Ah, Birmingham, always five years behind the food trends. Right on schedule, after the 2005 opening of trendy frozen-yogurt joint Pinkberry in Los Angeles, we’re experiencing an explosion of the chilly confection.
At least four different yogurt spots have opened around town in the last few months, leading to the Great B’ham FroYo Throwdown of 2010. Frozen yogurt is good stuff—(almost) all the flavor of ice cream and much less fat—but it’s been around since the ’70s. Why here and why now? Who knows. But now that I’ve been to all four of Birmingham’s new frogurt sources, here’s my rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
First off, all these places look basically the same—lots of white, sparse decor, and futuristic tables and chairs. The dominant design aesthetic is apparently mid-’70s-sci-fi spaceship interior. All offer one (gigantic) size of cup, which you fill yourself with whatever combination of about a dozen flavors you’d like, then head to the extensive toppings bars, and pay by the ounce.
YogurtLab: My favorite of the bunch so far, this place is on Highway 31 in Vestavia, basically across the street from the Rave movie theater. The flavor choices—cookies and cream, peanut butter, various kinds of fruit—are pretty standard, but where YogurtLab stands out is its giant topping bar. There are the requisite candy-bar bits, fresh fruit, and hot fudge, but there are also local options, including Ashley Mac’s cake bits and Big Sky granola and cookie pieces. My personal favorite is the Lucky Charms marshmallows—either they found a way to buy red hearts, green clovers, et. al. in bulk, or someone there is painstakingly picking out every last piece of actual cereal.
32°: The new section of The Summit, with Flip, Chuy’s, and this place, is turning into quite the culinary hotspot. (Too bad the parking area is so poorly designed.) 32° has the most interesting flavors of the bunch, with a super-tangy plain yogurt standing out. A second location, in Crestline Village, is set to open August 15.
Yogurt Mountain: Representing the first salvo of the Great FroYo Throwdown, this place opened in the shopping center across from Whole Foods late last year. The menu on their website has a huge list of flavors and toppings, not all of which seem to be available on any given day. Yogurt Mountain is really shooting to be a huge brand: Books-A-Million owns a piece of it, and the website is actively advertising for franchisees. If the packed crowd of teenagers in there most nights is any indication, it’ll do well. (As of now, there’s only one other location, in Tuscaloosa.)
Tutti Frutti: This is the only Great FroYo Throwdown combatant not based in Alabama—it’s got locations all over the world. The flavor selection is almost identical to YogurtLab (even the stock photography showing the ingredients looks the same), which gives me a sinking feeling they share a supplier. Too bad Tutti Frutti’s topping selections leave something to be desired. The downtown-Homewood location is the second in Alabama, after one in Auburn.
And the yogurt will only heat up further this fall, when a Red Mango is set to open in Hoover. On the upside, if we’re following LA’s popular food trends, Korean tacos should be next. Hooray!
Have you been to any of the new frozen-yogurt places in Birmingham? What did you think?
Update (8/19): Commenters have alerted me to Treat-Your-Self in Hoover and to the fact that Roly Poly is now selling frozen yogurt as well. I haven’t tried either, but when I do, I’ll add ’em to this post. (John, as for TCBY, it doesn’t fit into this serve-yourself mold and has been around too long to be part of the Great FroYo Throwdown, but consider this a shoutout to the old standby.)
So far, the only one I’ve ventured to is Yogurt Mountain. I love it, but it is quite annoying when it’s packed with teenagers and small children. I like that they rotate their flavors out in that it’s nice to have a change, but it’s also kind of annoying when you find a favorite.
I know many restaurants serve ice cream/yogurt as dessert options, but one to check out is Roly-Poly.
The frozen yogurt they serve is very reminiscent of traditional yogurt bought at the grocery store. It’s tangy and has a great consistency. Their range of toppings is limited to fruit, but it is quite delicious.
Not sure if it deserves a spot in the great FroYo-ThrowDown but, it needs some sort of mention regardless. (BTW, they offer free samples to anyone…so grab one while you wait for your sandwich.)
You left out Treat YourSelf (yogurt and custard taps) and the re-birth of TCBY. Just sayin, let’s make this complete.
You will love Red Mango. They just opened near our house (Glenview, IL) and they had a Key Lime flavor. With graham crackers crumbs it was awesome.
May be a bit late to mention but I recently went to Zen Yogurt & Smoothies in Southside near UAB. I saw they were nominated and came in second in “Birmingham’s Best Dessert” so thought I’d check them out. It’s a smaller space but not packed with teenagers (as mentioned above). The yogurt was good and the fruit toppings were fresh. I didn’t notice a bid difference in taste from other Yogurt shops but it’s good to know I don’t have to drive to 280 to get my yogurt fix now!
Thanks, Raymond! I haven’t had a chance to get to Zen yet (the depths of winter isn’t my favorite frozen-yogurt season), but it is right down the street. Come springtime, I’ll give it a shot.