Use Your Illusion: FroYo World

New Haven has finally, after years of impatience, received their first pour your own frozen yogurt business. Froyo World is an expanding San Fransisco import who has chosen New Haven as their second home. Their business on High Street is riot gear popular. Since Froyo first opened its doors a little over a month ago it has seen nothing, but lines out the door and a packed store. Hans and Mendez visited Froyo World armed with a microphone and rubber bullets to ask an alarming question. Knowing what they know about the pandemonium spurring popularity of Froyo World it had to be asked: Is this the death of ice cream?

Froyo's audience is for a select group of undergraduates. Our fellow patrons were too young to meet friends at bars. It seems as if Yale, er, New Haven imported Froyo to get the Freshmen Fifteen over in two weeks. We can't see undergraduates at Southern or Albertus traveling this far for Frozen Yogurt. Nor can Hans and Mendez see why a health conscious adult would venture into this business.

As we said, this is a West coast model. Like other frozen yogurt hubs in America there is a station set up for the yogurt. At Froyo world this section is labeled "Swirl It." There are three machines, with three spouts. This allows you to select either Dutch Chocolate and Vanilla Bean, or, combine the two. A roped off area leads one to the toppings, "Top It" and a station set up for paying. Oddly enough parting with your money is called "Indulge It."

The toppings are everything you would want when walking on "High" Street. Cap'n Crunch, Oreo's, Gummy Bears, M & M's, and Kit Kats. The topping area is key to the Froyo experience. You will find after a few spoons, that the yogurt doesn't have much going for it in terms of flavor. The yogurt is pleasant and soothing, but for some reason needs a little more kick. Load on the Cap'n and make the taste happen.

For 49 cents an ounce, Hans and Mendez were surprised how much they did spend. The cups can snuggly fit a softball. The three figure number they faced was a little much, and maybe not worth it. Our eyes being larger than our stomachs, a fluke resulting from stomach stapling, we caution future Froyo visitors to measure carefully.

We interviewed a young man who said that he was a Med student. He had visited Froyo World two dozen times since its grand opening in August, which he attended. What was it that kept him coming back? We tried the yogurt and it was as good as frozen yogurt gets. We went a little crazy at the toppings stand later learning that gummy bears and breakfast cereals don't mix. Or are we just so New England that our stomachs can only digest the most creamy and fulfilling of deserts: Ice Cream.

Mendez: What's this white thing? Not the coconut.

FroYo Med: Mochi

Mendez:What's Mochi?

FroYo Med: Its a Japanese starch thing, they use to, like it's a Japanese islander thing, I don't know. I discovered it through FroYo.

Mendez: Is this the death of Ice Cream?

FroYo Med: Its the death of the Liberry, over there.

Mendez: Liberry seemed like it was on its way out. What does it have to offer to the people? Nothing.

FroYo Med: Definitely not the death of ice cream though. I had some Ben and Jerry's Smores. I like that it has more fat. Ashley's not going anywhere.

Mendez: Well, Ashely's is a New Haven institution.

An hour or so later on Chapel Street, the bloated bloggers noticed a group of twenty students sprinting down the street. Much like deer, they were ignorant of traffic with their eager bounce. Hans jokingly suggested that the students were most likely trying to beat Froyo's hours. Mendez's eye lit up and he jogged to join the students. They did indeed fill the small store for a sweet snack before bedtime.

New Haven Eats It is not a thumbs up, thumbs down type of publication. It is a melting of both fiction and nonfiction, reporting and shooting the bull. What is interesting about Froyo World isn't what Froyo World does, or the product they sell. Everything about screams prefabricated West Coast decoy. What is interesting about Froyo World is the reaction received from their specific target audience. We will not judge Froyo world, but we will watch it: Waiting either for its fall, or for its total domination.

http://www.froyoworld.com