Fro-yo Faceoff

A few years ago, Pinkberry stores started popping up all over Manhattan. I heard random strangers, TimeOut NY, you name it: everyone was abuzz about Pinkberry. Naturally, of course, this made me NOT want to try Pinkberry (what is that about me??), so it was only last summer that I finally tried it. It is pretty darn tasty. It's basically plain yogurt that is, well, frozen. Not the 'frozen yogurt' treat you may know that is mostly chemicals and non-dairy products. This is actual yogurt frozen, tangy and almost sour but also sweet. "Crackberry" is what many folks called it. I had it last year, then tried to forget I knew how delicious it was (because at almost 5 bucks a pop, it is NOT cheap).

Red Mango soon came onto the scene, trying to edge out Pinkberry in the fro-yo market. I just tried RM last week, when Jenezuela was here.

For both visits, I got the standard (as in, what I've ordered all 3 times I've been to Pinkberry in the last 16 months) plain yogurt with fresh mango and raspberries. Pinkberry was delicious as usual (I went with That Sara & her BF Mike, part of That Sara's tentative return to real food following surgery). Red Mango was also delicious, and even a little more puckery than Pinkberry, which I thought, at first, I would prefer.

But days later, I'm siding with Pinkberry. There's something about it that is just a little smoother. Honestly, this stuff is so refreshing and tangy that it needs no toppings at all. I'll TRY to do that next time I go, but those raspberries always suck me in somehow.

That's me, your trusty food blogger friend, reporting on trends a good solid 2 years after they hit the marketplace! Hope I haven't blown your minds. :)

For my NY-based readers: do you have a preference? Have you tried any of the other fro-yo places popping up all over the city?