Walking into Yolo Berry Yogurt, you’ll feel like a kid in a candy store.
The new frozen yogurt place sports an entire wall of candy – with some frozen yogurt on the side.
Boasting 101 toppings, the sweet spot on C Street can surely top your night off with everything from rainbow sprinkles to apple pie filling. Also, compared to that strawberries and crème crepe place down the street, it’s the healthiest option on this side of the Death Star.
Yolo Berry Yogurt’s motto is “The Healthy Choice.” But with this many toppings one wonders just how nutritious this “healthy choice” can really be.
Alone, the yogurt is about 100 calories. But at Yolo Berry Yogurt, you can’t just get yogurt. And you can’t just throw a couple sprinkles on either. As the toppings pile on, so disappears that health you walked in with.
I, too, walked in with my health and walked out slightly missing it. Choosing the peanut butter and chocolate ice cream, I set out to find the perfect yang to my creamy, delicious and nutritious yin.
The employee behind the counter that night noticed my indecisiveness. He recommended, of all things, chocolate-covered cinnamon gummy bears – an unexpectedly tasty accompaniment to my yogurt selection. I know what you’re thinking: “Oh girl, no you didn’t!”
And to that, I’ll admit, oh yes I did. I added the chocolate-covered cinnamon gummy bears to my chocolate-peanut-butter frozen yogurt. And some Oreo crumbs. And some hot fudge. And some flavored mochi. And almonds. And, okay, I threw in some Reese’s Peanut Butter cups too.
Low and behold, it was good.
I savored every bite because every bite had a different topping. However, with great flavor came great stomach cramps. I felt like I could have been any one of those poor souls on a Pepto Bismol commercial.
Though I had to remind myself it wasn’t the chocolate covered cinnamon bears‘ and flavored mochi’s fault that I felt so awful; it was mine for combining the two.
Words from the not-so-wise: be careful what you put on that frozen yogurt.
To justify my poor decision, it only cost me $2.89, which is impressive compared to the more expensive cup that averages at Cultivé or Yogurt Shack. The cost is based on how much your final yogurt creation weighs: 39 cents every ounce, regardless of the toppings. Yogurt Shack charges 40 cents per ounce for their chilled treats.
Flavor-wise, the frozen yogurt is average. It’s not as tangy as Cultivé’s, but the creamier base goes well with the toppings available. Other than my peanut butter and chocolate swirl concoction, Yolo Berry also offers chocolate, vanilla, mango-tango sorbet, cookies and cream and original tart. Last week they introduced pumpkin, and after selling out shortly after, an employee told me they hope to reintroduce it by this weekend. You can mix whatever flavors also, but beware: a mixture of cookies and cream and original tart may result in the same effect as my topping experience.
Service-wise, I was flattered. My initial greeter was welcoming and informative. The minute I walked in, he offered a sample of whichever flavor I wanted. He even let me try the chocolate-covered cinnamon gummy bears before I put them in my yogurt! Returning to Yolo Berry to a different employee, my experience was just as pleasant.
Overall, I enjoyed my time at Yolo Berry Yogurt. The yogurt was sweet and the toppings were sweeter. After, however, is a whole new story, perhaps for another day’s paper.
LAUREN STEUSSY can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com.
