Tis The Season For Scrooge

     

The week has begun and so has another holiday promotion at Yogurtland! That’s certainly something to brighten up a Monday, and Zelda definitely wasn’t going to miss out. I’ll admit that this year’s promotion pales in comparison to the past three years, but it’s still worth ringing in. As the morning progressed, I made the lengthy drive to Kent for a holiday adventure in the land of yogurt.

The shop was empty, and I was greeted by the sight of new promotional decor. The theme this year is “‘Tis the Season To Share Real Rewards” and it encourages customers to refer their friends to Yogurtland’s Real Rewards program in order to earn free yogurt. The more friends you refer, the more free fro-yo you can earn. It’s not exactly the most exciting promotion, and it won’t do you much good if your friends are already Real Rewards members. At least it’s something, though. I look forward to the holiday promotions mainly for the flavors, but it’s a meager offering this year. The past three years have averaged 10 holiday flavors, and there was one that even had 12. Now that’s what I call a holiday promotion! This year there are four, and only one is a new flavor. I’m not sure why Ebenezer Scrooge decided to show up and steal Christmas, but I feel like I woke up on Christmas day to find a lump of coal in my stocking. Since there are only four flavors, two arrived today and the other two will arrive next month. There will also be a special topping as of next week: Pumpkin Bites are making their return to go with Pumpkin Pie, but the odd thing is that the flavor has been in stores for two months already and will be leaving in early December. It’s a little bit of an afterthought if you ask me, but better late than never I suppose. As for today’s new arrivals, Cranberry Raspberry Tart and Bananas Foster are back in stores for the next four weeks. I’m not a big fan of tart flavors, and the same goes for fruity ones as well although I do enjoy Bananas Foster. It’s one of the few banana flavors that I like, the other being Cinnamon Banana Bread (another Yogurtland flavor). Bananas Foster was destined to find its way into today’s cup, so I looked at my other options and took a quick sample of the top contenders: Taro and Pumpkin Pie. Both passed the test, but out of the remaining eight flavors nothing stood out so I grabbed my cup and started to create.

Bananas Foster was joined by Taro and Pumpkin Pie to make a colorful combination. There wasn’t enough richness from the flavors themselves, so chocolate was the first order of business. Bananas Foster was adorned with NSA dark chocolate bits as well as a light dusting of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal while Taro was the happy recipient of crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups; Pumpkin Pie was livened up with carob chips and another round of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal made its way to this side of the cup as well. What can I say? It’s a great topping! As a rule, all of my creations are topped with cookie dough bites and whipped cream, but the whipped cream dispenser is currently broken. What is it with Yogurtland’s whipped cream dispensers? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve encountered a broken dispenser over the years. Whether it’s here or at the now closed UW and Capitol Hill locations, the dispensers have had a rough run and have seen more issues than you can imagine. This is just the latest in the whipped cream saga, so Zelda had to forgo her fluffy topping today. There were still plenty of cookie dough bites, so they were scattered throughout and then I was presented with a blue spoon from the summer “Sweet Treats” promotion. My favorite table was waiting, and it was time to savor the season (so to speak).

I started with Bananas Foster and it was just as flavorful as all of my past encounters with it. I think the reason I enjoy this flavor is because it’s made with cinnamon and vanilla, and we know how Zelda loves her cinnamon flavors. If it were just a regular banana flavor, I probably wouldn’t even bother sampling it but the cinnamon adds a level of appeal and makes it a little more exciting. Taro was delicious, but its texture was firm and bordeline icy which had an impact on how much I enjoyed it. For that reason, it was the smallest portion in the cup. Pumpkin Pie was tasty, but I’ve definitely had my fill of everything Pumpkin for the season. Typically it’s a flavor I always enjoy in the fall, but this season it hasn’t hit the spot like previous years and I definitely won’t be sad when it departs next month. The cup itself was appetizing, but the whipped cream was definitely missed. It seemed like no matter how good everything tasted, something major was missing. Not exactly the way I wanted to start the week, but at least it gives me something to hope for. I have a feeling tomorrow will find me back in familiar territory at Menchie’s where I’m sure there will be plenty of whipped cream as far as the eye can see. The only question is which location and which flavors to crave?

Until we eat again….

Z-

A Triple Play In MOre ways than one

Sunday’s adventure took a little bit of a different turn than originally expected, but it was a yummy one nonetheless. Typically I enjoy lunch at my favorite Tukwila restaurant followed by a visit to Yogurtland in Kent, but I decided to switch it up a bit and ended up having lunch in Federal Way. I was still planning to visit the land of yogurt, but my favorite fro-yo companion was with me and had not been to Menchie’s since the new flavors arrived. It actually worked out quite well because Yogurtland’s new promotion starts tomorrow, so there’s a likely chance that I’ll be going. Menchie’s at Tacoma Mall has a really amazing lineup right now anyway, so it didn’t take much convincing for me to change my plans. After a fantastic meal, it was back to Tacoma Mall for another Menchie’s indulgence.

The shop was bustling with several families when I arrived, and I can’t even remember the last time I saw so many people here. My favorite table was still available, so I quickly grabbed it and then said hello to the team member. The first thing I noticed was that one of the machines was turned around to be serviced, and unfortunately for me it was the machine with Spiced Gingerbread Cookie. Oh no! Evidently the team member was having trouble with a few of the parts and was having trouble putting the machine back together. She had been trying for a while and had no luck, but then the shop got busy and she hadn’t been able to work on it any more. Instead of waiting for the next team member to come in, my favorite fro-yo companion offered to help and wouldn’t you know it….they had the magic touch and within a couple of minutes the machine was successfully put back together. Hooray! After a short time of waiting for the yogurt to freeze, we got the thumbs up that Spiced Gingerbread Cookie was back in business. i already knew which flavors I wanted and nothing had changed since yesterday, so my sampling was brief. Time to build a masterpiece!

Spiced Gingerbread Cookie was joined by Soft-Baked Sugar Cookie and Creamy Peanut Butter to make a perfect trio of goodness. A sweet and savory combination like this deserves a few special accompaniments, so I started with Spiced Gingerbread Cookie which was given graham cracker crumbs and cream cheese icing. Soft-Baked Sugar Cookie was paired with crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Creamy Peanut Butter was adorned with Hershey’s Special dark chocolate chips. Cookie dough bites and whipped cream are two of my must-have toppings, so both were added to all three flavors to make it complete. After redeeming a deal through the Pirq smartphone app, I received a 50% savings which is always a bonus. Time to dig in!

What a hit! This trio had it all….sweet, savory, not to mention the CHOCOLATE! Zelda loves her chocolate toppings, especially when it comes to dark chocolate. Creamy Peanut Butter was rich and had wonderful flavor making it the highlight of the cup once again although Spiced Gingerbread Cookie was a very close second. There’s something about that savory goodness that combines so nicely with the cream cheese icing; it’s a match made in heaven! I’m really going to miss having the cream cheese icing once it’s gone, but Spiced Gingerbread Cookie will only be here for a short time anyway. Soft-Baked Sugar Cookie aka Pan’s Pixie Dusted Sugar Cookie was sweet and sugary, and its texture was much better than yesterday. It still wasn’t perfectly creamy, but it was well on its way. The entire cup had my taste buds in overdrive, and it was such a euphoric feeling. Another great finish to the weekend! Typically no one likes to see the weekend wrap up, but Monday will bring something new in the land of yogurt. It looks like Zelda might be taking a road trip to Kent!

Until we eat again….

Z-

Falling Back With The Taste Of Autumn

    

      

November has arrived and it even brought an extra hour for us last night! Hopefully everyone remembered to set their clocks back before going to bed, otherwise you might have gotten up an hour sooner than you needed to today. It was a perfect day to have an extra hour of sleep because it was soggy and cold outside, so Zelda took full advantage of it before making her way to Tukwila for lunch at her favorite restaurant. If I’m already planning to drive that far north, there’s a strong chance that I’ll either end up at Yogurtland in Kent or at Refresh Frozen Yogurt & Espresso in Seattle. I also contemplated going to Menchie’s since there are new flavors arriving, but I’m sure I’ll be there a lot in the coming days. Since I hadn’t been to Yogurtland all week, they were my priority today. They have one of my favorites in stock, and it’s a flavor I don’t get a chance to have very often. Off to Kent for dessert!

The rain had cleared up, but the shop was still empty. The assistant manager was really glad to see me and had lots of interesting news to share. It seems that the details of the next promotion have arrived, and she knows how much I look forward to having something new (especially when spoons are involved). The holiday promotion starts next Monday, but unlike past years this one is going to pale in comparison. There are usually at least 10 flavors, sometimes even 12, but this year it’s going to be a modest offering of four and only one of them is a new flavor. Talk about tightening the belt around the holidays! It kind of makes you wonder just how long Santa’s “naughty” list actually is, but it must be pretty hefty if we’re only getting one new flavor and three returns. So much for a bright holiday! After hearing the news I was definitely ready to drown my sorrows in something sweet, so I headed straight for the sample cups. This is the last week of the “Top This” promotion which began in September and consists of three flavors: Vanilla Malt, Chocolate Truffle, and Fresh Strawberry. The theme of the promotion encourages customers to creatively use toppings when building their masterpiece and submit them on Instagram for a chance to win free fro-yo for a year. It was rather disappointing for an autumn promotion, and the flavors are somewhat basic if you ask me. I’m not a big fan of strawberry, and I rarely get chocolate fro-yo in the cup. Vanilla Malt has a nice taste to it, so it often ends up in my cup as a divider flavor. The two main draws me for today were Taro and Pumpkin Pie, so both passed their quality check and ensured a spot in the cup. Nothing else called out to me, so I grabbed a cup and began swirling.

Pumpkin Pie was the first flavor to arrive, followed by Vanilla Malt and Taro. Pumpkin Pie and Taro had the larger shares at 40% each while Vanilla Malt was a modest divider at 20%. Pumpkin Pie was given carob chips and crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (mainly cinnamon sugar crumbs) while Vanilla Malt was given crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, leaving Taro the happy recipient of NSA dark chocolate bits. Every cup I create is completed with cookie dough bites and whipped cream throughout, and after redeeming one of my Real Rewards my cup was free. That’s a perfect way to start off the new month! The shop even has a few of the spoons from the summer “Sweet Treats” promotion, so I was given a teal spoon before grabbing my favorite table. Score!

Pumpkin Pie was a fitting choice for the first day of November, and having Vanilla Malt as its neighbor added a nice creamy flavor to it. Vanilla Malt is mild in taste, but its PB topping really livened things up. It’s no secret how Zelda feels about her PB, and if there’s no Peanut Butter in the cup then you can be sure there will be a PB topping. I have to get my fix somehow, right? The real highlight of the day was Taro, and it always has such a unique taste. If you’ve never had the pleasure of trying Taro, you don’t know what you’re missing! It’s one of those flavors that you either like or you don’t like, kind of like Pistachio. It’s subtle, but it definitely has a distinct taste. I often get it as a divider flavor, but today’s options were somewhat meager and it ended up being one of the main attractions. It never disappoints, though! Hopefully it will still be here on next weekend’s visit, but you can never be too sure. As I took the last few bites, I considered going back for seconds but decided to use my remaining 16 ounce birthday reward to make a to-go cup of Taro. I’ve had the reward since last month and was saving it for something special, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend 16 ounces than to fill it with Taro. Happy belated birthday to me!

Until we eat again….

Z-

Pumpkin Pie And A Surprise Arrival

    

   

It’s a cold and rainy Sunday, not really the type of weather that screams out for fro-yo. That’s not a concern for me, though. Since when does Zelda let the weather dictate whether or not she gets dessert? That would be absurd! I made my usual Sunday trek to Tukwila for lunch at my favorite restaurant which often results in a trip to Yogurtland in Kent. I didn’t go last Sunday, so it had actually been two weeks since my last visit; I guess you could say Zelda was overdue for a trip to the land of yogurt!

The manager was working today, and it was the first time I’d seen her in a while since she manages two locations. I’m one of her favorite customers, so I know she enjoys it when I stop by. To my excitement, she had just put in one of my favorite flavors today: Taro. They usually keep it in stock at the Bellevue location, but this shop only gets it a few times a year. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it today, so this was a fantastic surprise especially considering there weren’t too many other flavors to draw me in. The shop has 11 other flavors, but there was only one other one I was really interested in: Pumpkin Pie. After taking a quick taste of both, I scanned the lineup for a possible divider flavor and found my answer with Vanilla Malt. Time to create Sunday’s delight!

Pumpkin Pie was joined by Vanilla Malt and Taro to make a tasty trio of goodness. For a cup that didn’t have Peanut Butter, it was off to a good start. After getting the perfect amount of each, I was all too eager to step over to the toppings bar to pick out a few accents. Pumpkin Pie was given carob chips as well as graham cracker crumbs, Vanilla Malt was paired with crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Taro was the lucky recipient of NSA dark chocolate bits. Every cup I create is completed with cookie dough bites and whipped cream for good measure, and today’s masterpiece was free thanks to one of my Real Rewards. Let’s hear it for free fro-yo! The shop even has some of the spoons left over from the summer promotion, so Zelda received a special teal spoon to add to her collection. You can never have too many special spoons as far as I’m concerned. Time to grab my favorite table and enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie was flavorful and brought a wonderful essence of autumn to the cup, blending nicely with its toppings. It’s definitely my favorite Pumpkin flavor, and I’ve tried a few in my day. Vanilla Malt is light and subtle, so that’s why I usually choose a PB topping to give it a little bit of oomph. We all know how Zelda loves her PB, so if I can’t have PB fro-yo in the cup then I am bound to get a PB topping. Taro was smooth and had a mild but unique flavor. I’ve been a fan of Taro for more than seven years, and it’s not one of the more common flavors unless you’re in the islands. That’s why every time I see it, you can be sure it’s going to end up in my cup. Although Pumpkin Pie was enjoyable, I think it’s safe to say that Taro was the favorite of the day. Another successful adventure in the land of yogurt and a great way to finish out the weekend. It’s never too early to start planning tomorrow’s adventure, so will it be PB related? It just might!

Until we eat again….

Z-

The Magic That Happens Only Once A Year

     

It’s Saturday, but today is extra special because Zelda is celebrating a birthday.  An event like this calls for an even more exciting adventure than usual, and there’s one place that fits the occasion perfectly; Yogurtland in Bellevue. It has 16 flavors, several of my favorites, and my good friend was working today. What more could I ask for? I was treated to lunch by my favorite fro-yo companion and then it was time for dessert in the land of yogurt.

My friend welcomed me in with a big birthday hug and even surprised me with a couple of chocolate assortments and balloons. Zelda felt like a queen! He really knows how to spoil me and always does something special for me. He used to manage the UW location before it closed, and then he transferred to Bellevue. I don’t come in as much as I would like to simply because it’s quite far and the area is a traffic nightmare. Luckily it’s not as bad on the weekends, so today the odds were in my favor. After visiting and catching up for a while, I knew a few of my all-time favorites were waiting for me and I picked up a few sample cups.

Out of 16 flavors, four peaked my interest. It’s no secret how Zelda feels about Red Velvet Cupcake Batter, and it’s one I don’t get to have as often since the Kent location doesn’t have it very often. I knew this was destined for the birthday cup! Salted Caramel Pecan and Taro are also a few favorites, so a quick taste ensured their place in the cup. I took one final sample of Pumpkin Pie, and it was the only one that didn’t hit the spot. That’s okay, three amazing flavors were plenty for me.

Salted Caramel Pecan, Taro, and Red Velvet Cupcake Batter were in attendance for the big celebration. The trio was qlready luscious but still needed a few special trinkets, namely chocolate. Salted Caramel Pecan was given Hershey’s chocolate chips, Taro was paired with crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Red Velvet Cupcake Batter received its usual accompaniment of NSA dark chocolate bits. Two specific additions always make their way into each of my creations, so cookie dough bites and fresh whipped cream made their appearance and then it was complete. Guess who got their treat for free today on account of their birthday? Let’s hear it for free dessert! With a blue collectible spoon from the summer promotion, I was ready to savor my treat.

What a fantastic celebration this turned out to be! Red Velvet Cupcake Batter was as rich and indulgent as always, and every bite mesmerized me. Its cocoa flavor is succulent, and with its chocolate accompaniments it’s even more sinful. I’ve been a fan of Taro since I lived in Hawai’i, and it’s a flavor I rarely see since most shops don’t carry it. Occasionally Menchie’s has it although their version isn’t nearly as good as Yogurtland’s, so this is the only place I end up having it. It has a unique flavor that goes well with the types of flavors that I usually get, yet it’s subtle enough that it makes a great divider. Salted Caramel Pecan is both sweet and savory, and every bite was completely drool-worthy. Before I knew what was happening, I was taking the last few bites and licking the spoon clean. Noooo! This is definitely the best Yogurtland adventure I’ve had in a while; probably two months to be exact. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve had some enjoyable cups over the last couple of months, but nothing compares to what I had during the summer promotion. Since it ended, there haven’t been a lot of exciting flavors at the Kent location which is my nearest Yogurtland option. Today was what I consider a five star adventure, and one that I would gladly repeat every day if I could. Perhaps it was a little bit of birthday magic since birthdays only come around once a year, but hopefully it won’t be as long before I have another Yogurtland encounter as outstanding as this.

Until we eat again….

Z-

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Savory Refreshment On The Hill

   

Ah, Thursday….to me it’s almost as sweet as Fro-Yo Friday because I usually end up in one of my favorite cities, Seattle. Zelda’s always been a city girl, and there’s something about being in a bustling downtown area that excites me. I also enjoy being able to have fro-yo from a place I may not get to as much during the week whether it be Yogurtland in Kent or one of the other area shops. Recently a new local shop opened in Capitol Hill, taking over the former Yogurtland location. Refresh Yogurt & Espresso has been open for just under three weeks and offers 16 delicious flavors of Honey Hill Farms fro-yo and gelato. I was there on opening day and was immediately smitten with several flavors, so it has become my new go-to spot whenever I’m in the Emerald City. After finishing my business this morning, I sprinted up the hill for a “refreshment”.

I had a warm welcome when I arrived from one of the staff members that I met on opening day. I’ve seen her on most of my visits since then, and she’s always glad to see me return. I was the only customer in the shop today, so I claimed my favorite table before going toward the sample cups. You can never be too sure when a group of college kids will shop up and tables can fill up fast. There are several great flavors right now, many of which arrived at the end of last week. The shop brought in Old Fashioned Peanut Butter as a favor to me as well as a few seasonal offerings like Spiced Apple Pie and Pumpkin Pie. Zelda was quite excited about PB as you can imagine! I noticed another new flavor today, Banana Rama, although I’m not much of a fruit person. It’s nice to see new flavors being added, though. There were so many great choices today, so sampling was a must in order to narrow it down. Some of the recent arrivals include Black Walnut and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, both of which I sampled although neither really struck my taste buds today. Southern Butter Pecan and Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel on the other hand were quite scrumptious and happily found their way into the cup. After a quick quality check of two other successful contenders, my cup was ready to be filled.

Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel was joined by three other flavors: Southern Butter Pecan, White Chocolate Mousse, and Old Fashioned Peanut Butter respectively. So much goodness just waiting to be topped; I didn’t waste any time in picking out a few accompaniments. Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel was paired with cinnamon streusel topping, and Southern Butter Pecan was adorned with crushed Twix. Since the shop doesn’t offer Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups yet, I wasn’t able to pick one of my usual options and decided to double up on another; miniature dark chocolate chips were given to both White Chocolate Mousse and Old Fashioned Peanut Butter and then it was time for the finale. Cookie dough bites and whipped cream are always added to each of my creations, and then it’s complete. Time to enjoy!

Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel was the favorite once again, but the other three were quite mouth watering. Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel has a nice blend of sweet and savory, so it’s a real picnic for the taste buds. Southern Butter Pecan is rich and buttery, and it pairs well with the caramel goodness of crushed Twix. White Chocolate Mousse has been a longtime favorite since my childhood days of visiting TCBY, and I always topped it with chocolate chips or carob chips. I can’t break my tradition now, can I? Old Fashioned Peanut Butter loves to have a chocolate accompaniment as well, so you can’t go wrong with a great combination like that. Every bite of the cup was indulgent and sent my taste buds on a happy journey. Before I knew it, I was taking the last few bites and wondering where it all went. An empty cup is not my favorite sight, but it’s a tell-tale sign of a successful visit!

Until we eat again….

Z-

Honoring Columbus With PB

  

   

It’s Monday once again, but it’s also Columbus Day which means a long weekend for many of us. That’s my kind of Monday! Anything to make it a little less brutal and a lot more tolerable is always welcome in my book. Zelda decided to capitalize on the holiday by having a leisurely morning and enjoying a little bit of down time. There wasn’t anywhere special that I needed to be at any given time except maybe for my date with PB, so the day was mine. After driving to Seattle yesterday and Kent on Saturday, Monday was destined to be a little more local. I looked to my nearest and dearest option of Menchie’s at Hawks Prairie.

The shop hadn’t been open long when I arrived, and there were no other customers in sight. Just the way I like it! There’s nothing like having it all to yourself, especially when it’s early in the day because the shop is clean and everything is fully stocked and looking immaculate. It’s like your own private party! Speaking of party, the manager told me today that they finally got their first order for the new fro-yo cakes. They just started offering them a couple of weeks ago, and I think they were a little discouraged that they haven’t had a better response. I was toying with the idea over the weekend of placing an order and being their first official cake customer, but I didn’t and someone beat me to the punch. You snooze, you lose! I’m excited that they got an order, and hopefully it’s the start of many. I’ve sampled two different cakes and they’re fantastic, especially the one with Creamy Peanut Butter! Speaking of which, it was high time that Zelda had some PB so I didn’t delay any longer. It was today’s leading flavor, but I still took time to sample a few others to see what else I might want. The two featured flavors are Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll and Harvest Pumpkin, both of which are delicious fall flavors. Harvest Pumpkin is one of those flavors that I only get about 50% of the time, and today wasn’t going to be one of those days. Some days it strikes me more than others, but today it didn’t really hit the spot. Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll certainly did, though! My next sample was Live From New York Cheesecake, but it had a grainy texture and wasn’t very creamy. Thanks, but no thanks! I didn’t see anything else that intrigued me today, so I ended up going with a common Zelda trio.

Creamy Peanut Butter was joined by Dreamy Dulce de Leche and Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll to make a mouth watering delight. Creamy Peanut Butter had the majority at 50% of the cup, Dreamy Dulce de Leche had the smallest at 20%, and Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll made up the remaining 30%. Who loves toppings? I know I do! Creamy Peanut Butter was paired with crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups while Dreamy Dulce de Leche was given a chunk of chocolate from the bin of chocolate dipped cherries. Since the shop doesn’t carry a dark chocolate topping, this is the next best thing. Cinnabon Classsic Cinnamon Roll has two signature toppings that are in stores for a limited time, and both are a perfect addition: Cinnabon morsels and cream cheese icing. With all of the unique accompaniments in place, all that was left was the finale of cookie dough bites and whipped cream to the entire cup. Perfect! The shop still only has the astronaut color-changing spoons, but any color-changing spoon is better than the normal pink and green options. Time to soar into space!

Delectable! Creamy Peanut Butter was today’s highlight in all its savory glory. It lived up to its name as far as the creamy aspect is concerned, and having crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups made it even more irresistible. PB combined with PB? That’s a win-win combination! Dreamy Dulce de Leche was sweet and caramelicious, dazzling every taste bud I had. Zelda loves her caramel! Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll was filled with sweet cinnamon goodness and truly embraced its special accent. Between the morsels and the cream cheese icing, it was hard to believe I was eating fro-yo and not an actual cinnamon roll. This was a treat fit for a queen! Although I took my time, I eventually reached the end of the cup and Menchie returned to earth after a scrumptious outer space visit. Not bad for a Monday, and it gives me hope for the rest of the week!

Until we eat again….

Z-

It’s Raining Pumpkin!

    

It’s Saturday and it feels like monsoon season in Washington. It was raining cats and dogs all day, and it was definitely not the best day to be out and about. It would have been more fitting to curl up on the couch with a good book or maybe binge watch something good on tv, but instead Zelda chose to go about her usual routine despite the torrential downpours. I’d been planning a visit to the land of yogurt for the past few days, and I wasn’t about to let a little bit of rain dampen my adventure. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail…..That’s my motto! The rain was heavy, but I continued with my plan and made my way toward Yogurtland in Kent.

It wasn’t surprising to see that the shop was empty when I arrived although the rain had temporarily stopped by the time I got to Kent. The assistant manager greeted me and was suprised to see me break from my usual Sunday routine, so naturally she wanted to know if I’d still be coming in tomorrow. It’s always possible that I might go a second straight day, but I have a feeling I might end up doing something “refreshing” instead. (Yes, pun intended). Since the shop was quiet, it gave us a chance to have a little bit of time to catch up on the week’s events. You know how Zelda loves her social time! I wasn’t in a big hurry for dessert, but eventually my sweet tooth started knocking at the door and I knew I should answer.

The current promotion is “Top This” which features three flavors: Vanilla Malt, Chocolate Truffle, and Fresh Strawberry. The first two flavors are new releases while Fresh Strawberry is a returning flavor. The flavors don’t exactly have autumn written all over them, but the promotion is geared toward having customers get creative with their toppings instead of focusing on the flavors. There are four categories including Most Decadent, Most Fruit-a-Licious, Most Whimsical, and Most Colossal; customers can submit their masterpieces on Instagram for a chance to win free fro-yo for a year. I’m planning to enter Most Colossal but the entry period isn’t for a few more weeks, so I have a little bit of time. Out of the three promotional flavors, Vanilla Malt is the one that interests me the most. I’ve had it on several occasions but none of them have been as good as the first day I tried it, so I wasn’t sure what today would bring. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it today, so that immediately put a smile on my face. It would be a perfect companion for the flavor that brought me in, Pumpkin Pie. Last weekend’s visit was a bit of a squashed pumpkin fiasco because Pumpkie Pie was well past its prime, and that was rather unfortunate considering there wasn’t much else to choose from. Thank goodness it was back to normal today. None of the other 10 flavors interested me, so my sample session was short and then I was ready to fill the cup.

Pumpkin Pie and Vanilla Malt made Saturday’s delicious duo; Pumpkin Pie had the majority at 75% and was split into two sections while Vanilla Malt made up the remaining 25% and divided the world of Pumpkin Pie. With the pair in place, I stepped over to the toppings bar to pick out a few accompaniments. Pumpkin Pie was sprinkled with crumbled Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (mainly cinnamon sugar) and NSA dark chocolate bits while Vanilla Malt was the happy recipient of crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. All of my creations have a basic requirement of cookie dough bites and whipped cream throughout, and then it’s complete. Lucky for me the shop still has some of the promotional spoons from the summer “Sweet Treats” promotion, so I received another teal collectible spoon before taking my seat. All that was left now was to dig in!

Pumpkin Pie was fantastic and had a wonderful spice presence. Out of all the varieties of pumpkin flavored fro-yo, this is definitely my favorite. The spices are noticeable without being overly pungent, and it encompasses the taste of fall. Sometimes I’ll pair it with graham cracker crumbs, but I often choose Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal because I love anything with cinnamon and sugar. It’s scrumptious! Vanilla Malt was light and creamy, blending well with its Pumpkin Pie neighbor. Any time I get a mild flavor like Vanilla or Cake Batter, there’s always a PB topping unless I’m somewhere that doesn’t carry it. That’s a pretty rare occasion, though. Zelda needs her Peanut Butter in one form or another! Bite after savory bite dazzled my taste buds and pleased my palate all the way to the last few drops. No disappointments here! It may have been a long arduous drive in the rain, but it was well worth it. With Sunday just around the corner, Zelda’s looking ahead at what tomorrow will have in store. I think Sunday calls for a “refreshing” encounter in the Emerald City. Any joiners?

Until we eat again….

Z-

A PB Arrival For Yours Truly!

 

It’s Thursday and that can only mean one thing….road trip to Seattle! Zelda makes her weekly trip to Seattle every Thursday and it opens up a lot of possibilities for dessert. Sometimes I’ll go to one of the area Menchie’s locations and other times I’ll stop by Yogurtland in Kent on the way home. After nine months of waiting, the old Yogurtland shop in the Capitol Hill district has finally reopened as Refresh Frozen Yogurt & Espresso. Zelda always needs another enticing option, so I’ve been eagerly waiting for the time to come. They were my top choice today for a couple of reasons: I’ve only been twice and really enjoyed it, they were convenient to where I was at, and they have several yummy flavors. As much as I love Yogurtland, Sunday’s visit was less than stellar because Pumpkin Pie was sour and there weren’t any other exciting flavors. I ended up with three mediocre options, two of which were flavors I rarely choose. It was a desperate situation and one that I was not eager to repeat, so Refresh was the clear front runner today. As  fro-yo hour arrived, I found myself walking into the familiar surroundings of Capitol Hill.

Two of the team members welcomed me back, and both remembered me from my previous two visits. That certainly made me feel good! One of the owners was in the back and she came out to thank me for coming in again as well, and everyone had some exciting news for me. Per my request, they ordered Peanut Butter and it would be available later today. If I didn’t already feel appreciated, that certainly put a smile on my face! They were also in the process of changing a few other flavors and bringing in some seasonal offerings. Unfortunately that meant some of the flavors I enjoyed on the previous visits had departed and the new arrivals weren’t ready yet, so instead of 16 flavors there were only 10 or 11. You know how Zelda feels about flavor changes in the middle of the business day! I can’t be upset for too long because 1) they’re new and it’s still a learning process and 2) they’re bringing in Peanut Butter for me. Enough said!

After chatting with the owner for a while and getting the good news, it was time to take a look today’s available temptations. I noticed three in particular that had departed; Creme Brulee, Cookies n’ Cream, and Southern Butter Pecan have all departed to make way for some of the new flavors. Yellow Cake Batter (gelato), Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel (yogurt), White Chocolate Mousse (yogurt), and Belgian Cookie (gelato) were all still available and ready for sampling, so I didn’t waste any time. The only one that didn’t pass the quality check was Belgain Cookie. Poor Belgian Cookie; I’ve sampled it three times and have yet to strike gold. On opening day I tried it and it didn’t taste as good as I had hoped, but I decided to give it another try on my second visit. On that particular day it was sour and definitely not something I’d want in the cup, so it was left out once again. The third time is the charm, right? Wrong! Today it had another unpleasant taste and seemed to be sour again. It tasted a lot like a tart flavor as opposed to sweet and savory, so something wasn’t quite right. I guess Zelda is not destined to have Belgian Cookie! With my cup in hand, there was a yummy trio waiting to be had.

Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel, Yellow Cake Batter, and White Chocolate Mousse were the flavors of choice today. After getting the perfect trio, I was anxious to pick out a few accompaniments for each. Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel was paired with cinnamon streusel, Yellow Cake Batter was given crushed Twix, and White Chocolate Mousse saw a few miniature dark chocolate chips. Every Zelda creation has two basic requirements of cookie dough bites and whipped cream, so both were added before the masterpiece was complete. After paying for my treat, I had my pick of the shop since I was the only customer there. Yay! I was finally able to sit at my usual table from the days of Yogurtland. The first two visits it was occupied, but today it was ready and waiting!

Another refreshing encounter! Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel was the favorite of the day in all its sweet and savory goodness. Out of all the flavors I’ve tried since opening day, this has been the one I’ve enjoyed the most. I was really glad they still had it, and evidently they’re planning to keep it for a while. It reminds me of Yogurtland’s Salted Caramel Pecan because it is sweet, but there’s enough of a savory presence to tone it down. White Chocolate Mousse was the runner up today, and every time I have this flavor it reminds me of all the times I had it at TCBY when I was growing up. Talk about memories! Every bite took me back to a much simpler time when there were only a few places to get frozen yogurt, fewer flavors, and it was all full-service. Yellow Cake Batter had a nice overall flavor without being too mild, and today was actually the first day I’ve gotten more than just a sample of it. For whatever reason, it wowed me a little more than usual today. Zelda was quite pleased with her flavor choices, but there was one downfall. The whipped cream was runny! It tried its hardest to be fluffy, but lost its texture quickly and turned into liquid before I even sat down to eat. What a bummer! The can wasn’t cold when I picked it up, and I think that section of the chill bar might not be working properly. Yogurtland had the same issue on numerous occasions, and it obviously wasn’t fixed correctly seeing as how this is the same equipment that Yogurtland had. This probably explains why there is a rather large vacant area where there should be toppings. At first I thought that they just didn’t have enough toppings to fill it because they were new, etc. but it’s been almost two weeks and there haven’t been many additions although they recently added cheesecake bites. That will be a treat, especially for some of the seasonal flavors. Speaking of which, there will be plenty of those for me to try next time. That’s exciting, but you know Zelda….the big draw will obviously be Peanut Butter!

Until we eat again….

Z-

No Pumpkin Treats, Only Tricks Here!

Sunday usually finds me going to my favorite restaurant in Tukwila which is often followed by a visit to Yogurtland in Kent. I’ll admit that today I was a little torn between going to the land of yogurt or enjoying the featured flavors at Menchie’s. After all, the featured flavors are only here for a short time and Kent only has two flavors that I’m interested in. It was also a tempting thought to drive a little further to return to Refresh Frozen Yogurt. I tend to go where the flavors are, but I don’t have the chance to go to Yogurtland as often as I would like since it’s such a lengthy drive. I decided to stick with the usual plan and spend the afternoon in the land of yogurt.

The shop had a few customers when I arrived, but it wasn’t very busy considering it was another mild and sunny day outside. The assistant manager welcomed me in, and I immediately noticed that the shop had done a little bit of decorating for Halloween. Fun! There is even a coloring contest for kids 12 and under, and there will be three prizes of free fro-yo. The contest just started this week and there are already more than a dozen entries decorating the YL walls. Too bad it’s limited to kids because I would be happy to break out the crayons for the sake of free fro-yo! After looking at some of the artwork, I grabbed a few sample cups and studied today’s lineup. Out of 12 flavors, only two really tempted me: Pumpkin Pie and Vanilla Malt. I always do a quality check to avoid any unexpected disappointments, and it’s a good thing I did. Vanilla Malt had a nice vanilla flavor and its consistency was better than recent encounters, but Pumpkin Pie was past its prime and rather sour. Considering that it was the main reason I came in, this was terrible news! I felt like I was on the receiving end of a bad prank! I thought about leaving and going somewhere that had flavors I actually wanted to get, but it was one of those situations where I would have felt bad about it since I know the assistant manager well and she looks forward to our weekly visits. As hard as it was, I decided to stick it out and choose some other flavors. Let me tell you, though; I was not enthused about it one bit! It’s like having to settle for a burger when you were expecting to have prime rib; it’s just not the same. The remaining flavors were a combination of fruit, tart, sorbet, two different chocolates, as well as NY Cheesecake and Pistachio; nothing very promising. Anywhere else I probably would have been happy to see NY Cheesecake, but Yogurtland’s NY Cheesecake doesn’t really taste like cheesecake in my opinion and I rarely get it. After taking one last look, I did a quality check of my two potential candidates and grabbed a cup.

In Pumpkin Pie’s absence, I went with Pistachio, Vanilla Malt, and Fresh Strawberry. It was a very unlikely combination, but I didn’t have much to work with. My plan was to make sure that the toppings were the focal point as far as taste goes, and I began with Pistachio which was given Hershey’s chocolate chips and graham cracker crumbs. Vanilla Malt was paired with crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups while Fresh Strawberry was given NSA dark chocolate bits. All of my creations are given two special additions of cookie dough bites and whipped cream before they’re complete, and then it’s time to hit the scale. To my excitement the shop still has collectible spoons from the recent “Sweet Treats” summer promotion, so I was able to add another teal spoon to my collection. Yay! Time to see how this creation stacked up.

Not bad! Fresh Strawberry was bold and fruity, and its dark chocolate topping made me think of chocolate covered strawberries. Very yummy! Pistachio is one of those flavors that I get on rare occasions, but it’s usually only in a situation like this when there’s nothing else that I want. It’s somewhat mild in flavor yet you know there’s something more to it. I guess you could say that it’s a little on the stealthy side in that regard. I’ve never eaten pistachios let alone pistachio ice cream, so my experience with the flavor is strictly limited to fro-yo. I had enough toppings on it to liven it up and make it a little more exciting, but it didn’t exactly stand out except for its green appearance. Vanilla Malt was light and tasty, but again it was a mild choice. Having crumbled Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups added a lot of pizzazz and brought a little more life to the party. You can’t go wrong with a PB topping! The texture of each flavor was great, so I was glad that I didn’t have to deal with any icy situations. I had a little bit of an issue with the whipped cream today which wasn’t very fluffy when I dispensed it. It came out runny at first, but I was able to salvage it without it being a total whipped cream fail. Thank goodness! The cup was tasty, but this is easily my least favorite adventure of the week. Luckily there’s a new week starting tomorrow, and Zelda is certainly ready. It can only go up from here!

Until we eat again….

Z-