Pinkberry/RedMango/Frozen Yogurt nearby?

[MellyMel]

So, I admit it. I like to pay way too much for soft serve frozen yogurt. Remember when TCBY was all the rage in 1988?

What’s the closest spot to West Seattle where I can get my fix?

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[Cait]

The only one I know of is the Red Mango in Southcenter Mall. Up by the food court… I’ve always wanted to try it.

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[add]

There is a fancy (meaning expensive) shop, maybe Red Mango, on the Concourse level of Pacific Place in downtown Seattle.

And then there’s Costco. $1.50 for a huge cup full!

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[inactive]

There’s a Red Mango, I think, at Pac Place, downtown.

But if you go to Utopia in the ID Uwajimaya Food Court, you won’t have to hassle with downtown AND you will discover a less-tangy, less-hip, but awesome froyog. I think there are tangy yogurt people and creamy yogurt people. I am a creamy froyogger. Especially Utopia’s – they use Greek yogurt for one thing; and, the portions are really generous.

And you can then walk around Uwajimaya afterward.

I highly recommend the green tea.

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[cjboffoli]

The new wave of Korean-inspired frozen yogurt is nothing like the TCBY of the 90’s in that it retains its yogurty tanginess as opposed to trying to be as much like soft serve ice cream as possible.

Pinkberry started to open up shops in LA a few years ago and almost overnight lines began to form around the block at each store. It was like they were dishing out crack. People would eat their Pinkberry only to get in line and go again. It got so bad that businesses located near Pinkberry shops started to complain because the lines were blocking entry to their stores. They expanded to NYC and elsewhere and there were lines there too, at first. But now I hardly see lines at Pinkberry shops anymore which is a good thing. Sure, their stores have colorful back-painted glass, Modern fixtures and they even sell Alessi products. But the popularity had less to do with being trendy and more to do with the delicious flavor and texture of the yogurt.

Red Mango apparently cried foul because they claimed that Pinkberry stole their original concept. So now every time you see a PInkberry in NYC or LA there is a Red Mango virtually across the street from it and neither place has a line.

Seattle doesn’t have Pinkberry but, as others have said above, there are Red Mango kiosks at both SouthCenter and Pacific Place. They offer their special formula of tangy frozen yogurt in a few flavors. I like the original (plain) but the matcha is good too. It is all about the toppings. I prefer a sprinkle of Fruity Pebbles cereal on mine.

I’m not familiar with Utopia but another draw of getting your tangy fro-yo fix at Uwajimaya is that they opened a Beard Papa shop there last year. I see those places popping up all over NYC now too. They are a Japanese-owned bakery producing delicious little cream puffs that they fill for you on the spot.

I’ve also had success at home making a reasonable facsimile of tangy Korean-style frozen yogurt using store bought yogurt (Fage brand seems to work best) and a household ice cream maker (like Krups). The secret is adding just the right amount of dried milk powder to get the texture right. And obviously the Fruity Pebbles part is a cinch! :-)

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[Traci]

Have you tried the frozen yogurt at Uwajimaya? It is THE BEST!

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[inactive]

Fruity cereal pebbles? Can’t go there, personally, but Utopia does have some sauces, most importantly chocolate:)

It still has a nice tang, for certain, but somehow the Greek yogurt used makes the tanginess of others seem too dominant, unless you drench it in something else like one of the toppings. Utopia takes it up a notch, for my palate, to ultra-creaminess and an ever so subtle, yet more sedate tang which stand on its own really really well. Yum.

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[JustSarah]

Mmm Red Mango’s been my favorite since it came to Bellevue Square 2.5 years ago. Tried Pink Berry when I was down in San Diego this spring, but it wasn’t as creamy and I couldn’t get past the fact that they ripped off Red Mango.

I love RM’s original flavor, but also their pomegranate topped with dark chocolate chips. So good!

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[saney]

i had PinkBerry for the first time yesterday at LAX. omg…soooo good. i went back for another one to take on the plane. they put a lid on it, put it in a bag and surrounded it with a couple of ice filled ziploks to make sure it made it onboard… they said they would expanding out into more states next year. yum. the original flavor was the best (passion fruit was also good)..

what does the original RM flavor taste like?

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[WSB]

Interesting that froyo has not made an incursion into WS yet – although I still suspect that the Husky Deli triumph over Ben and Jerry’s in The Junction has made a lasting impression on the frozen-treats business.

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[JustSarah]

saney – RM’s original is the tiniest bit sweeter than PB’s, and also a bit creamier. It’s still fat free, but I think the mixing process must be a bit different, as PB’s tasted a bit ice-crunchy to me after being used to RM. However, my husband liked that texture, so it’s totally personal preference.

I did prefer PB’s dark chocolate, which I believe was shavings instead of the chips RM offers.

And as much as I enjoy the occasional Costco fro-yo, it’s *not* comparable to any of the latest places. Costco’s really is just another soft-serve a la TCBY.

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[inactive]

I agree Lowmanbeach. Even so, I tried to convince Utopia to setup shop somewhere here. As Christopher points out, choice and friendly competition can be a good thing, from a frequently consuming consumer pov:)! The owner was intrigued though in WS as a burgeoning food burg. However, he wanted to get the Uwajimaya shop up and running. He had only been open for a couple of days at that point ;). Since that was some time ago, I have no idea of where he stands with growth plans.

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[angelescrest]

Red Mango in U Village as well.

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[shannon]

YoBerry downtown has the best frozen yogurt (the tangy kind). So much better than Red Mango… Of course, they’ve had to change their name to Yo because PinkBerry threatened a lawsuit over their “YoBerry” name. Like the word “Berry” is really something you can copyright and there aren’t any PinkBerry stores in the state either! Anyways, it’s in the food court at 3rd & Marion I think.

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[cakeitseasy]

Red Mango at Bellevue Sq.

But, what I’m wondering is, where are the self serve yogurt by the ounce shops? The ones where you choose your froyo (creamy, tangy, flavor) add your own toppings and weigh it.

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[JustSarah]

cakeiteasy – I think there’s actually one of those in Southcenter, just east of the interior JC Penney entrance (aka the “dead” area of the mall, since no one goes to JCP or Rainforest Cafe). I never looked very closely, but I’m pretty sure that’s what the kiosk is.

And yes, there are also Red Mango stores in U-Village and Bellevue Square; I was keeping my answers to the areas where West Seattleites are most likely to be.

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[MellyMel]

Thanks for all the kind replies.

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I do patronize all the places mentioned in the thread save YoBerry, which I will give a try. I was hoping that there was a spot in WS that I didn’t know about. Alas, no.

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Though this does mean I can make a killing when I open my own franchise. ;-) I am thinking right across from the YMCA, cause from personal experience, I like to get some “virtuous” frozen yogurt after I have burned calories.

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