New holiday whoopie pies at Society Bakery.

Last week, Nancy told us about whoopie pies at Tart Bakery and and Maple & Motor Burgers and Beer. One more, and whoopies were a trend, she said. Well, here’s our third: Society Bakery is selling them, and they brought us some to try. In the box: chocolate mint (gourmet Thin Mint, they say), brown sugar, bread pudding, and spice. The pies are saucer-sized and make a great cupcake alternative, IMO. My favorite was the brown sugar. Loved the maple whoopie filling, which is like vanilla frosting but much less sweet. The cake-to-frosting ratio will also likely be appealing to pepole who get overwhelmed with mile-high frosted cupcakes.

If these look good to you and you want a sample, stop by Society tomorrow night from 6–8 for their joint open house with the Corner Market. They will be giving away samples of these new flavors as well as some of their other goodies.

Pinkberry owner Adam Saxton smiles pretty and eats yogurt.

Last night was the grand opening party of Pinkberry Dallas, the frozen yogurt store that started the tart frozen yogurt craze in 2005. Back then, you couldn’t open up an In Touch without seeing a photo of Leo DiCaprio or Lindsay Lohan chowing down on the stuff, and rumor had it that lines were so long you had to wait an hour for a taste of the Swirly Goodness (not our term: that’s what Pinkberry press release calls it). We didn’t see any celebs last night (does Lucy Wrubel count?), but there was a searchlight, and there was a line out the door for the yogurt, so there. Our location, at Preston and Royal next to Barnes and Noble and the Merge clothing store, is the first in the U.S. outside of New York and California. The party was also the debut of Chocolate Pinkberry, and for now, we’re the only city that has it (woot!). It was explained to me that the chocolate comes from Mexico and is very expensive, because it’s tough to find chocolate that would mix with their yogurt and taste good. I thought the chocolate flavor was fine, but I like Pinkberry (and others like it) because of the tang, and chocolate doesn’t have it. I’m sticking with the original. Jump for photos and more info.

According to Pinkberry peeps, the store is going to shine above the rest of the frozen yogurt places we already have because they make their yogurt every day in-house using local ingredients when possible. The fruit for the toppings is fresh every 24 hours, etc. Franchise owner (and SideDish lover) Adam Saxton said the deal was about a year in the making. He also told us about all the toppings, which include gluten-free brownies, coconut macaroons (yes please), organic gummy bears, all kinds of fruit, and a few cereals. Original, pomegranate, coconut, passionfruit, green tea, and chocolate flavors will be for sale.

Chocolate Pinkberrry makes its debut.

The party in full swing at the Merge boutique next door to the store.

Inside Pinkberry.

Pinkberry is open from 10am–11 pm every day. A small yogurt without topping costs $2.75 and a small yogurt with topping is $3.95, which is less than I usually spend at Yogilicious/Yumilicious when I’m free to go crazy and add six different kinds of cereal. If you’ve sampled the rest of the yogurt in town you should definitely try Pinkberry–they were the first ones doing this in the states and many companies have totally copied their interior design, topping choices, etc. It almost feels a little late in the game for a new yogurt store to open, but judging from the looks of things last night, people are still really excited about yogurt. Go try it and let us know what you think.

Sugar cookie with Key lime glaze.

Anybody tried ZitaCookies on Old Denton Road in Foodie Town, I mean, Carrollton? It’s a mom shop (pop has another job) dedicated to baking fresh cookies. Owner Zita DeGraffenreid delivers in town, mails orders all over the place, and offers a Cookie of the Month program. Check it out and report back. 972-245-4100.

Strawberry cream pie. (photo by Kevin Hunter Marple)

Teresa Gubbins has something to say about everything. Today she has something to say about Bliss Raw Café and Elixir Bar in Dallas. I have not been to Bliss, well the restaurant anyway, but I hear that the regulars are, well, quite regular.

COOKING DEMONSTRATION SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

6:30 p.m.    Dolmathes
Christine Vergos

8:00 p.m.    Paximadia
Mary Ann Trapalis and Vanessa Stevens
Coach’s

9:30 p.m.    Texas Tiropita
Pete Zotos
St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

12:00 p.m.    Kourambiethes
Elayna Erick

1:30 p.m.    Spanakopita
Steve Stathas and Themy Michaelides

3:00 p.m.    Tiropita
Mary Ann Trapalis and Vanessa Stevens
Coach’s

4:30 p.m.    Herb Crusted Lamb Chops over Greek Salad with Toasted Pita
Clay Findley and Andrew Constantinides

6:00 p.m.    Baklava
Angie Austin, Toney Davrados, Helen Shropulos and Eleni Papathansiou
Greek Pastry Chairmen

7:30 p.m.    Lamb Kabobs and Greek Roasted Potatoes
John Stathas

9:00 p.m.    Soudzoukakia
Christine Vergos

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

12:00 p.m.    Kefthethes and Orzo
Meredith Mihalopoulos and Elayna Erick

1:30 p.m.    Roasted Lamb and Potatoes
Christine Vergos

3:00 p.m.    Paximathia
Mary Ann Trapalis and Vanessa Stevens
Coach’s

4:30 p.m.    Koulouria
Antonia Karounos

Next girl up is Central 214’s Blythe Beck. She will star in The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck on Oxygen. I’ve never really understood the naughty kitchen concept. So I checked the shows website. It says:

Blythe Beck, the fiery young chef and star of Oxygen’s upcoming series The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck, shows off her distinctive sexy American cuisine, her cutting edge Dallas restaurant, Central 214, and her loud and flamboyant staff. The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck is certain to cook up the drama both in and out of the kitchen. Oxygen follows executive chef Blythe Beck, a 29-year old Texas native, who is plus-sized in stature and personality, and her colorful crew at Central 214, inside and outside the kitchen as they interact with the Dallas elite and the local university students.

Monday night I went to Central 214 to check it out and write a mini-review. Sadly, I didn’t see waitresses in garter belts or waiters wearing thongs, but I did find the Door Whores. And calories. Lots of calories. What is sexy about calories? I guess we will find out when the show starts on September 22nd. Somebody tell me this is a good thing.

UPDATE: They’re looking for a manager!

UPDATED UPDATE: Opening in early November.

Free Gelato: Paciugo Gelato in Plano is so happy to be open they are giving away gelato today from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at their new location in the North Phase at The Shops At Legacy. 972-398-0224.

Pastry News: EatGreenDFW.com now carries fusion pastries from Florine Bowman.  “Now you can order Apricot/Walnut Scones, Cinnamon Rolls and her Discovery Breakfast, a selection of two Apricot/Walnuts Scones, two Cranberries Scones, two Cinnamon Rolls, and two Blueberries Muffins.”

Premium Pour: Between August 24 and Sept 6, Park Cities Prime–all premium wines by the bottle ($150 and up) will be ½ off with dinner. Offer is not valid with other deals. 214-691-7763.

Imported Wine Sale:  Sigel’s in Addison is having a sale on over 300 selections. Selections below the jump.Addison location only (15003 Inwood Road)
Over 300 wines on sale!
In addition to being the largest Wine & Spirits retail chain in Dallas, Sigel’s is also one of the largest wholesalers to the restaurant business as well. As a result of the fluid nature of restaurant wine lists and by-the-glass programs, we are from time to time left with wines that have been ordered for restaurants, but not picked up. The wines on sale here are from some of the finest producers in their regions and represent  excellent values. Remember, quantities of individual wines are small and are limited to stock on hand and subject to prior sale. Sorry, no email or phone orders will be taken for these special sale items.
Here is a partial list of some of the great values available:
Reg                  Sale                 Press
Ambroise Corton Charlemagne 03                          $135.99           $78.99             92rp
Ambroise Haut Cotes Nuits Blanc 04                       $34.99             $16.99
Barat Chablis Vaillons 00                                          $38.99             $19.99
Betts & Scholls Grenache Chronique 06                  $34.99             $24.99             93ws
Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Chabot 02               $79.99             $49.99             92rp
Beringer Cabernet Private Reserve 02                    $124.99           $69.99             94rp
Boillot Bourgogne Blanc 04                                      $29.99             $17.99
Boillot Meursault Geverieres 04                              $87.99             $54.99             92bh
Boillot Puligny Montrachet Folatieres 01               $79.99             $47.99             90bh
Bouchard le Corton 01                                              $64.99             $42.99
Brancott Pinot Noir Reserve                                    $27.99             $13.99
Bulletin Place Shiraz 04                                             $8.99               $3.99
Ch Chantegril Sauternes 05                                      $28.99             $13.99
Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone Blanc Belleruche 06   $13.99             $8.99
Chevalier Corton Charlemagne 03                           $109.99           $62.99
Colombo Cornas la Louvee 05                                  $89.99             $29.99             94ws
Col Solare Meritage 04                                             $74.99             $44.99             92rp
Contadi Castaldi Brut Bianco                                   $27.99             $18.99
Cordier Pouilly Fuisse 04                                           $29.99             $17.99
Camille Giroud Chambertin 05                                 $304.99           $244.99           93-96bh
Giroud Latricieres Chambertin 05                            $199.99           $119.99           93-94bh
Damoy Chapelle Chambertin 05                              $279.99           $199.99
Delesvaux Coteaux du Layon St Aubin 03               $33.99             $22.99
Deux Montille Corton Renards 04                           $99.99             $60.99             92ws
Montille Puligny Montrachet Champgain 03         $79.99             $48.99             92ws
Duval Leroy Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay 98           $69.99             $34.99             92ws
Ch Ferrand Graves Blanc 05                                      $24.99             $5.99
Fonsalette Cotes du Rhone                                      $62.99             $42.99
Guigal Cote Rotie Ch de Ampuis 03                         $234.99           $159.99           96+rp
Henriot Brut Souverain 375ml                                 $39.99             $9.99               90ws
Ch Launay Bordeaux Blanc 03                                  $19.99             $8.99
Lunar Cabernet Sauvignon 04                                  $44.99             $19.99             91rp
De Montille Beaune Greves 05                                 $94.99             $56.99             91-92rp
De Montille Corton Pougets 05                               $144.99           $87.99             91-93bh
Ogier Cote Rotie 02                                                   $61.99             $43.99             90ws
Parce Banyuls Excellence 00                                     $34.99             $14.99             93rp
Ch Puligny Montrachet Meursault Perrieres 04     $89.99             $56.99             93-93bh
Ridge Geyserville 06                                                  $31.99             $23.99             90ws
Rusden Grenache Christine 04                                 $43.99             $19.99             90rp
Rostaing Cote Rotie Terroirs 02                               $54.99             $31.99
Shirvington Cabernet Sauvignon 05                       $61.99             $26.99             95rp
Stonestreet Chardonnay Alexander Valley 06       $29.99             $18.99             92rp
Troll Creek Shiraz 02                                                 $69.99             $34.99             93rp
Philip Togni Cabernet 03                                          $129.99           $82.99             95rp
Two Way Range Shiraz 03                                        $52.99             $23.99             91st
Vega Sicilia Unico 96                                                 $419.99           $289.99           94st
Verite la Joie 02                                                         $147.99           $99.99             98rp
Verite la Muse 01                                                      $147.99           $99.99             94rp
Verite la Muse 03                                                      $147.99           $99.99             93rp
Vidal Fleurie Crozes Hermitage 05                           $29.99             $9.99
Vieux Mas du Pape Chateauneuf du Pape 01         $34.99             $11.99
Williams & Selyem Chardonnay Allen 05                $99.99             $72.99             92ws
Williams & Selyem Chardonnay Heinz 05               $99.99             $69.99             94rp
Williams & Selyem Zinfandel Forchini 05                $99.99             $68.99             91rp

Sacred Cellars is offering another “Steal of the Week.” 2005 Flora Springs “Trilogy” Napa Valley. 95 points – Wine Enthusiast. 93 points – Robert Parker/Wine Advocate.
$34.99 per bottle + sales tax (where applicable) and $7 shipping, or free local pickup available.

La Duni Latin Kitchen and Coffee Studio at NorthPark Center. Co-hosting with Bacardi Rums to present a hands-on Mojito Class on Thursday, August 27 from 6:30-7:30pm (registration begins at 6pm).  Learn the three methods of classic Mojitos cocktails, one shaken, one muddled, and one fired while enjoying light bites from the award-winning la Duni kitchen. Cost is $17 in advance and $22 in advance. [Ed note. I have no idea what that means.]  Reservations are required. 214-987-2260.  Capacity is limited. La Duni Latin Kitchen & Coffee Studio is located on Level One beneath AMC NorthPark 15 Theaters facing the beautiful Center Park, 8687 N. Central Expressway Suite 1516 in Dallas, TX.

Café Lago. From owner Gabriela Kovacic: “Ron Jones, a product of the White Rock area and passionate musician will be performing Thursday the 20th. He will be joined by Darwin Martin on the keyboard these fellows are pros! Their smooth and eloquent execution of some classic pieces along with his amazingly accurate version of Pink Floyd will have you calmly enjoying the evening, sipping on Sangria and amazed at his talent. The benefit to being at Cafe Lago when Ron performs is that you never know who else will drop by – could be a drummer, percussionist, trumpet player, or maybe a soft subtle jazz singer! Also, Kerri Arista, the Cafe Lago Sweetheart as we call her, is currently on a challenge to write 50 songs in 90 days. Her craft at songwriting has evolved beautifully and her sweet renditions of her many songs give Cafe Lago diners a warm environment.  She sings Friday Nights 14th & 28th. Come this Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. and taste more than 17 sparkling wines from all over the world.  See which sparkler is as good as Champagne but at a fraction of the price.”

FUQUA Wines. Summer Wine Series, Cont. Sparklers 2. This will be a blind tasting.  Besides all of the sparklers, we will also taste our FUQUA wines as well.  This tasting is limited to 16 people and costs $18 per person.  Buy your ticket and make your reservations at here.

Cake Ball Company. “The Cake Ball Company offers an array of delicious hand-held confections inspired from Robin Ankeny’s mother’s family recipe. After starting a family, Ankeny began using the recipe to make the miniature, coated desserts for gatherings with family and friends. Soon her cake balls were in such high demand that the next obvious step was to make cake balls available to everyone and open The Cake Ball Company in Dallas with the help of Deb Corley and Charlotte Lyon. Each cake ball is approximately 1.25 inches round and made over a two-day process that involves baking and blending the cake balls with creamy icing before dipping them into a beautiful confectionery coating.”

They are having a birthday and are selling a special Birthday Cake flavor for $1.00 each on August 20. Deets here.

Man-o-man I wanna be me a foodie.  Only problem is I can’t cook, can’t drink and can’t fit in the foodie scene.

I can’t cook.  For more than 13 years, I’ve had the greatest job in the world as owner of what is now six restaurants.

And for that same amount of time, I’ve tried to cook my own stuff on the side.  I suck.  I just plain can’t cook.

And so I started going to fancy-pants restaurants.  But I think I’ve pretty much left a slimy trail like a slug at many of the places.  I’d love the fine wines, but they didn’t love me so much.

I’d get wasted, thump my chest about what a foodie I was, and then ask the waiter something like, “Zis is reeeeeelly good wine.  Izzit red or white?”

So I quit drinking about three years ago.

Want to make sure the waiter doesn’t give you good service at a restaurant — tell them you don’t drink.  Service takes the elevator south everytime.

So without drinking, I needed to find me a new vice.  Ice cream became that ice vice.

Being in the restaurant biz, I knew I had to make my own ice cream.  I got me a fancy machine.  I got me fancy ingredients.

I made me some ice cream, and gave it to my employees.  I knew this would be the start of something big.

The next day, almost every single employee had food poisioning.  Dunno what I did wrong, but once again I realized just cause I love something don’t mean it loves me.

So I did what has worked for me in the past.

I went to Austin and traced my “Dazed and Confused” days back to when restaurants really had to compete for my college-broke-arse.

We used to get stoned and go to Texadelphia many moons ago.  Now I got me two of them and I see them SMU students and Highland Park kiddos and all the private school kids come in, glassy-eyed and with a John-Prine-illegal-smile.  I ain’t saying their stoned, but I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday either.

So I went back there, tried to find Ricky Williams to party with, but could not.  It is weird to go back to a city where I was pretty much drunk or high and see it sober.  Austin remains a magical place, especially for tastebuds.

My tastebuds, not the “tasty buds,” lead me to Amy’s Ice Cream.  It’s the best.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

So I talked to the Amy’s people, and they were kind enough to let me buy a whole truckload.

It arrives Wednesday.  We’ll start eating it, and serving it, too, immediately that day.

I get several thousand customers a week, and they all seem fired up about Amy’s.

Oh, and we ain’t making a penny off of it for awhile — ALL proceeds will go to “Helping Austin Musicians,” a charity that helps Austin musicians with medical bills, etc.

I scream, you scream, we all scream me to end this diatribe.

I’m sliding off the face of the earth for awhile — I GOT ME A BABY DAUGHTER BEING BORN TOMORROW MORNING!  And therefore I won’t be giving a rat’s ass ’bout nothing but that for awhile.

Best way to enjoy Amy’s — on Monday Nights we have $3.00 cheesesteaks.  And kids eat free if they say “please.”  So a family of four could get two cheesesteaks, two waters, two free kids meals all for $6.00.  And top it off with some Amy’s Ice Cream — all of the profits of which go to charity.

All proof of why my accountant thinks I am an idiot.

At this very moment in my life, it just ain’t about the money.  It’s about love and celebration and stuff that is as sweet as ice cream.  Even sweeter.

While the overall trend in dining today is to eat sloooowly, the Gen Y’ers I know are more content to snack quickly. What happened to the good old days of turning on The Thorn Birds (before you knew Richard Chamberlain was gay), grabbing a spoon and a half gallon of ice cream, and eating the whole thing? Once, after I got turned down for what I thought was my dream job, I went back to my apartment, made a three-layer German chocolate cake, and ate every last crumb. Did I feel better? You betcha.

What is comfort food? At home it is one thing, but now restaurants are trying to comfort us in public. Take Kent Rathbun. (beat, beat…) He has gourmet comfort food. He isn’t alone; there are lots of folks making their mortgage payments by selling upscale mac and cheese. Isn’t gourmet comfort food an oxymoron? If you agree, then WTF is healthy comfort food? A lie? You betcha.

I was curious to see if there were any distinctive differences between generations when it came to constant cravings. I didn’t have to Google far to find this little salty tidbit. Jump with me.The following is copied and pasted from the “Generational Comfort Foods” trend mapping report from the Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts. (I am not making that up. Someone got paid a lot of money to come up with that. Packaged Facts is going to be the title  of my autobiography.) And here they are:

CCD’s national online survey on the topic (3,700 respondents) found that sweets dominate category choices regardless of age. Nearly half (46%) of men and women across the Boomer, Gen X and Gen Y segments say they turn to baked goods, sweets and desserts for comfort, versus 19% who cite entrées, 14% salty snacks, 13% side dishes, and 4% breakfast foods.
Women favor sweets even more than men (51% of women cite sweets as comfort food, versus 36% of men). Among respondents who cite sweets, 26% chose ice cream as their top comfort food, 23% chocolate and 21% brownies.
Within entrées, roasted meats are the top choice across generations; within side dishes, macaroni and cheese and potatoes are nearly tied in popularity; and within salty snacks, chips rule (cited by 60% of total respondents, followed by popcorn and cheese, at 10% and 8%, respectively).
Cheese — either by itself or with a bread or starchy food — seems to elicit the most “passionate” response across generations, but with generational nuances (Boomers citing artisan cheeses versus Gen X’s cheese crackers, for example).

The research also identified top trends in comfort foods, including:

* Breakfast for dessert. Gen Y pastry chefs and a desire to start the day with a “protein burst” are driving this just-emerging trend. Boxed cereals, already found in snack bars and frozen yogurt shops, are now turning up in desserts, along with desserts such as “glamorized” versions of French toast, waffles and doughnuts.
* Madeover meatloaf. Regional restaurants, nouveau diners and sandwich shops are featuring meatloaf offerings with fuller flavors and natural or leaner meat blends. Boomers like the healthier versions of this nostalgic favorite, while Gen Y is drawn to bolder taste variations.
* Artisan pies. The pies now seen in specialty cafes and fine restaurants reflect the “artisan sprit” of inspired pastry chefs and are not only fresh and “home made,” but “full of good things,” CCD reports.
* Pho/Vietnamese beef noodle soup. First spotted as an emerging trend in 2005, this soup’s popularity has now spread, particularly among ethnically diverse Gen Y consumers. In addition to small shops and Vietnamese restaurant chains, it can now be found in mainstream soup restaurants and Pan-Asian noodle houses. The appeal: flavors that translate well to American tastes, combined with “infinite customizability” via fresh garnishes like sprouts, herbs and condiments.
* Asian curries. Very big among Gen Y and also popular as one-pot dishes among Gen Xers who are cooking meals for growing families. CPGs are beginning to offer curries with new simmer sauces and curry meal kits and frozen entrées.
* “New” casseroles replacing processed ingredients with fresh ingredients, including vegetables and “contemporary” proteins such as turkey, crab and shrimp.
* Mac ‘n cheeses featuring natural and organic ingredients and other flavor twists.

Hmm, is this interesting? Not really, but it is a nice primer to get you in the mood to tell me your guiltiest pleasure(s). When you are down and troubled and need a helping hand, what do you want in that helping hand? Lines are open 24/7. Dish it.

Society Bakery's NKOTB cake. The hottest one is second from the right.

A couple of weeks ago, a very exciting thing happened. The New Kids on the Block came to town. If you get my newsletter (Oh, you don’t? Sign up here) or ever check out www.dmagazine.com, you probably already know how excited this makes me. (I know it’s not the coolest thing in the world, but we all have our guilty pleasures, and this one’s mine. Haters to the left.) So when Roshi Muns from Society Bakery sent me this picture, I had to know more details. Like, why wasn’t I invited to this party. Here is her story:

The New Kids manager found us. They had asked a local contact where to get an awesome cake and they said Society Bakery! So they sent us their tour poster to get inspiration. The party was a private band and crew party at Gilleys the night before their Friday night concert. It was to celebrate the completion of 140 shows on their tour. They took the pic and sent an email saying they loved it. And this week they sent us a care package with hats and t-shirts and blankets and cds and even baby clothes. We put their pic up in the bakery.

The cake was half chocolate, half vanilla, with vanilla frosting. I’m posting this because I know I’m not the only person out there who wants to squeal a little bit when they see this picture. Also, props to Society Bakery. I need to come visit. And after I leave, if you’re missing a t-shirt or two, I don’t know anything about it.

UPDATE: NYT article on food prep for the movie.

Fried Pies

I was cruising down Campbell this morning and spied The Original Fried Pie Place sitting in a dungy strip mall in Richardson. Inside business is no nonsense: cash only and fried pies. They make ten sweet fruit and cream pies, five sugar-free, and nine savory breakfast, lunch, and dinner pies. I bought peach, cherry, and chocolate.

Cherry.

Peachy.

They are set to be opening up Yogi/Yumilicious at the Village at Allen tomorrow. First 100 customers get a free t-shirt. What name will it have on it? Guess we’ll have to wait and see…

My Red-Headed Woodpecker prefers nuts to cookies.

First comes news that the FDA is suggesting that consumers should not eat refrigerated raw cookie dough or bake the Nestle Toll House products because there could be a risk of spreading E.coli through handling or on food-preparation surfaces. There haven’t been any deaths reported, but the government has received 66 reports of illness in 28 states. (Is there a slight chance that these folks ate the whole package?) This morning, Nestle issued a voluntary recall. Hmm.

However, there is some good cookie news. Yesterday,  a little bird flew into the Dan Koller’s office upstairs and sang to Overheard: Crème de la Cookie is opening in Snider Plaza. It didn’t take long for super sleuthly songbird TG  to tweet about the sweet shop. I’ll bet Leslie “Catch a Falling Star” Brenner is already typing the back story of this “delectable journey for your taste buds.” (I wonder if J.T. Lemley  will deliver tomatoes to you while you wait.) Anywhoo, they open today in the space formerly known as Doughmonkey.

This morning I found FOUR e-mails marked ! “FW: ***PRESS RELEASE*** Frozen Yogurt coming to HP Village! Menchie’s, all the rage in LA (Hi, Paris!) is coming to Highland Park Village. The deal at Menchie’s is self-serve (how perfect for HPV) and “What’s your mix?” You can let your freak yogurt mix fly—I understand you can buy a t-shirt with your custom concoction printed on the front or back (or both!). At Menchie’s you mix, weigh, pay.

Like Starbuck’s, yogurt shops now offer groovy interiors, WiFi, custom-designable products and blends, and blogs. Also like Starbuck’s which basically sells coffee three gazillion ways, the base product in all fro-yo concepts is frozen yogurt which, according to several in the yogurt know, all come from the same mix. I guess you could say, like the product, yogurt shops have to create live and active cultures to get attention.

P.S. Nancy, did you mean Beth Hutson of Hutson Creative?

Oh, and: Janie makes her cakes using eggs from chickens she raised at her home. She has over 300 chickens in her backyard. She also uses Madagascar vanilla from Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, Imperial sugar, unbleached King Arthur Flour, and USDA grade AA butter. No artificial stuff, no preservatives. And the yellow and white-striped box is totally cute.

You know what I wish? I wish Janie would come to Dallas and sell her cakes at the Dallas Farmer’s Market. I really liked the one she sent, and I think they would make great hostess gifts, or something yummy to have on hand when I’ve got company. Also, I’d like to munch on a slice when I pick up my Canton peaches. Just a thought.

Here’s the deal with it: It is non-fat, all natural, gluten free, and has been certified by the National Yogurt Association’s Live and Active Culture Seal for meeting the required criteria for healthy frozen yogurt. They were founded in South Korea is 2002, and opened up in LA in 2007 (they were doing Pinkberry before Pinkberry was). They have 45 stores in the U.S. (and for those with $275,000 at their disposal, head to Hotel ZaZa on Monday at 1pm for a Red Mango franchising seminar). They dropped some off for us yesterday. Jump for tasting notes.

They were only able to bring the “original” flavor, because there is not a store around here yet, but the stores will have green tea, a pomegranate flavor, and something called “tangomonium.” Toppings will include Ghiradelli chocolate, cereal, and fruit. Based on the sample we had today, I can tell  you the yogurt is a little bit sweet and very tangy. Because of the probiotics and live active yogurt cultures, it’s a very yogurt-y yogurt. I would say the flavor is stronger than that of the “plain” at Yogilicious (my favorite). But I’m a topping girl, so I’ll be happy when I can get some cereal and/or fruit on top. When it gets closer to opening I’ll let you know and we can have a taste-off.