Pinkberry knock-off in Super88 foodcourt

[RedChillie]

Yay! I finally have a place to go to get a fix of Pinkberry-like tangy frozen yoghurt. But boo... Yo Berry charges outrageous Pinkberry prices without providing the hip atmosphere. Yo Berry is located in the foodcourt of the Super88 in Allston. It's not one of the food stalls, but takes up the bar facing the street.
Overall, the original yoghurt tasted very similar to Pinkberry. Their fresh fruit and topping selection is also similar. I tried the green tea flavor too and it tasted exactly like the original, just a little chalkier, so save some money and stick with the original.

[Lgalen]

Well, I'm not sure if what I had was the same as at the Super88, but I stopped in to the Coffee King shop in Woburn 5 Corners, because they advertised fat free frozen yogurt (the sign said "Yoberry" but that didn't register until I read a few things on Chowhound). This is a small shop owned and run by an Asian family (I thought they were Japanese, as they have many Japanese products, but I could be wrong). At first I was disappointed that they only had vanilla, but decided to try it anyway. A small cup (5-6 ounces, I think) was $3.75, and was covered about 1/4 cupof beautiful fresh fruit (tiny cut strawberries, pinapple, kiwi, and whole blueberries). I was struck by the slightly sourish flavor (much like plain yogurt), and although there were a few icy crystals, I didn't feel it detracted from the sensory experience, which was quite creamy and frozen yogurt-ish.. The vanilla flavor was fine, and I liked that it wasn't too sweet. The owner seemed excited to tell me about, and said that in a small serving there is 5-6 ounces, and that the total calories is about 25. I found this unbelievable. I asked again, if he meant each ounce had 25 calories, and he emphatically said no, 25 calories in the whole bowl. Could this be? I had posted an earlier message, asking about a product called Cow-wow (which I've heard has 10 calories per ounce), and asked if this might be it. He didn't seem familiar with Cow-wow, but said that his product is similar to Pinkberry (which I had read references to in my search for info about Cow-wow), and that it's made with half Splenda and half sugar. I'd definitely have this again, but I AM skeptical about the calorie count--sounds too good to be true!

[Jeangenie]

20-somethings crack me up. Sour-tasting fro yo is the traditional kind.

[BaileysMom521]

What's Pinkberry?

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Just like it says up in the OP, it's a brand of tangy frozen yogurt. All the rage in LA right now. The place in the Super 88 foodcourt is a barely edible knockoff: little tang, less flavor.

[RedChillie]

Pinkberry-like fro yo has always been unlike traditional frozen yoghurt. If you're looking for the usual TCBY stuff that's very sweet and goopy, this isn't it. This stuff is not meant to be creamy, it's icy and refreshing, and tangy like natural yoghurt. The first Pinkberry opened in LA in early 2005 and it's a pretty common to find Pinkberry shops or Pinkberry knock-off stores in LA now. It is new to the rest of the U.S. though.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

My problem with what I had at YoBerry was that it wasn't very tangy at all, and worse, it had a horrible, disgusting, metallic fake-vanilla flavor that I could still taste in my mouth over an hour after I tried it. This was by some distance the worst thing I have ever eaten at the Super 88 foodcourt.

[BaileysMom521]

Is there any Pinkberry locations in MA?

[Allstonian]

http://www.pinkberry.com/html/pbmain.php

[BaileysMom521]

No luck. And I was just in LA! I had no idea.

[heWho]

This is how it starts.....

So no one really has any glowing review of the place. Yet for some strange, untold reason PEOPLE JUST HAVE TO TRY IT. RIGHT NOW!!!! IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hype creates more hype. LA is probably the worst culprit in the lower 48 for this kind of practice. It's overpriced ice cream. If it's that good it will find you....

[BaileysMom521]

Need... Pinkberry... And... Jamba Juice....

[limster]

Isn't there a Jamba Juice at the BU food Court? I vaguely remember reading about it on this board.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

I often see BU girls clutching Jamba Juice cups on Comm Ave, so I believe you're right.

[MB fka MB]

I *like* Pinkberry. The experience isn't earth-shattering, but I like the product (strawberries and granola please). And part of what I like is just taking in the design of the place--it's fun.

And let's face it, as silly as too much hype can be (especially LA hype!), there's also lots of fun to be had when you get to be one of the first people to try something. Look at all the 'hounds who are always the first to try new restaurants and then share their experience (I can easily point the finger at myself, no worries).

This knockoff doesn't sound appealing and I'll just wait until I find myself in the right 'hood in NYC again.

Speaking of yogurt products in Boston, I just tried Skyr for the first time (it's AWESOME and a great source of protein). It looks like Whole Foods is the only place to find it (exclusive maybe?): http://www.skyr.is/

Any similar products out there worth trying?

[RedChillie]

maybe they were still ironing out kinks in their recipe? the version I had was not as good as Pinkberry, but had the familiar tang and texture. Good enough to warrant a visit now and then in between my trips to LA.

[Luther]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/433588