With the introduction of Pinkberry, a gourmet frozen yogurt shop in Los Angeles, a trend was born. Now we can find gourmet yogurt shops right in our own back yard. The best of these shops, in my opinion, have their own version of “plain” tart, a frozen yogurt that tastes like a flavorful Greek-style yogurt. Who knew?I tested the plain and/or vanilla, depending on what they offered, at five local yogurt shops. I also taste-tested toppings.
Although I enjoyed all five yogurt shops, I had to rate them for the sake of this review. Rating scale:
* Don’t bother ** Decent *** Yum…**** To die for!
Red Mango ****20560 Town Center LaneCupertino (408) 996-0892Pros: Red Mango has the best original flavor out of all the shops I tried. It is creamy and sweet with just the right amount of tangy. I would even say, perfect. They had eight fruit toppings along with yummy cereals and crushed graham crackers. They teamed up with the company POM to advertise the health benefits of pomegranates and antioxidants in their pomegranate flavored yogurt.
Cons: If you’re looking for a wide variety of yogurt flavors, they only have three.
Pinkberry *** Santana Row3055 Olin Ave.San Jose (408) 551-4611
Pros: This is the newest gourmet yogurt location in town. I applaud its lively atmosphere and neat location. Its patio seating on the center strip of Santana Row totally rocks.
Pinkberry has nice employees and great service.The plain yogurt is incredibly tangy, but nonetheless, yummy. The best aspect of Pinkberry is the eight perfectly ripe, fresh fruit toppings and sweet cereals and nuts to go along with the yogurt.
Cons: Parking at Santana Row isn’t all that peachy. Just like its rival, Red Mango, Pinkberry has only three flavors.
Tartini ***20488 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 2040Cupertino (408) 725-0618
Pros: Tartini has a self-service assembly line of yogurts and toppings, which adds fun to the experience.Paying by weight gives customers the option of saving money and controling portions. The Tartini original flavor is nice, tangy and not too sweet. It balances out well with sweet toppings.
Tartini’s vanilla is the best vanilla of all the yogurt shops I tried. It tastes like natural vanilla and has just the right amount of sweetness.This place has five other yogurt flavor options besides plain and vanilla.There’s a variety of fresh fruit toppings including exotic ones like lychee and mango. They were perfectly sweet and ripe, even though it’s winter. There was a selection of cereal toppings including Cookie Crisp and Cap’n Crunch.
Cons:Not much parking.Uncomfortable seating.Could have more topping options.
Yogurtland **19700 Stevens Creek Blvd.Cupertino (408) 996-1776
Pros: Like Tartini, Yogurtland also has a fun self-service line.They have, by far, the biggest variety of yogurt flavors and toppings.Some of the flavors are unusual like Taro and Café con Leche.Toppings include candy, mochi pieces, brownie and cheesecake bites, diced watermelon, and almost any other fruit you can think of.
They also have a few different kinds of syrup to use, including condensed milk and chocolate.One other neat aspect of Yogurtland is its choices of non-fat, low-fat and no sugar added yogurts.
Cons: Their original flavor wasn’t creamy at all and was more icy than anything else. The worst part was the incredibly long line.I <3 Yogurt *10129 S De Anza Blvd.Cupertino (408) 725-0200
Pros: I <3 Yogurt's best aspect? They have free wireless internet.Besides that, they have more well known candy toppings than all the other stores, including Reese's Pieces, gummy bears and Snickers chunks.
Children would probably like their milder and sweeter flavors of yogurt along with the vanilla flavor.Customers can request music from the CD selection they have on display on the counter.
Yogurt in a cone is available. They are the only yogurt store of the five to offer that.They sell sodas too …
Cons:They don’t have a plain, tart flavored yogurt.There are no fresh fruit toppings.They don’t have the ambiance of a modern, gourmet yogurt shop. Lastly, they have old, handmade signs along with incorrectly-listed flavors.
