fro-yo face off

June 20, 2010

battle of the summer!
in one corner, we have an old favorite: local yogurt. weighing in at just 3 locations, this locally-owned and operated frozen yogurt shop has been around for over a year now and has developed a devoted following of duke students and employees.

their flavors are always interesting (bilberry is my current fave, and check out last fall’s house-made tart pumpkin!)


however, those who want a ton of variety every time might be disappointed; there are just 4 flavors to choose from at once and they don’t change that often (maybe one new one will come around every week or so?)


on the up-side, the toppings are fresh and interesting, and many are local! it tends to be the more $$, but discounts are offered on certain days to duke students, hospital employees in scrubs (!), etc.

in the opposite corner, there’s the brand new orange leaf. this is a national chain, with locations all over the place — but just one in NC! it wins the proximity battle, at just 3.2 miles from our apartment (loyo is slightly more of a hike at 5.7 — but it’s on the way home from work!).


their shtick (gimmick?) is that it’s a pump-your-own, meaning you get to make your own mix of multiple flavors and take as much of any topping as you want. the downside to this smorgasbord is that it’s easy to a) spend more $ than you meant to b) buy more yogurt than you meant to and c) mix too many things together, leading to an unharmonious creation.


the verdict???
perhaps it was my own fault for mixing too many things together, but i didn’t really love my peanut butter/tart/coconut creation (topped with strawberries, reese’s pieces, and a mini pb cup!). the flavors had a slight chalkiness i’ve never detected in the silky smooth yogurt at loyo, and the whole thing was a little sweeter and more artificial-tasting.

fellow taste-tester josh (who went more minimal, selecting just vanilla yogurt topped with yogurt chips, pb cups, and blackberries) agreed.

in our eyes, the winner (and still champion):


is LoYo! of course, i will have to continue frequenting this wonderful place to ensure they are holding up to my high expectations 🙂

date night
when i wrote about wanting babies in the near future, several of you wrote in urging, “enjoy your free time now!”. honestly, i think about this every time josh and i go on any sort of outing togheter: what will it be like when there are 3 of us? and will we ever go on dates again!?

our good friend martinidad put these fears to rest, writing about his adventures in da club. since we are much MUCH more lame and tired than m-dad (and his lovely wife, margarita mom), our dates tend to be of the dinner-and-a-movie variety.

i do love going out dancing on (rare) occasion, but the easy combo of a movie and then a dinner date with josh makes me so happy in itself. last night we headed out on a whim to see please give.


the movie featured catherine keener and amanda peet and told a fairly simple story, but with interesting character arcs running throughout. i thought it was a well-crafted film with a little bonus eye candy from the beautiful antique furniture in the couple’s store!

afterwards (at around 9:00) we ended up at sage café just around the corner. we have been to sage (and i’ve blogged about it!) before, but it’s so good that i think it deserves a second feature. if you are in the area and have not tried it, i highly recommend that you check it out!

i began with a glass of a french blend of merlot and syrah (i think?) that they had on special. i enjoyed this generous pour of the fruity, medium-bodied red.


josh and i couldn’t resist ordering the soup special, which was a cold cucumber and yogurt soup topped with walnuts and raisins. super-thick and creamy, we both loved it. i want to figure out how to recreate it at home.


our attempts to order on the lighter side were thwarted when this came out: the mezze sampler. i think we both forgot how impressive this dish was! we shared it, and josh ended up polishing it off. to me, the highlight was the incredibly smooth and perfectly spiced hummus in the center.


we also ordered an order of fezen joon. this is a very rich pomegranate/walnut stew with tempeh — i absolutely crave it the instant i even start thinking about the word sage. it’s so heavy, however, that we were each satisfied after a few bites. leftovers are in the fridge right now!

today
my goal is to be completely unplugged except to plan my workouts + recipes for next week. i think i am also going to (gasp) strip down my google reader, at least for a while. sad, but i think i will be better off!

already finished a 6 mile run in this:


yes, it’s a downgrade from the 8-9 i had planned, but my post-SSU-leg-workout lower half felt beat before i even started down the path, and the heat was miami-esque. whew!

3 Comments

  • Reply pen March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    oh gosh, this post about loyo is making me really really want to move back to the Triangle NOW (I was originally planning to in a couple years)…but now, I mean, for yogurt. Heck, I&#39d do anything for good froyo.

  • Reply Kristan March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    I looooove Yagoot, Cincinnati&#39s local froyo chain. If you&#39re ever in the area, check it out.

    You also might really enjoy Rice to Riches, if you&#39re ever in NYC (specifically the Soho area).

  • Reply da March 10, 2019 at 7:25 pm

    That cold cucumber and yogurt soup totally reminds me of the soup mom and I ordered on our first big date at Lickety Split decades ago 🙂
    L, da

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