo girl here. Years ago, I used to live in Brentwood, a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles. This was long before the froyo craze. When I lived in Brentwood, there was no froyo in the neighborhood. Even back then, it was one of the most desirable neighborhoods in LA. Most of the shops and restaurants are on San Vicente Blvd. The current population of the neighborhood is 35,853.

Since Yogurtland closed earlier this year, there’s just one place to get froyo now in Brentwood: The Yogurt Shoppe, 11726 Barrington Ct. in Brentwood Village. The Yogurt Shoppe Brentwood opened in 2016. Their first shop was in Pacific Palisades and it’s still open. Actress Marcia Gay Harden was one of the owners. They just took over the Menchie's location on Ocean Park in Santa Monica. The Yogurt Shoppe is self-serve.

Former Froyo Shops

• Brentwood Yogurt Café, 11677 San Vicente Blvd, Ste 300, mix-in style froyo opened in 2007, closed in 2010
• Moo Greek, 11753 San Vicente Blvd, was inspired by a traditional Greek yogurteria. They served fresh Greek and frozen Greek yogurt. They opened in 2016 and closed in 2016. It reminded me of Go Greek.
• Pinkberry, 11711 Gorham Ave, opened in 2007 and closed in 2016. Reese Witherspoon, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Heidi Klum were spotted getting froyo there.
• TCBY, 11740 San Vicente Blvd, existed but I’m not sure when it opened or closed. I would have noticed it if it were open when I lived the neighborhood in the late 90’s.
• Twist, 11870 Santa Monica Blvd, was a self-serve froyo shop that opened in 2008 and closed in 2015. I remember they had many flavors of mochi back when most people only had plain mochi.
• Yogurtland, 11706 San Vicente Blvd, opened across the street from Pinkberry in 2010 and closed in 2023.

Did I miss any Brentwood froyo shops? Let me know.

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.