I can’t believe the frozen yogurt explosion in NY! Every time I turn around, there seems to be another one. As we pranced around the city tonight, showing my cousin around the East Village, or shall I say, eating our way though the East Village, we spotted another one, 16 Handles 16 Handles. It looks like it has a similar concept to Yogurtland, but I won’t know till tomorrow, opening day. I’m hoping it will be just as cheap since this one is close to our apartment.







Are frozen yogurts the same as Gelattos?
Yes! Red Mango (http://www.redmangousa.com/) just opened a store in my neighborhood in Murray Hill. But they just have two flavors, regular and green tea (yuck). Theirs is a lot like 40 carrots at Bloomies- tart and creamy. My friends seems to all like the creaminess better. I prefer the lighter taste of Flurt.
And you’re right about your Pinkberry review. It made me feel thirsty afterwards too. I didn’t realize it until you mentioned it.
Knife, Frozen Yogurt and Gelato are not the same. The new fad of frozen yogurts comes from Asia, focuses on low or no fat frozen yogurts, that is meant to taste tart like yogurt. Gelato, originating in Italy, focuses on creaminess, and is way way better in my eyes, but definitely has more fat. I actually had a yogurt flavored gelato in Venice which was amazing!!
Ellen, I still haven’t made it over to 40 Carrots, thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for clarifying. I first had a frozen yogurt (strawberry yogurt ice cream) at the Chatu Chak Weekend Market at Bangkok 2-3 yrs back (ur ref on the Asian origins makes sense then). I just loved it. The Gelato craze started a bit later in India. Gelato parlours here have some yogurt based flavours. I wonder whether those would qualify as frozen yogurts then
Knife, while we’re sure Lon or Jessica can find a more official defintion, check out http://www.slashfood.com/2006/07/22/ice-cream-and-other-frozen-treats-defined/
Hey Stephen, thanks a lot for the list. The definition definitely helps. I think frozen yogurts are sold as a variety of gelatos here then. Now let me go out and eat them all
I too live in EV and have been waiting for 16 Handles to open. Sat night was kind of a zoo but I still managed to get out sooner than I thought (Ive waited longer with less people in front of me at Pinkberry).
They charge by weight- 46 cents per ounce. This annoyed me at first because I am clueless as to how much an ounce weighs. However, after placing my decent sized cup filled with a familiar tasting Eurotart flavor and Pistachio yogurt topped with strawberries, blueberries, mochi, and some crushed oreos (my weakness), I was delightfully surprised to hear the cashier tell me $4.33 cents!
It was the same feeling as buying a cute pair of shoes Ive been dying to get and having the salesperson tell me that they’re on sale.
Thank you 16 Handles, you’ve given me a reason to walk past St Marks for my frozen yogurt fix.
Hi Erin,
It is farther from you but I think Yogurtland
is better than 16 Handles, and only 39 cents per ounce.
Thanks Jessica, I just tried out Yogurtland today on Bleeker (my word there are so many ice cream and frozen yogurt places there now!). I had a mix of the plain tart, strawberry tart, cookies & cream and added crushed oreos and strawberries. Im going to have to disagree that its better. Although it was a little cheaper the quality of the yogurt doesn't compare (bit on the icy side). Im sticking with 16 Handles for now.
Erin, sorry your experience wasn’t good….I don’t remember it being icy …of course it’s possible that both are just inconsistent because I thought 16 Handles pretty much sucked, ranging from powdery consistency to artificial flavor.
Sorry you’re not a fan Jessica. Maybe you’ll like some of the other flavors we’ll be bringing in rotation (36 flavors in our inventory). I can assure you we don’t use any powder mix, which is more than I can say about most of the frozen yogurt shops in the city. One of our vendors is Frogurt which has been popularized by the Bloomingdale’s crowd. Our yogurt comes in liquid form directly from the manufacturer which is why we can proudly call it yogurt (and its Kosher!).
Erin- thanks for your support (say hi next time you’re in)
Can’t make everyone happy but we’re trying to offer something for everyone (sorbet for the lactose, no sugar for the diabetic, nonfat for the dieter.)
Hi Soloman, I look forward to better flavors. For the record, I’m not all that happy about most of the fro-yo places I’ve tried so far. I’m still waiting for a place that can make me crave it.