So I finally tried this famous (infamous?) yogurt shop that has begun the conquest of Los Angeles. The yogurt that is called "crackberry" by many. What the L.A. Times calls "the yogurt that launched a thousand parking tickets" due to the notoriously bad parking situation in its original location and its customers tendency to wait in lines for hours. It's the newest thing, taking the place of cupcakes, it seems. It's a rebirth of the frozen yogurt fad of the late '80s, but this time it's different. This yogurt is different.
So, my lazy ass might be persuaded to go there, even though it's outside my 2 mile radius of things around my apartment. If it's really that good, I would go the extra .1 mile. But I would not go the extra .1 mile, AND have to go crazy trying to find parking AND then have to wait in life until my hairs turn grey. Nothing is that good.
But now there's one I can walk to, and the line is not that long, so we decided to try it now after dinner tonight. Unfortunately, I was kind of underwhelmed. It's not Pinkberry's fault. It's the fault of the people who talk about it. I have often heard Pinkberry described as "sour yogurt" or "it tastes like real yogurt that's been frozen." And so I thought it was going to be really tangy--that it would taste like REAL yogurt that had been frozen. And when I say real yogurt, I mean like a Stonyfield Farm plain yogurt ... but frozen. Instead, what I got was frozen Yoplait.
I had heard that it wasn't sweet, but it definitely tasted sweet to me. I think it's my old lady palate that seems to like sweet things less and less with each passing day. The yogurt tasted not only sweet but artificial. Maybe because most people eat flavored and sweetened yogurts, this really does taste like real yogurt to them?
I really would like to know what's in this, because I have read conflicting things: it has active cultures in it, it has no active cultures and is made from yogurt powder, it has no fat and no sugar, it has full fat and real sugar, and on and on. The makers claim it has around 20 calories per ounce, which is not very much. But then I see people getting a medium or large with graham crackers, chocolate chips and Cap'n Crunch on top and I wonder how healthy that is after you pack all of the toppings on. And I also wonder, looking at the gigantic sizes people are getting, whether people are replacing meals with this ... because if they are then "healthy" is not the word for that.
Anyway, Pinkberry, much like the Yoplait it reminds me of, is not a place I will be craving daily or going out of my way to eat at. But at the same time, I didn't think it was bad or gross ... it was still pretty good and if I happen to be say, eating at M de Chaya , or with a friend who is craving it, then I won't refuse to go in.
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I believe it's basically just yogurt and sugar. I don't believe it's JUST yogurt, frozen. And of course, when people start throwing Cap'n Crunch and chocolate chips and stuff on there, they have to realize they're throwing all talk of "healthy" out the window.
Plus, soft serve yogurts are notorious for having more calories than they are claimed to, so I wouldn't be surprised if this does too.
But hey, it's a dessert. Dessert is supposed to be kind of sugary and bad for you. So I think as long as you realize what you're eating, it's fine.
Where it's bad is, like you say, with the eating disorder kids who eat this stuff for lunch and dinner. We had plenty of those with fro-yo when I was in high school--watch for it to start again.
I'm not saying I didn't like it. It was good. But it's been a couple days and I haven't yet experienced the overwhelming need to go back.
I attribute it to the fact that I refrained from getting the "Fruity Pebbles" topping, which IS my personal crack and if I had eaten them, I would probably be back there at this minute.
Pinkberry = yuckko!!!
Sour, funky, long lines, parking hell. Nope. Nothing fun here.