Not unlike the Ouroboros, frozen yogurt has become today’s version of smoothies, which were the then-updated version of frozen yogurt, which was the answer to hippie elixirs, which were the answer to the malteds, which were the answer to the original Coca Cola (with gen-u-ine narcotics.)
It’s the trite adage that “everything old is new again,” much like the kids who are wearing ’80s fashions (and shame on you for the adults who are — if you’re old enough to remember it from the first time, you’re too old to be wearing it now.)
Here’s what I know now about the local fro-yo joints:
Big Spoon has now become the O.G., kind of like how Honey Treat was back in the day, only without the adorable bear mascot. With several locations, Big Spoon’s toppings focus more on the candy, sauces, cookies, and nuts. This can be a true gut-buster if you’re not careful, especially if you’re a fan of candy corn and hot fudge (which do taste mighty fine together, I might add.)
Yogurtopia is equivalent to Big Spoon; although, it does have a room for rent. Don’t think I haven’t thought about hosting a board of directors meeting there at some point.
Mochii is as close as you will get to Pinkberry. I loooooove me some Mochii. Throw in the fact that they blare fun music and have magazines-a-plenty to peruse, and you’ve got a happy runnergirl on your hands. They have a wide variety of mochi flavors, in addition to fresh fruit, cereal, and nuts. Mochii will satisfy you without making you feel like a whale afterwards.
Rounding out the bunch of those I have tried is the geographically desirable and 99.99% close to Mocchi perfection: YOGURT MONKEY. The YM is close to both work and home (mine, at least), and they feature the tangy yogurt (and traditional sweeter stuff), along with a host of fresh fruit, mochi topping, and the Big Spoon-esque candy, nuts, and sauces. The people there are friendly beyond belief without being aggressively so. Your visit to this strip mall will be complete with a pop-in at Tulip Paperie.
Yo Yo Yogurt is slated to open in Lyon Village near the when-will-they-ever-remodel-it/SacRag favorite Peet’s, and Swirls is coming soon to Watt & El Camino.
For now, my favorite place is Yogurt Monkey, and it’s only Monday, so I have no good way to wrap up this post, so just go to Yogurt Monkey. Go now. Enjoy the yogurt. Post your sentiments. You know the drill.
The Sac Rag 
NOT to be confused with Monkey (or Ermine, or Condor, or Spotted Owl- then I just gave up- I mean, COME ON! You have vanillia, but no freaking Ermine?!?) FLAVOURED Yogurt. None of these places have genuine Indian-Sub-Continent type flavours. Tho not too bad if you bring your own pre-ground Monkey (or Ermine, or Condor, or Spotted Owl) and a mixing spoon.
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No yogurtagogo?
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No sugar free at most of these joints. Me no likey. Big Spoon is the only place I can go to. 😦
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Thanks for the tip, Mousse! I’ll definitely have to check it out, especially because their flash intro has the whole + = thing going on like my header to this post = kismet! With two downtown meetings later this week, I will be there & will report back accordingly.
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you spelled Mochii differently 3 times. Mochii, Mochi, and Mocchi. Does it really matter? No. Will it bug me to no end? Absolutely.
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Sorry about that, Lucky! The name of the place is “Mochii.” The glutenous rice product that you can have as a topping is “mochi.” I can’t explain my “Mocchi” spelling of it, and I just fixed that. Please forgive me, as this truly is hard-hitting journalism.
🙂
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I tried Yogurt Monkey…it’s nothing like Big Spoon or Mocchi..the Yogurt was melting before I got to the register. Also, horrible topping selection
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D RATING! I don’t think my Yogurt was melting, but I thought the topping selection was limited, too. We actually bought 3 cones and there was a lot of confusion about the charge. Apparently, they’re charging for the weight of the cone stand, but then decided to pull a dollar off. Not a place that I would return anytime soon. I’d rather go get something from COLDSTONE!
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Both Swirls and Yo-Yo Yogurt are open for business.
Swirls was OK enough. My family requires the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Swirls sort of played coy when we asked if they carried this treat. Friendly staff (I am not a fan of the INSTANT greeting when you walk into a store, but that’s probably just me…yeah, it is. I KNOW! Geeeez)
Yo-Yo pretty much went with the Big Spoon model which is not a bad thing. Free yo-yo’s for the little ones and a frequent eater card! Why all of these places aren’t doing that is beyond me…(RunnerGirl, you’ll have to let me know if the Monkey is on board with the FEC)
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Yes, The Monkey does offer the FEC. In fact, I need just a few more punches in my FEC to earn a free cup. I’m always careful to hide my Yogurtopia card when visiting The Monkey and vice versa.
We’ve hit up Swirls a couple of times, and they don’t have any of the healthy fare like fresh fruit to put on top, and I too am somewhat uncomfortable with the insta-greeting.
I’m planning on trying Yo Yo on my way home from work today; it opened while sac-eats and I were recently out of town.
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Bring me some!
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