Frozen Yogurt Is The New Cupcake

Some of you may remember my obsession with cupcakes... the tasty single serving of dessert... the perfect match of cake and sugary icing... a wonderful vehicle for crazy flavor combinations. How I love them so much!

Cupcakes are still a love of mine, but I've started a new favorite dessert affair... Frozen Yogurt! I have to admit, for the longest time, I thought it was some kind of hippie dessert. I mean, really... Frozen Yogurt?! If you're going to eat the calories, why not eat something decadent like real ice cream or better yet, a cupcake. And who are all these dessert wimps eating frozen yogurt anyway? Calories, smalories... sheesh. And so I must admit my flawed thinking, because truly, frozen yogurt is the bomb.
You see, it's really Malibu Ken's fault... that California tree hugger recommended we try it one day (of course he did). So we went to the new frozen yogurt joint across from work. It's called Tutti Fruitti, and it was pretty much my gate way drug into the world of frozen yogurt. Tutti Fruitti stores are all over the place, so you should be able to find it sold all over the country. I think the first flavors I tried were chocolate and mint, and I must have topped it with something naughty like oreos. I couldn't believe how creamy and delicious it was, and frankly I was surprised at how naughty it tasted. I ended looking up the calorie count because I'm all, how can something that tastes so good be good for me? I found out that for about 4 oz of yogurt, most flavors were about 100 calories. So in fact, it was nice, not naughty... which just made it that much better.
So to sum up Tutti Fruitti, I give it a 7 overall.



Picture from http://www.tfyogurt.com/

 Moving on to my next Fro Yo (that's what the kids call it these days) experience, I tried Red Mango in the Dallas airport. BIG MISTAKE. I think I had pomegranate. It just wasn't as creamy as I expected, and it tasted... well it tasted.... healthy and watery. Red Mango is also all over the place. I wouldn't go back but hey, maybe it's your thing. Who am I to judge? (side eye, yes, I secretly judge you). I give Red Mango a 3.

Picture from http://www.redmangousa.com/

Then I tried Berrylicious, and this is when everything changed for me. Berrylicious is a locally operated joint in the area I live in. There are 2 locations, and they should really open up more... like on every block, like Starbucks. Because I could really eat it every day. At Berrylicious, they have tons of flavors all the time, and they change them out every few weeks. So far, I've tried the chocolate, cookies and cream, pistachio, mint, fresh raspberry, coconut, cheesecake, white chocolate macadamia, and fresh strawberry. This yogurt needs no toppings. It is that good. And finally, they have coupons. I give Berrylicious a 10. If you live in the Clear Lake area, you NEED to try this place.



Picture from http://www.berryliciousfrozenyogurt.com/

 
Next, Malibu Ken and I tried Orange Leaf. This is another one of those big chains, and I have to say, definitely the best out of all the big yogurt chains. I really liked their flavors, and they had alot of really different toppings.  I had the chocolate cheesecake and the white chocolate strawberry with no toppings, cause I'm a purist like that. I wished I had just filled up the entire bowl with the chocolate cheesecake after I started eating it. Malibu Ken had the coconut and some other healthy flavor... I did enjoy the coconut though. I have Orange Leaf a 7, so it's tied with Tutti Fruitti.

Picture from http://orangeleafyogurt.com/

Lastly, Malibu Ken and I tried Pinkberry. Pinkberry franchises are all over the place, but I just can't figure it out. Besides not being able to serve your own frozen yogurt or toppings, it seems to cost way more than the other places too! And the fact that it doesn't even taste that great doesn't help me figure out why Pinkberry franchises keep popping up everywhere. I ordered the chocolate swirled with the salted caramel, and I have to give it a 3.5 (slightly higher than Red Mango, but still not a good score). Malibu Ken had the plain with the cinnamon crunch topping and some shaved almonds. Apparently he felt very restricted in his topping choices because he wasn't allowed to top it him self. As a no topping kind of gal with no interest in meshing weird toppings together, I don't really get this, but I'm assuming there's some kind of judging that goes on when someone else adds your toppings.


Picture from http://www.pinkberry.com/

 So this is my synopsis of the frozen yogurt choices that are springing up everywhere. I know there are others out there... does anyone have any comments or preferences? How about toppings? Am I missing out by keeping it simple?