New at Menchie’s in September

Fro-yo girl here. Happy September. Menchie’s has two featured flavors for September: Chocolate Frosted Donut froyo made with Dove chocolate and the returning favorite, Harvest Pumpkin froyo. I thought Menchie’s already had a donut flavor, but it hasn’t (Yogurtland had Maple Donut froyo though).

Chocolate Frosted Donut froyo: Menchie’s describes this flavor as, “Inspired by a chocolate frosted donut, this flavor features rich dark chocolate frosting swirled into smooth, creamy frozen yogurt. Every bite blends Dove’s dark chocolate with notes of freshly fried dough for an indulgent experience.” It didn’t taste like dark chocolate, but it did taste different from a regular chocolate froyo. The fried dough flavor was like cake batter or something. The texture was icier than I expected. I didn’t like the flavor at all. It would be better if it were just dark chocolate froyo. Recommended toppings: chocolate shell, chocolate chips

Menchie’s has a new promotion where you can earn double points on Tuesdays in September between 4 PM – 6 PM when you scan your app. Also, everyone who scans the app will be entered into a contest where you could win a $100 froyo party for your class.

Also, the Susan G. Komen fundraiser is back. Donate a minimum of $1 at the register, and you’ll get a sign to fill out and a sticker. They’ll put the sign on the wall to show your support for the fundraiser.

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.

Froyo Scene in Walnut, CA

Cafe BT, formerly Boba Time

Fro-yo girl here. Walnut is a city in east Los Angeles County bordered by West Covina, Diamond Bar, and Pomona. The city is approximately 8.9 square miles with 30,000 residents and 600 businesses. It’s a smaller city with one froyo shop, Yogurtland, and one boba shop that serves froyo, Café BT (formerly known as Boba Time). 

There were two other froyo shops in Walnut, Red Mango and Golden Spoon. Yogurtland took over the Golden Spoon space. Café BT took over the Red Mango space.

Places To Get Froyo

Café BT, 19820 Colima Rd, opened in 2007 as a boba shop with one flavor of froyo, plain.

Yogurtland, 21710 Valley Blvd B, opened in 2016 and was the first self-serve froyo shop in Walnut.

Closed Froyo Shops

Golden Spoon, 21710 Valley Blvd, Ste B, was a counter-serve froyo shop that was open from 2007 (or earlier) – 2016.

Red Mango, 19820 Colima Rd, existed in Walnut, but I couldn’t find reviews or information. My guess is that it was open briefly in 2007. 

Did I miss any froyo shops in Walnut? If so, 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.

Frankie Greek Yogurt Pop-Up at Olive & James Coffee

Fro-yo girl here. There’s a new froyo pop-up in town — Frankie Greek Yogurt, now swirling on weekends inside Olive & James Coffee on Melrose. They’re open Friday through Sunday, 2 PM to 10 PM, and it’s a counter-serve setup with one flavor, one size, and a curated, elevated toppings bar.

For a flat rate of $10.90, you get 8 oz of froyo, two toppings, and any sauces. Extra toppings are $1.

The toppings case had a mix of elevated and classic options:

• Sauces: bitter orange, honey, olive oil, plus several unlisted ones
• Toppings: sea salt, granola, cookies, seasonal fruit (fresh cherries), dates, pistachios, butter crisps, goji berries, Belgian waffles, dried mango, shredded coconut

I watched them pull the froyo, and it looked super thick and creamy. And yes, it tasted as good as it looked.

The texture was creamy and smooth, with a mild tang and a sweet finish. Personally, I prefer a bit more tang in my Greek froyo, but I still appreciated the quality. The fresh cherries + chopped pistachios were a perfect combo as well.

Tip: Not everything is printed on the menu — check the case to see what’s actually available. You cannot order froyo at the self-serve kiosk. Go to the counter if you want froyo.

Follow @frankiegreekyogurt on Instagram for updates.

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

* FRANKIE GREEK YOGURT (inside Olive & James), 7473 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA

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 Passion Fruit Froyo at Van Leeuwen

Fro-yo girl here. Van Leeuwen just dropped a new froyo flavor, Passion Fruit, at all Van Leeuwen locations with froyo (i.e., 14 VL scoop shops). It’s a tart-based froyo made with organic A2 Bulgarian yogurt and passion fruit puree.

Passion fruit froyo: The froyo was creamy and soft in texture. The flavor was punchy and very tangy. It definitely tasted like passion fruit and yogurt (even with a slightly fermented flavor). It also was quite sweet. I don’t love passion fruit, but I don’t hate it either. When it comes to passion fruit froyo, I prefer passion fruit combined with another fruit flavor. Recommended toppings: toasted coconut, honey slivered almonds, passion fruit sauce or raspberry puree.

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

* VAN LEEUWEN, 321 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502

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.

Normal Ice Cream Soft Serve Pop-up

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve seen Normal Ice Cream pints in stores and walked by the brick & mortar shop in Salt Lake City (it’s on the same street as Yagoot), but I haven’t tried it yet. When I saw that they had a soft serve pop-up in Atwater Village, I stopped by. The LA pop-ups have been going on for over a year, and the next one takes place on August 30 at Gjusta Grocer in Venice, CA, from 1 PM – 4 PM.

The bright yellow cart was set up outside of Wine & Eggs. There was one soft serve flavor, salted vanilla bean, available in a cup or cone ($6), with the option of adding a dark chocolate or almond butter dip ($3), and fancy toppings (pretzel shortbread, lemon curd, raspberry jam, chocolate chip cookie, raspberry powder).

The soft serve was soft, silky, and very creamy. The flavor was so mild though. It tasted like milk soft serve. I couldn’t taste vanilla or salt. The pretzel shortbread added a nice crunch, but it tasted like regular shortbread. I could not taste the pretzel. The lemon curd didn’t have much tang. The flavors were muted, but the ingredients were high quality.

I wish I had visited when they offered a more interesting flavor than vanilla.

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 Pinkberry Froyo Flavor, Midnight Margarita & Practical Magic 2 Sweepstakes

Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry just launched a flavor inspired by the movie, Practical Magic 2. In Practical Magic, the main witches make margaritas at midnight. Some fans add a witchy twist by adding blackberries.

Pinkberry’s Midnight Margarita froyo blends blackberries and limes (and I think a sweet and sour mix?). It tastes more like lime than blackberries, but it also tastes like something other than blackberries, lime, and froyo. I liked how it was sour and tangy. It’s not the most natural tasting, but I still enjoyed the very lime-forward, sweet/sour froyo. Pinkberry recommends adding fresh blackberries, black salt, purple sugar, and a lime slice.

They had Practical Magic 2 cups. There’s also a Midnight Margarita refresher.

Enter the Practical Magic 2 sweepstakes for a chance to win a private screening of the movie, PM2 merchandise, and a Pinkberry gift card.

Practical Magic 2 arrives in theaters on September 10.

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.

Yogurtland Opens in El Monte’s Santa Fe Trail Plaza

Fro-yo girl here. Good news. Yogurtland just opened this week in El Monte, CA, at Santa Fe Trail Plaza. It took over the old Menchie’s space. The Menchie’s owner wanted to retire, hence Menchie’s was replaced by Yogurtland.

I was afraid that they would keep the old Menchie's machines and do a quick renovation, but fortunately, they did a full renovation, building a new wall for the froyo machines and a new toppings bar. Also, the soft serve machines are new, and they’re working very well. The texture of the froyo is better than at most Yogurtland locations. There are 16 flavors a day and the usual Yogurtland toppings and sauces. It’s $0.81/oz.

Root beer float froyo is the current seasonal flavor.

I heard that the owner of Yogurtland Santa Fe Trail also owns the Yogurtland in Walnut. No date has been set for the grand opening.

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

* YOGURTLAND, 10619 Valley Blvd Unit D, El Monte, CA 91731

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.