What: Yummy Yo
When: Friday, May 1st, 2009
What I had: Frozen Yogurt: Blueberry, Strawberry, Cookies and Cream, Cheescake. Tasted: Green Tea, Country Vanilla. Toppings: Kiwi, Pineapple, Cap n' Crunch, Sprinkles, Toffee, Oreo.
Although the overall purpose of Austin Review is to try and taste as many and as much of Austin's culinary offerings as I can, I seem to have fallen into a rut. That rut is full of yogurt. After eating at Yummy Yo I have officially tasted 5 of the 8 frozen yogurt places that I know of in Austin. I have reviewed 2 of them here, & here. So maybe this will become a yogurt related blog, but I really can't get enough of this new creamy and delicious fad here in Austin. I guess I will have to hit up the other three and write blogs on the final 5 so that we can have an official record of which I claim to be the best.
Yummy Yo, unfortunately is not the best. Don't get me wrong it is actually my favorite out of the ones I have blogged about, but not necessarily a destination yogurt spot, especially with the parking situation Downtown. Yummy Yo is located right beside the Convention Center in the new Nueces 360 building. The problem is on any given night the Convention Center is packed and you have to fight for your life for parking.
Once you finally locate parking and make your way to Yummy Yo you will be happy to find a sleek, modern, lounge type area with a row of yogurt machines (that are cleaned nightly, a big plus).
The choices aren't as creative as other places but they do have the traditional options: cheesecake, vanilla, strawberry, cookies 'n' cream, and tart. They also mix it up just a bit with blueberry and green tea. The latter two were spot on in the flavor department and tasty as well. The blueberry would be great for breakfast as it perfectly resembled a blueberry muffin.
An added bonus for Yummy Yo: they presented their nutrition facts on a card above the yogurt dispenser. Most (if not all) of the other local yogurt places skip this nicety. Calorie-counters, weight-watchers, and even just plain curious consumers will appreciate this.
After a quick taste test I decided blueberry and strawberry would be great a great mix and topped it all off with pineapple, kiwi, sprinkles, and for an odd touch: Cap N' Crunch. The wife went sweet with cookies 'n' cream and cheesecake topped with Oreo and toffee. We took a spot in the "lounge" with super bright lights and discussed our sadness that we weren't at the Death Cab For Cutie concert next door.
I quickly discovered my "fresh" pineapple was distinctly flavored like canned pineapple. Not a good sign. The kiwi wasn't bad, and the Cap N' Crunch kept it interesting but in the end I think the high price per ounce (46 cents, compared to 39 at most places) just didn't add up. The yogurt wasn't bad, it had a decent texture. It attempted to be creamy but came out just slightly runny. Perhaps it was a bit hot that night? All the flavors tasted like their namesakes and weren't off-putting but none of them made me want to go back for more. It was average. I hate to say it but the only real thing they have going for them is that they are better than Yogurt R' Rock and Yogurt Spot, and they are located downtown. The negative side of that is, well, that they are located downtown.
I wouldn't pass Yummy Yo up if I was in the area and in the mood for frozen yogurt but it is not a destination dessert I would go hunting for or go out of my way to eat. This first time around I would have to say it was just average in all aspects.
6/10 -- Just because I had to rate it higher than Yogurt R' Rock.
Next Up: Teji
Sooo you deducted 40% of your rating for Yummy Yo because you didn't like where it was located and then said it's next to the Convention Center, which it's not, despite you saying it was your favorite of the ones you've visited. Also, there is parking ONE block away on an entire city block that is the lot. I have never had trouble parking there even on Friday and Saturday nights. So what if it's not a "destination" yogurt spot? Can't you just go there because you feel like having frozen yogurt?
Anonymous, you have a good point. It is not next to the convention center, it is next to Austin Music Hall. However, it is still downtown and I don't think there is a ever a good time when parking downtown is easy. So yes in comparison to going to a stand alone store that has it's own parking lot they lose some points. However, that isn't the only reason.