That berry's not getting any pinker

If you live in New York City or Los Angeles and have any sense of the latest trends, you're probably aware of Pinkberry, the hip frozen yogurt joint. If you don't, like me, you're probably only aware of it via the many, many television shows on which it's been name-dropped, or perhaps via this American Express ad.

In the last few days, I've read several accounts of people complaining about how lousy Pinkberry is. Keith Law, professional baseball writer and amateur food writer, made a post on his blog in which he complained that "[t]he flavor made me feel like I was sitting inside a bottle of white vinegar, licking the sides and inhaling the fumes." The main gripes I've seen all seem to hinge on the fact that Pinkberry's frozen yogurt tastes like, well, frozen yogurt. In other words, this isn't TCBY; it's mildly sweetened frozen yogurt that otherwise tastes like a big spoonful of plain Dannon. I can't speak for Law, but at least one other person I heard complaining was clearly expecting TCBY or Colombo, and wondered who liked the taste of plain yogurt anyway.

Well, I like the taste of plain yogurt. There are no Pinkberries in Chicago, but there is one location of Red Mango in Evanston. Red Mango, as I understand it, is extremely similar to Pinkberry, right down to the "color+fruit" theme of the company name. The catch is that while Pinkberry has been open in the United States since 2005 and Red Mango only for about a year now, Red Mango is actually a stateside expansion of a South Korean chain which dates to 2002. (In what seems unlikely to be a coincidence, the founders of Pinkberry are Korean-American.) Frozen yogurt that tastes like actual yogurt seems to be all the rage, presumably because it seems healthier that way; in fact, looking at TCBY's nutrition facts, "standard" frozen yogurt really doesn't have many more calories. But the semblance of health value is usually enough to create a stir, and one trendy place usually begets ten others (think of all the Chipotle clones that popped up shortly thereafter). So now there's Pinkberry, Red Mango, Berry Chill (local to Chicago) and... well, just look at this list, which surely isn't even close to complete. It reminds me of the end of the Simpsons episode "Flaming Moe's," where the street is clogged with imitators (including "Famous Moe's" and "Flaming Meaux") once Homer reveals the secret ingredient.

Anyway, I like plain yogurt, and the idea of a dessert place with low-calorie (90 per serving) frozen yogurt and simple fruit topping (you can also get cereal of various types) had its appeal, so Alma and I decided to check it out. Quick review points:

The taste: Well, you have to like plain yogurt. If you're expecting vanilla soft serve, prepare to be sorely disappointed. You have to enjoy that tangy yogurt flavor; if not, you're going to leave scratching your head as to what the fuss is about. As I've said, I like the taste of plain yogurt, although this is sweeter than that, not surprisingly. It didn't change my life or anything, but I thought it wasn't bad. If I hadn't known what it was going in, I wonder if the unpreparedness for it would have bothered me even though I like tangy stuff and plain yogurt. Fortunately for me, I had that awareness ahead of time.

The fruit: I got raspberries and also granola. The raspberries were pretty great; they were extremely fresh and added an additional tartness to the tang of the yogurt which I liked. The granola was probably overkill, though it would have been good by itself. There were some nice chewy dried cranberries in it.

The value: Well, not so much. A medium is about a cup of yogurt; add two toppings and it ends up running you about five dollars, which is just a bit on the insane side. You're certainly paying for the "couture" aspect to some degree, but if you're like me you probably don't feel that need. I can throw together raspberries, granola and yogurt from the store for less than five bucks, and even if the yogurt isn't frozen, I'm not exactly losing a ton of the experience, personally. Your mileage may vary, but since the frozen yogurt is non-fat, it isn't terribly creamy, which means that trading it for regular plain yogurt may not be that big of a loss unless you actually prefer that somewhat icier consistency.

In summary, it wasn't too bad, but not something I'd do more than occasionally. I encourage the existence of relatively healthy dessert places - better people eat a large Red Mango yogurt than a "Gotta Have It" size Cold Stone Creamery offering with multiple mix-ins - but just like with most ice cream places, the cost is simply too high for me to justify going there with any kind of frequency. Which is certainly just as well when it comes to the ice cream. Red Mango at least removes a large percentage of the guilt associated with dessert, which probably has its upside and downside, but I suppose better this than most of its substitute goods.