The Bay Area’s Best Frozen Yogurt Spots
(For Kids and Adults)
By Sarah K. Choi, Yahoo! Local, Red Tricycle
June 10, 2011
This is our weekly guest-blog post from the moms behind Red Tricycle, a site that focuses on the "lighter side" of parenting. Every week, they'll be bringing us their picks of stuff to do around the Bay Area with kids.
Everywhere we look, the 80′s are back in style… including the "froyo" fad! However, these days our tastes are a bit more refined. Get your sweet fix with gourmet flavors like watermelon or açai and a multitude of toppings at one of the several hundred froyo shops in the Bay Area. And with health benefits like probiotics, calcium, potassium and many more to mention, picking up a frozen yogurt cup is guilt-free and family-friendly! Here's a short list of our favorite spots to beat the heat with a tasty treat this summer:
BEST Self-Serve
Kids will love the interactive experience at Nubi Yogurt where you can create your own swirl and sprinkle your own toppings. This is the perfect place to let the family go wild yogurt-style! Nubi has the most yogurt flavors ranging from classics like plain tart to banana cream pie and peanut butter. When concocting your cup of froyo, just remember they charge by the ounce! Feel free to stay awhile as most location offers free wireless internet and satellite radio.
Locations: Two in San Francisco, one in Milbrae, San Leandro, Stockton, and San Jose. Coming soon to San Mateo.
BEST Organic
At Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt, you can feel good about your frozen treat knowing that the dairy ingredients used do not include rBGH growth hormones, antibiotics, or chemicals and pesticides that hurt the environment. We like Blush for their wide array of seasonal flavors (think Pina Colada and Pumpkin) and because the more you eat, the more you get! Eight visits will get you an original yogurt with two-toppings if you use their loyalty card.
Locations: Dublin, Walnut Creek, Burlingame, Milpitas, and San Francisco
BEST Gourmet
Fraîche Yogurt also uses organic milk from local dairy Clover to produce its European-style fresh yogurt that is also turned into their dessert-style frozen yogurt. Take the kids for breakfast and order the fresh yogurt or steel-cut oatmeal (and a cup of local Blue Bottle coffee for you!), or after dinner for the fat-free Valrhona chocolate frozen yogurt. As for the vegans out there, Fraîche also offers a fat-free and lactose-free soy frozen yogurt. The low-fat options don't skip a beat in flavor or consistency, proving their "sinfully delicious, outrageously healthy" motto true.
Locations: One in San Francisco and two in Palo Alto.
BEST Import
The international frozen yogurt empire Pinkberry is often credited with reviving the froyo fad when it launched in 2005 by a two-woman team that merged a passion for frozen desserts and design at their innovative spaces. Many shops have copied their style — from the toppings bar to the colorful mod furniture. Try the original at their Silicon Valley locations or the next time you fly out of SFO. Or better yet, hire Pinkberry to cater Junior's birthday with his own private swirl party! They will come to you with all the yogurt and fixings!
Locations: Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Ramon, SFO Airport and four more locations in San Jose.
-Sarah K. Choi