Sunday, July 18, 2010

Yo, Yo, Yo…Gurt

Pin It Most people seem to love frozen yogurt—in fact, I’ve been with people who get a bit crazy when presented with the idea of going to get this frozen delight (in the case of some girls, this consists of hand flapping, a general air of excitement akin to Christmas morning, and shrieks which reach a level which can only be heard by cats and dogs. I myself am not grouped into this category of thrillation, but I do dabble in the yogurt arena from time to time—usually when there’s no other option left.

Perhaps this aversion was the result of being placated with frozen yogurt as a child when my parents would drive to Spokane with my siblings and I. I guess they figured that frozen yogurt was a ‘healthy alternative’ to ice cream. Unfortunately, this old school yogurt more often than not tasted like frozen, shredded cardboard—especially when the toppings they offered consisted of items such as diced coconut and walnuts.

Fast-forward to the here and now.

My friends and I are currently in California; one of the girls brought up the idea of running out for a frozen yogurt (see above reaction). As we drove the sweltering distance across town, I found myself becoming more and more disappointed. This feeling dropped to an all time low as we pulled outside an establishment named, “Yogurtland.”

Yogurt? I’d rather eat spoonfuls of lard. Generally speaking, it would have about the same consistency, and would most likely have had a much better flavor. As we walked through the double doors I braced myself and brought to mind the lowest of expectations—still fully expecting to still find myself grossly disappointed.

I was a bit surprised as I saw an entire bank of yogurt dispensers with flavors like Cookies and Crème, praline, and New York cheesecake. Basically ranging from mouth-watering to pure awesomeness.

This was clearly not my mother’s yogurt.


I was a bit overwhelmed as we moved to the rear of the building and grabbed the self-serve cups furnished in two convenient sizes: large and larger. I tried a dozen different flavors and ended up with three or four different kinds in my container. As I moved to the toppings, I gasped. Reese’s, Kit Kat, cookie dough, brownie, a plethora of cereals and fruit toppings—a veritable smorgasbord of garnishing goodness and a celebration of diversity. Several times I found myself pushing down the yogurt to allow for another scoop of peanut butter cup or fresh strawberries and caramel sauce to sift down through all the cracks, cementing it into a cylinderish brick of pure unadulterated awesome.

We paid for our desert—a deal at $ .30 per ounce and moved to one of the tables to enjoy.

Halfway through this blissful experience, I felt nauseous and my overpowered taste buds were screaming for me to surrender. Naturally, I didn’t—it was simply all so delicious that I couldn’t help but eat the whole thing. Spoonful after spoonful were consumed and brought me further and further toward the edge of diminishing return.

Frozen yogurt? At a Disney-esque playground for your mouth? I find myself giving a voluntary interior shriek and a proverbial flapping of the hands. Yogurt, my friends, is the bomb.

28 comments:

Carrie Stuart said...

Yogurtland is here on Okinawa, too! They moved into American Village (which is really "Japanese-interpretation-of-American" Village) last year and we love it! Of course, the flavors and toppings are a little heavier on the fruit and not-so-sweet variety...but there is some chocolate involved...and it's pretty decent in a pinch! Glad you enjoyed it.

Kelly said...

I think if you put kit kats on anything it would taste good. Sounds great! Have fun in the sunshine state.

tammy said...

Mmmm....my favorite. I love the cake batter flavor. They opened a fro-yo place less than five minutes from my house. I have been known to skip lunch/dinner and just go for the yogurt. If you only add fruit it's healthy, right?

Vanessa said...

Frozen yogurt has definitely come a long way from where it began, that's for sure!

There is a yogurt place in SF I need to try. Do you think they are open at 8 a.m.?

Kristina P. said...

These yogurt places are the new fad. I usually go to Frogurt, here in Utah. But they have that Yogurtland in Vegas. I usually like to put some down my pants, to make sure I'm getting my money's worth.

Stacey said...

haha...my newest find is "top it" frozen yogurt in holladay. SO tasty and refreshing on these hellishly hot days!

Amy said...

No Yogurtland in the midwest, of course. We have only TCBY, which stands for 'The Country's Best Yogurt', so I guess I shouldn't feel short-changed, huh?

I'm still guessing yours is better.

Richard & Natalie said...

Almost anything will taste good with Reeses PB Cups on it. I'm just sayin'...

Stef said...

Oh that does sound great. There was a frozen custard place in Mesa that was to die for. I would fight my husband for the last bite every time. Where is that yogurt awesomeness?

Rachel said...

I had to laugh at your desription of your mom's yogurt. Must have been the thing when we were growing up. My mom made yogurt and I remember dumping mounds of sugar and jars of jam into my yogurt just so when I took a bite my mouth wouldn't pucker and turn my face inside out! NASTY! And watery. I remember it always seemed to weep watery stuff.

Yeah. Yogurt back then and yogurt today.....not even close to the same!

I'm glad you are having such a great time!!

mCat said...

I guess I need to jump on this bandwagon since it's all I am hearing about lately. The problem is, YEARS ago, like in 30 years ago, one of my Dad's clients opened the first ever frozen yogurt shop in the SL valley. McWilley's. It was disgusting. i can't get past it.

mamahasspoken said...

We have them here too, but not the self serve places. Though I wouldn't be able to put all those flavors into one bowl. I wouldn't want one flavor contaminating the others.....

Cheeseboy said...

I am not big on frozen yogurt, but your experience at this joint made my mouth water. I'm assuming it is better than the local Hogi Yougi?

Unknown said...

Huh. Not a big fan of yogurt, either, unless it's with granola and fruit. I'll have to remember this and try it next time I'm around one. Great review.

Natasha and Jesse said...

I'll have to give frozen yogurt another try. Though I do have to say, it's not caught on here in the East- no shops for it. But with Reese's pb cups, anything would taste good.

Farscaper said...

I totally agree with your opinion of yogurt from the past. I was sooo not thrilled with it. I was unpleasantly shocked with a cone of it once. I was getting all worked up into a tastebud frenzy thinking about the amazing ice cream cone I was about to inhale. First bite - YUCK... yogurt. I lost my appetite.

I will eat frozen yogurt if there is absolutely nothing else. I would rather go out of my way to find REAL ice cream though. Reese's on ice cream beats Reese's on FroYo any day.

Dallas and Kirsten said...

That is the worst picture of me ever!! Good thing I love ya too much to lay the smack down...or maybe you're too far away now :) Janelle and I went again today and we had a moment of silence for our third partner in crime who was MIA. Thanks again for coming to visit! It's always great to see ya!

Teachinfourth said...

I was pleasantly surprised when it came to the yogurt at Yogurtland (sounds like a theme park, doesn't it?). I can totally relate to those of you who had to put up with substandard grossness in growing up, though. Of course, it was probably considered 'healthy' back then where as today it is just deliciousness.

Just about anything can be made delicious if one were to put enough of something amazing on top as opposed to a garnish.

Connie said...

So you've joined the rank of the hand flappin', sheer delight shrieking, yogurt lovers!
Was it really the yogurt or all the toppings?
Sounds very decadent!

Rachel said...

I disagree. Liver. Doesn't matter what all you put on it or how much, liver is disgusting and wretched. I know. I tried. And spent many hours growing up sitting at the dinner table trying to get that stuff past the gag reflex. Another food item that was considered healthy back then...... shudder!

Teachinfourth said...

Ketchup. If you pile enough of that stuff on, liver tastes like…well, ketchup.

Rachel said...

Nope......not even enough ketchup.....even if you cut it into the tiniest of pieces and tried to drink the ketchup and swallow the liver whole.....it still somehow seemed to get to your tongue and poison it.....

TisforTonya said...

I think I need a yogurtland... of course, I just downed a nice homemade yogurt parfait for breakfast so I'm obviously a fan of the stuff.

My favorite is the white chocolate macadamia nut cookie dough frozen yogurt. a mouthful in more than one way. (does TCBY even have this anymore??? if so I think I know what I'm eating for lunch!)

Marnie said...

I wish there was a yogurtland around me. Now that actually sounds better than ice cream.

Emmy said...

Yes you are so right, it is worlds better than when we were kids. It is so hard not to get too much there as it all looks so good.

Unknown said...

That looks fun AND yummy!!!

tiburon said...

Thanks. Now I want some fro yo.

Emily said...

I'm glad the Asian persuasion has won you over. Yogurt has been hot (ha, ha) over there forever. I'm so glad it came here. I went to Yogurtland like 20 times in two weeks once. Embarrassing. If you go back, try rootbeer float if they have it. Hope to see you soon!

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