Dessert Darling

Studio Frozen Yogurt- An Old School Joint with Celebrity Sightings

   

I once said that Frozen Yogurt falls into one of two categories: Good frozen yogurt and Bad frozen yogurt. Studio Frozen Yogurt in Studio City, though, remains an exception, falling somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. This old school yogurt joint came before the days of self-serve machines and fancy flavors like Red Velvet Cake and Tart Goji Berry Bonanza. They have limited flavors in a range of sweetener options like fructose, artificial sweetener, and actual sugar. The frozen yogurt itself is only OK and can make you feel a little ill to your tummy (depending on sweetener choice), but they serve you gargantuan sizes for your money, and even give you a whole cup full of goodies when you order toppings on the side. Finally, Studio Yogurt is known for some celeb encounters, and well- what's not fun about that? Three cherries for average yogurt with great prices and decent extras. 

 

For more info on Studio Frozen Yogurt, click here. 

xo

Froyo Life, Great Premium Frozen Yogurt

In Beverly Hills I stumbled upon a fabulous Frozen Yogurt chain called Froyo Life. With around 12 different flavors and over 25 different toppings available, this self-serve frozen yogurt place ranks up there with the likes of Menchies and Yogurt Stop. One thing that differentiated Froyo Life though, was that they offered more low-fat options than you normally see at yogurt joints. Since my fave flavors were low-fat (versus fat-free) the yogurt was more reminiscent of eating soft-served ice-cream: that slight amount of fat made for a noticeably richer experience. Also, I didn't see healthy ingredients like live yogurt cultures and acidophilus advertised the way I do at other places, like my all-time fave, Yogurtland.  Overall, a delicious 5-cherry experience, but if I'm going to do Fro-Yo, I want my live, active yogurt cultures! 

 

For more information on FroyoLife, click here. 

xo

Perfect Gelato from TuttiMelon

I don't normally blog on a Saturday night, but I had the most heavenly trio of gelato and I really must share! I stumbled upon Tutti Melon in San Francisco and was stopped by the tempting gelato display before I could even make my way back to the frozen yogurt machines.  I ordered scoops of Creme Brulee, Butter Pecan, and Pumpkin.  Mmmm! Not only was each scoop divine on its own, but together the flavors blended to make sweet, sweet harmony.  In a word? Perfection.

For more info on Tutti Melon, click here. 

 

 

Mechies Frozen Yogurt

If you think about it, there're really only two kinds of frozen yogurt: great frozen yogurt and bad frozen yogurt. Most of these places buy the same mixes, but the art is in the machines and how well the employees handle them.  

Menchies falls under the category of Great frozen yogurt.  In Yiddish, a "mench" is "a person of integrity and honor,"  basically someone who does good deeds.  Well great deeds are done at Menchies with rotating selections of delicious frozen yogurt, a clean and cheery environment, and the widest selection of toppings that range from locally grown fruits to Nerds candy. Mmm, I'm craving the red velvet selection as I write!

 

 

For more information on Menchies, click here. 

 

Cereal Milk Frozen Yogurt at Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City

Today I had the totally intriguing "Cereal Milk" frozen yogurt at the Momofuku milk bar in NYC.  The name alone disturbed me, and then the first taste struck me with its strong Corn Flake flavor.  Could this treat really be abuzz in NYC!? The woman in front of me was oohing-and-aweing, "isn't it so great?!"

Ummmm, lick one, "not really," lick two.. and then somewhere between lick three and five it hooked me. Yea, actually, it kind of is great.  Weird!... Gross?.. Yum! Cereal Milk follows the salty-sweet trend with its own distinct flavor to set it apart from the sea salt treats that abound these days. Additionally, I tried the Salty Pistachio Caramel soft-serve which tasted like gelato heaven.  Mmm, who knew?!

 

 

Stay tuned for my thoughts on Momofuku's Cake Balls! 

Fore more information on Momofuku Milk Bar, click here.