Wearing Uggs and toting the latest US weekly, you can spot the lines for the latest crazed food trend (and I say latest as if it was April 2007) before getting to the store front… Frozen Yogurt is back baby! I never thought I would see it again since my sister worked at TCBY back in high school and I would OD on their flat tasting mix with stir ins and toppings.
This time around the trend springs from Korea and contrary to popular belief, the originator is Red Mango, but the popularity storm has been fueled by celebrity sitings at the first “real” frozen yogurt shop in the US, based in the mecca for all things material: LA. Pinkberry is the brand and the rumors that the original flavor’s secret ingredient is cocaÃna are not far from the truth after you get a few tastes of this white stuff.
Pinkberry took over the nation and quickly opened up shop in LA and now 3 shops in New York (Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Little Italy), but Red Mango is making a claim from it’s Asian fame but quickly following this trend and opening up right behind them. In fact a Pinkberry and Red Mango have each opened up on either side of each other on Bleeker St. in Greenwich Village. I decided to give each one a shot for the first time this weekend to see what all the hype is about.
The whole experience reminded me of the TCBY days, only slightly better tasting with more emphasis on the whole experience (decor, color, scene) than just the yogurt itself. Also both claim to be “real” yogurt, however, only Red Mango uses real yogurt cultures (it’s not noted on Pinkberry’s site so we shouldn’t assume they do too). Red Mango tastes a little more grainy, maybe becuase it’s made from yogurt powder imported from Italy and Pink is smoother. Red has a stronger sour taste to it (better), and Pink is sweeter (maybe because it has 25% more sugar than Red). I really can’t pick a favorite when they both don’t do it for me… I’ll wait a day for the withdrawals to kick in and then let you know….
Pinkberry has a no photos policy… so what do most people do? Take photos:
