Thursday, October 17, 2013

Memphis Nosh: YoLo


So I have a problem. 

A serious problem. 

I'm a YoLo addict. 

Yes, that's right. 

I admit it. 

It's just so fucking delicious. 

If ever there was an appropriate use of the f-word, that's it. 

Because it's true. 

*via www.memphisflyer.com

YoLo is the brainchild of local food emperor Taylor Berger - I said this when I talked about Tamp & Tap here:

"I sort of have a celebrity crush on Taylor Berger. He runs Yolo, which is amazing and gets far too much of my money, and Chiwawa, a place I am at constantly and tell everyone about, and he heads up the Food Truckers Alliance. Pretty much anything the man does, I'm in. 

"I'm going to open an affordable, funky, self-serve yogurt place - and then add gelato and food and a bakery!"

DONE.

"I'm going to open a faux-Mexican place...and serve hot dogs! In a dilapidated old building!"

IN. 

"I'm going to open an artisanal coffee and local brewery beer place downtown, and be punny about it!"

OKAY TAYLOR JUST TELL ME HOW MUCH MONEY YOU WANT I'M THERE." 

And I still feel that way. 

So a couple of weeks ago I went to the first YoLo location, out on Erin Way in East Memphis, because I needed some delicious, amazing, wonderful frozen yogurt. 

*Btw, this is a great little shopping center. There's a Huey's at the end, a Pizza Hut, Ciao Bella (where dreams are made of pasta), a hair salon, and a few more stores. And it's close to the best post office in Memphis, the one right off of Mendenhall. And the Paradiso. And Whole Foods. And Muddy's. And a ton of other places. 

*I didn't mean to do this, but see how prominent the hand sanitizer is? These are my people, clearly. 

Basically at YoLo, you walk in and grab a cup (or the tiny cups for samples) and fill it with one (or more - get crazy!) of the frozen yogurt flavors. 


There are 10 flavors at the Erin Way store, so plenty to choose from. 

*Why you so blurry picture? The names of the yogurts are listed above the machines, which work just like the yogurt machines at other restaurants, including a swirl function. And they have a ton of sugar free, fat free, and no sugar added flavors. 

While the yogurt is fantastic, the best part is the toppings. YoLo charges by the ounce, not by the number of toppings, so things can get a little crazy. 


*Hello, lover. 

*One of my favorite things about YoLo is their commitment to local ingredients. They clearly mark the local toppings, and there are a ton of them. Pecans are the best. 

*They even have local fruit! I always put strawberries on my yogurt to make it feel like I'm being a little healthy. 

*Seriously - they have every topping you could want. 

*YoLo also has a selection of sodas, Izzes, water, and root beer. I'm a Diet Coke kind of girl. 

*Once you pay for your yogurt, you get to sit in this adorable dining room with great paintings for sale by local artists. I love all the cheery colors. Also, they always have great music on.

Behold: 

*I got vanilla bean and chocolate delight yogurt (I'm 99% sure those were the names, or my sugar addled brain could have made them up) with Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, pecans, almonds, bananas, and strawberries. 

*Action shot! And hello, Diet Coke.

*I absolutely HATE melty yogurt. This will melt, but it doesn't get melty too quickly. So good. 

I usually get the frozen yogurt because I have a toppings problem, but when my mom comes to town, we always go get gelato.  

Yes.

They have gelato too. (And a bakery at the Overton Square one, but I haven't ever had anything from it - it looks good though!)

See, my mom developed a serious gelato problem when we were in Wisconsin the last time, and I got the bug in Prague. So having gelato 3 blocks from my house at the Overton Square YoLo is dangerous. 

But deliciously dangerous. 


YoLo also does catering. 

Just so everyone knows what I want for my birthday. 

They have a converted Airstream trailer that they take to festivals and can cater out of, and they do parties in-store and pre-packaged things as well. 

And it's pretty reasonable. 

For a minimum of 10 people, in-store before or after hours, it's $12.00 per person, and that includes unlimited refills and toppings. That would be such a cute idea for a kids party or baby shower, or even a bridal shower or birthday party. (HINT HINT). 

They also put up their menus for each location online, as well as little blurbs about their local suppliers. 

And they have a loyalty program, which basically gives you points every time, and every 30 points, you get $3 off your purchase. You just give the cashier your telephone number and you get a text with how many points you have and then one with a code when you get 30 points, and you just hand your phone to the cashier and they apply it. Really simple, no cards or anything to keep up with. 

There are 10 YoLo locations (Erin Way, Midtown/Overton Square, Collierville, Jackson, Cary NC, Asheville NC, Owensboro KY, and inside the Paradiso, the Malco Cordova, and the UM Bookstore). And yes, I always get YoLo when I got to moves at the Paradiso. 

I have a problem. 

*Also I think YOLO is a dumb phrase and for the longest time I couldn't understand why people were talking about my beloved froyo so much. I'm not hip with the kids. Despite my agedness and general displeasure with young whippersnappers, YOLO did give us this, which is pretty close to being as awesome as YoLo is:

2 comments:

  1. Also, for anyone who cares, if you check in on foursquare you get 10% off your purchase!

    ReplyDelete