Wednesday, April 11, 2007

No longer a FroYo virgin . . .

Touched for the very first time . . .

I've resisted the call of PinkBerry, KiwiBerry, Red Mango and all the other similar sounding froyo places until now, despite the numerous attention it recieves from
Chowhound, LA Eater and of course, shout-outs from Colleen Cuisine -- who'd thought my dining companion who wants to "share a treat" after lunch at the Coral Tree Cafe would do me in?

And so, I had my first $5+ frozen yogurt at the
PinkBerry on the Sawtelle strip area -- a regular with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and mini mochis.

My opinion? It was good, but I'd still much prefer ice cream from
Scoops or Fosselman's, or a good chocolate-hazelnut gelato from Bulgarini when I catch an indie flick from Laemmle Playhouse 7.

However, I can definitely see the allure and appeal of L.A.'s reply to Tasti D-Lite (and the reason why this and other joints are growing so rapidly) - it's a reasonably good compromise between flavor & calories for a frozen dessert. An 8 oz. serving of Pinkberry's froyo is about 200 calories, and unless one's going heavy with the bad toppings (choc. chips, mochi, etc.) it's an indulgence that won't be guilt-inducing. But when I was told "treat" - I'm thinking
cakes, pies, pastries or ice cream. Or better yet, an amalgamation of the three plus a drink! (In my scenario, that would've meant going to the Beard Papa/Mousse Fantasy across the street or Crepes 2 Go next door, even if it meant putting up with a 'tude.)

But to me, that's kind of like settling for a smoothie when I'm craving for a milkshake or a malt. I'd rather bank my calories for the real deal with hot fudge, whipped cream & a pile of nuts. But in the rare instances when I feel like the lighter, slightly tangy taste of a froyo - I'd consider going to pinkberry again.


Edit/Update: I really should be more religious on checking out LAT's food section, looks like Bulgarini will be getting a permanent shop in Altadena. Woot!

4 comments:

Chubbypanda said...

*sniff* Don't go over to the dark side. We'll miss you.

Douglas Cress said...

We just got our first pinkberry here in nyc - its pretty good. I'm not one for tasti-d-lite b/c I feel like im ingesting a host of unwanted chemicals. Leave it to the W. Coast to devise something delicious and cloak it in a healthy guise.

I've only tried it once - I would definitely go back - I tend to fill up on savory items, but this is pretty light and refreshing, especially when paired with fruit.

elmomonster said...

I need to get over to Long Beach to try PinkBerry. But then I'm in the Yogurtland fan now. Great report!

H. C. said...

Panda, haha--I personally don't plan on FroYo-ing again anytime soon, especially after finding out that Bulgarini is opening shop in Altadena!

Douglass, Yep, FroYo definitely sounds like lesser of the two evils compared to the "whipped chemical air" of Tasti-D-Lite. But yes, the only yogurt that can really claim to be healthy are the unsweetened varieties.

Elmo, haha, can't wait to hear what you have to say about Crackberry! Seriously, I think they're the boba of this decade!

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