What: Yogurt r' RockWhen: Sunday, March 3rd, 2009
What I Had: Yogurt: Peanut Butter, Cake Batter, Pistachio, and Vanilla. Toppings: Brownie Batter, Chocolate Sunflower Seeds, Cookie Dough, Cheesecake, Toffee, Peanut Butter Cups, Milk Chocolate Caramel Cups.
The yogurt craze has slowly spread it's little Californian fingers across the great city of Austin. In fact it has now stretched an arms length up to Round Rock where Claire and I recently discovered Yogurt r' Rock. Yes it's really called that. Although the name is a bit cheesy it is a lot of fun if you say it like Tony the Tiger and roll the "R" out really long like so: Yogurt RRRR Rock. Since we were headed up the trusty Round Rock outlet mall to get some work clothes we promised each other a treat at the end of the day. That treat was some of our favorite dessert: self serve yogurt. Problem is, as I have said in previous posts, I have a standard for self serve yogurt and that standard is Tomunchi. I know, I know...I haven't reviewed them yet but you will just have to trust me that they are the prime specimen of this new "Fro-Yo" craze.
My first thought upon entering was that they hadn't quite pulled together the interior design yet. In fact I'm not even sure how long they have been open but judging by the mish mash of strange texture, color, and furniture placement it hasn't been long. The one thing that did stand out was he kids table in the corner.
I think this is a good addition to make the shop family friendly, which is an excellent, almost necessary goal since it is located in Round Rock. They did have a nice tile back splash around the yogurt machines but overall the whole place felt like what it was: a strip mall shop. However, I wasn't there for the decor, just the yogurt. 
"r' Rock" had about the same amount of varieties as the other local yogurt shops. If memory recalls it was around 10 choices. I, of course, had to sample them all. The strawberry was OK. The cookies 'n' cream and the cheesecake both tasted funny. They weren't horrible just not what those flavors should be. So I decided on a mixture of all my favorite flavors from other shops with the addition of cake batter, which as far as I have seen is unique to r' Rock.
Those four flavors were far and away the best that they had to offer. The cake batter was probably my favorite as it was spot on as far as accuracy to the real thing. It was super sweet. The peanut butter was rich and thick. The pistachio was average, nowhere near as good as Tomunchi's. The vanilla was good. It had a strong vanilla flavor that stood out amongst my blend of four flavors and a billion toppings.
The toppings ranged from great to inedible. My favorite was another new addition amongst the yogurt shops: Chocolate covered sunflower seeds in a range of colors. These little guys added a delicious sweet crunch as well as a pop of color on top of the yogurt.
The brownie batter also stood out as it was rich and chewy. I commented to Claire that I could actually eat one of these if it was a whole brownie. Which is a stark contrast to the Yogurt Spot's brownie bits. The cheesecake bits were moist and had a good flavor. The toffee and peanut butter cups were standard. The milk chocolate cups were gross and the saddest thing of all was the Cookie Dough. It had a old solid sugary taste and texture. It wasn't soft and chewy like the brownie or cheesecake.The worst part about R Rock was the fact that the yogurt texture just wasn't up to my liking. It had a rough consistency like it was too cold. Maybe it got so cold the molecules broke down into a rough crystallized structure. In fact the flavor was almost metallic. Each flavor lacked the natural taste that you want from say, peanut butter or strawberry. This could be due to the lack of those actual ingredients in the yogurt making process. If they aren't using natural ingredients, they should look into it in order to create a more pleasant RRRR Rock experience. I don't know the science behind the yogurt making process but the texture just wasn't smooth or creamy by any means, and overall the flavors just weren't as bold or tasty as I wanted. Sadly, I don't think there will be a return visit. Especially when Tomunchi is the same proximity from my house as Yogurt R Rock.
Sadly, I just threw everything onto my yogurt in an attempt to try everything. If I was to return I would probably just do the cake batter with brownies and sunflower seeds. Simplicity is everything right? They do get bonus points for the Sunflower Seeds and for the choice of spoon color (another kid friendly idea).
5/10
Hey You Guys!
I just added you to my Blogroll...I think! I called it Austin Review...but is the name Tongue's Proxy?
Great meeting you tonight, and I am interested to hear that Torchy's queso is good. I would never have ordered it, but if it as good as Mag Mud, I will be ordering it often!
Kate Thornberry
I'm scared that I said it is as good as mag mud. It was delicious though.
No..the actual name is Austin Review, just thought I would be witty in my tagline.