Review: frozen-yogurt self-serve a game changer in A.F.
Bear Graves samples the lucious lemon frozen yogurt from U-Swirl in American Fork. Photographed on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
The interior of U-Swirl in American Fork. Photographed on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
A cup of chocolate frozen yogurt with toppings from U-Swirl in American Fork. Photographed on Tuesday, September 4, 2012. JAMES ROH/Daily Herald
While frozen yogurt mania is sweeping the nation as a healthy alternative to ice-cream, very few places in North County offer self-serve frozen yogurt. So now that summer is over, we thought it would be the perfect time to visit the U-Swirl frozen yogurt establishment, which opened less than a year ago at 209 Northwest State Street, right next to Five Guys in A.F.
The first thing that struck us inside the shop was the bright decor. Much of the inside walls and seating arrangements are in neon shades of green, orange and blue. The seating is plentiful, but everything is spaced so as to give off a very roomy feel. The colors and spacing all serve to exude a comfortable, fun and inviting vibe.
Did we mention just how comfortable? Much of the seating features soft, padded cushions — including large foot and leg stool/rests of the same material. People were sprawled out on the couches, legs extended, gulping down yogurts while conversing or watching adventure highlights on the one large flat-screen TV in the main dining room. It was all — dare we say — quite chill.
U-Swirl, a national chain that opened in March of 2009 in Las Vegas, might as well be called Yogurt Picasso, because every patron makes their own masterpiece. U-Swirl is one of those places where you add as much yogurt and toppings as you possibly can — limited only by the size of the cup you choose — and then you pay by the ounce (in this case, 39 cents an ounce) at the final checkout.
First up is the incredible yogurt section — a gleaming world of wonder and choices. Patrons pick one of two different-sized cups, then glide through a section of dispensers featuring 18 different flavors of yogurt at nine serving stations. The yogurts are paired at each station, meaning you can settle for either flavor individually or get them mixed in a twist. The available flavors on this day ranged from standards — such as vanilla, chocolate, pecan praline and coconut — to the exotic. (Snickerdoodle, root beer float, dulce de leche caramel, Euro tart or pomegranate raspberry sorbet, anyone?)
It was impossible for most of our party to be simply satisfied with just one flavor on our first visit, so everyone took two or three different flavors for a test drive. It should also be pointed out that sample cups are available at the front desk if you want to give something a try before committing an entire cup to it. The friendly helper behind the counter handed us several cups and told us to sample as many flavors as we liked.
Settling on your yogurt flavors is just the first part of your experience at U-Swirl. If you are a person that has trouble making a decision, you could spend an entire afternoon at the U-Swirl toppings station. We counted 50 different bins featuring everything from several types of fresh fruit, Oreo crumbs, graham crackers, nuts, gummy worms, Reese’s Pieces, M&Ms and all manner of crushed candy bars. And that’s only scratching the surface. There was also a station for hot toppings (fudge and marshmallow) and a final stop for a dozen or so different toppings in squirt bottles. We are confident in saying there literally is a topping for everybody.
U-Swirl appeared to be popular with diners of all ages. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love frozen yogurt — especially when you can make everything exactly the way you want it? Other frozen yogurt establishments like Coneys Custard tried to make their forays into A.F. but closed a year later.
But U-Swirl’s future is promising, as customers are only limited by their own imagination.
