Now seven years later (shit, time has gone fast...), I no longer even consider Pinkberry when my weekly Sunday night "Amazing Race" fro-yo cravings set in. Thus, I didn't bat an eyelash when I first read that Google Wallet was giving away free Pinkberry. And trust me, here at U.E., when I hear free anything, I BAT ALL MY EYELASHES. SIMULTANEOUSLY. But as the freebie date drew nearer, I found myself contemplating if Pinkberry deserved a second tasting. I mean, fuck, it was free. And what else was I doing with my lazy Tuesday afternoon? After much deliberation, I decided to shed my pajamas at 3 pm, get dressed and walk over to my second least favorite place on Earth, The Third Street Promenade. (Least favorite place on Earth: the Universal Citywalk)
When I arrived at Pinkberry, I was pleasantly surprised to find only a medium-length line. Sometimes when you show up for these giveaways a massive crowd awaits (like Nate 'n Al's a while back). The next thing I noticed was the menu, which was both delightful and disappointing at the same time. First with the latter, in today's fro-yo world, I simply do not think you can only offer six flavors. Sure, Pinkberry started the craze and can do whatever they damn well please, but a big part of staying atop the heap is adjusting to your product's current landscape. Look at Starbucks, or even Sprinkles. When competition sprouted up all over the place, they expanded their respective menus to placate the customer. What is currently popular in frozen yogurt is choosing amongst double digit flavors, swirling your own servings and spooning your toppings yourself. Pinkberry offers none of the such.
On a better note, one of the six flavors offered (a so-called "seasonal" selection) was Salted Caramel. I love caramel... and love salted caramel even more. I am not a religious man, but I do truly believe on the 8th Day, the Big Man Upstairs created this holy and sweet combo.
Look, you can't really go wrong with salted caramel frozen yogurt with yogurt chips, especially when they are free. But with so many choices for frozen yogurt in LA now, wasting the calories at Pinkberry is just a misinformed life choice. You are much better off at Menchie's, Yogurtland, Froyo Life or my old standby, Malibu Yogurt. That said, thanks for the free fro-yo, Pinkberry! See you in another seven years...
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The city's best frozen yogurt:
Froyo Life - Four Local Locations
Malibu Yogurt - 23755 Malibu Road #600, Malibu & 10912 Le Conte Ave., Westwood
Menchie's - Multiple Local Locations
Yogurtland - Multiple Local Locations
You realize salt reduces waters freezing point. Try their original, it should be much thicker.
ReplyDeleteMy bad, forgot to mention I had same problem with sampling of the original flavor back in the day. Thanks for checking out the blog.
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