It’s summer and the temperature in Baton Rouge has already peaked in the mid 90’s. I can feel my hair frizzing and my skin getting sticky from the afternoon rain.
What’s the best cure for the summer heat? Frozen yogurt.
Baton Rouge has been on an obsessive frozen yogurt craze during the past year. First, there was the original, TCBY, which has been in business for almost 30 years. It reminds me of my grandma’s house — dependable flavors, good toppings and sweet cakes. And there really is nothing better for you or your wallet than a good ‘ole $0.99 Waffle Cone Wednesday to help ease the stress of the week.
I grew up on TCBY and I didn’t think that yogurt could get any sweeter.
Until a year ago, which was when the Baton Rouge frozen yogurt industry got a face lift. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt opened up near the Mall of Louisiana. It is a self-service frozen yogurt store where you can mix and match flavors and toppings. I fell in love. My favorite part about Menchie’s is that you can endlessly sample all of the flavors, which vary daily so its like a new surprise with each visit. And I love surprises. I find it only fair to try all the flavors and give each one a shot at being selected to satisfy my yogurt craving, even though I end up picking the same flavors every time. And then comes the fun part — the toppings. I like the fruit and granola, but nothing beats chocolate syrup and candy bars to fatten up the non-fat yogurt.
Menchie’s only downfall is the location. Most LSU students don’t leave the campus area on a regular basis, much less drive 10 miles away, but I’m willing to go 30 minutes out of my way for Menchie’s boysenberry yogurt any time.
If you have a reason to go to the Mall of Louisiana and you don’t stop at Menchie’s, consider it a wasted trip.
Menchie’s may have the best flavors, but Bosco’s has a great location. Bosco’s Frozen Yogurt opened up earlier this year on Nicholson and it definitely satisfies my yogurt cravings in under ten minutes. It is also self-service and has limited flavors and some decent toppings, but I can finish a full cup of Bosco’s yogurt before I even get in the mall parking lot for Menchie’s.
The one disappointment in Bosco’s is that I only got a limited number of sample cups, which takes some of the fun out of a self-service yogurt store, but I can live with it.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who jumped on the Bosco’s bandwagon. It seems like Bosco’s is the new summer hang out. You can’t go in there without seeing someone you know. It’s basically the non-alcoholic version of Tigerland.
Then, there is the newest addition to the fro-yo craze, Splendido! frozen yogurt bar, which is conveniently located next to the Neighborhood Walmart on Highland, but convenience is about the only thing it has going for it.
Splendido! has about the same number of flavors and toppings as Bosco’s but they lost my support when I only got one sample cup. ONE.
How am I supposed to decide which flavors to mix if I only get one sample cup? How can I fully experience a self-service yogurt store without testing multiple flavors? Sorry, Splendido!, but that’s just not going to fly with me.
TCBY may have started my love of frozen yogurt but Menchie’s set the standard way above my expectations and now it’s hard to beat. Now if Menchie’s and Bosco’s could join forces, I think my fro-yo addiction would be out of control, even though my wallet would hate me.
But really, with this humidity, anything will make the summer days better.
—-Contact Brittany Davis at [email protected].