BERRY-BERRY MORE...

The fro-yo wave hasn't reached a lull just yet. I was driving along Western the other night, and drove past an IceBerry. Nope, not a Pinkberry, or a "whatever-else-berry"-named fro-yo establishment is out there. This one was definitely called "IceBerry."

As usual, I did my research. Come to find out this one's based out of Reston, VA. Shocker, huh? Who knew that NoVA would be the home to a Pinkberry-esque enterprise? It works, I guess. Fairfax County (VA) is, in some ways, an East Coast equivalent to Orange County (CA), though absolutely not completely. So why not? With three locations in NoVA, they've branched out to West Palm Beach, FL, and - as I've mentioned - Los Angeles. And they've got one in the works for DC.

I have yet to visit an IceBerry, but I can surely give them an "A" for effort. Jumping on the fro-yo bandwagon is not easy, especially with all the Pinkberrys and Red Mangos popping up everywhere. And the fact that Starbucks bought out PB can only mean a sudden surge in growth. Let's just hope that PB doesn't crop up everywhere all of a sudden like cockroaches.

Welcome, IceBerry, Inc. And Godspeed...!

BACK TO DC: MARVIN & TANGYSWEET

Returning from a “Summer” long-weekend escape from the DC area always leaves me with a mix of emotions. As usual, I am back in L.A. absolutely missing my family and friends; especially my niece and nephew, who are both extremely adorable. Yet at the same time, it has been a blessing to return to SoCal weather, which is unabashedly humidity-free… well, it was actually a little humid when I flew in last night, but it definitely doesn’t come nearly as close to the humidity of the East Coast. My feelings about family and weather aside, I definitely had a great time nonetheless.

I couldn’t visit the city without a trip down “Foodie Lane.” My buddy, Leah, was (of course) on hand to share in the foodie-festivities. Originally, the plans were to visit Todd English’s Olives restaurant in DC. While we had planned to meet up for an early dinner on Labor Day Monday, we found out later that Mr. English’s spot isn’t actually open on Mondays. Boo on that. Next on the list: Michel Richard’s Central. But of course, as many celeb chef spots go, it was pretty much impossible to get a reservation in at the last minute. Instead, Leah made the suggestion to try out a place in the U Street corridor called Marvin.

Luckily, Leah had been to Marvin before. I, on the other hand, was to experience it for the first time. The restaurant is situated in the very trendy area where U and 14th streets collide; an area known for it’s hip furniture shops, hot clothing boutiques, and excellent restaurants and bars. Marvin is a spot that fits into the mold quite perfectly. Its specialty is Belgian fare, but the place itself is an homage (of sorts) to Marvin Gaye (I found out later that Mr. Gaye went to Belgium on a personal retreat when things were going a little ‘crazy’ for him in the States…); an interesting mix to say the least. The restaurant is small, yet roomy, and filled with dark furniture reminiscent of a classic prohibition era brasserie. The room is decorated lightly; the main focus being a large portrait of Marvin himself. The front of the room welcomes you with a fully-stacked bar, and tables fill the inside dining area, with booths situated on both sides.

The menu offers classic Belgian fare, with the highlight being their moules et frites. We quickly decided that we had to have that as our starter, and we chose the mussels in a curry sauce. The frites were nicely crisp, and not overly greasy. They were accompanied by three dipping sauces: a wasabi mayo, ketchup, and another sauce – if I recall correctly, it was a garlic aioli sauce… all three complimented the frites nicely. The mussels were cooked in a very flavorful sauce, however a good number of them were undercooked, which worried us a little. But despite that, we were fairly satisfied since we had more food to come. I decided to try their take on the Chicken and Waffles dish, which was truly worlds away from Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. A plump “Belgian” waffle was placed on top of cooked, saucy collard greens. And on top of that was a golden-brown free-range chicken breast; its skin fried to a "southern-style" crisp. The dish came with a side of maple syrup, and made up a culinary masterpiece that only I could appreciate (well, between Leah and I). Leah ordered a side of cheese grits with shrimp, and a dandelion salad – which was a little too bitter. It probably would’ve worked more if it were mixed with more greens. Her meal was definitely more on the “interesting” side. Our meal was capped with wine and cocktails, and then we were off to find dessert elsewhere.

Our first choice for dessert happened to close early because of the holiday, so we missed out on that. But then we headed towards Dupont Circle to hit up Tangysweet, The District’s answer to Pinkberry. Located in a conspicuous spot almost directly across from Café Japone, and doors down from DC Café, Tangysweet is a chic, little place that offers a simple and no-nonsense menu of Pinkberry-esque frozen yogurt. As we entered the shop, we found ourselves in a minimalist room with stone floors and walls, with little table-tops extending from the left side of the wall. Along part of the right side of the space were a few tables lined up in what looked like a well-lit space where customers could gather around and hang out. The menu had three staple flavors: classic, green tea, and raspberry-pomegranate. They also featured a “flavor of the month,” which was a peachy-something (it escapes me). Toppings ranged from granola and other dry cereals (including something that looked like Trix), to freshly cut fruit. As we had our little taste test, I kept referring to it as “Pinkberry,” and the owner kept correcting me… I had to profusely apologize for messing up that way! I ended up getting a small classic with raspberries, and Leah got the peachy flavored one with raspberries, too. It was a nice way to cleanse our palate after a delicious dinner, and perfect to help us cool off despite the humidity that lingered way into the evening.

Thankfully, I enjoyed another taste of the ever-changing foodie landscape of the DC area. It’s definitely one that I am proud of.

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The real highlight of my trip, however, was visiting my family... most especially my adorable niece, Lexi, and her new-born baby brother, Noah. These two are truly my hearts.

FRO-YO BATTLE: PINKBERRY VS. RED MANGO

The battle of the “fro-yo” companies is a war that has been waging on for years and years now. From the early days of Dannon’s foray into the frozen yogurt world, to the emergence of giants like TCBY, Penguins, and Golden Spoon, fro-yo was a phenomenon that swept the nation. That is until the whole “juice/smoothie” thing came along (but that’s another story in itself…).

As pop culture continues to spin its ugly head, the masses continue their battle to find simple pleasures with less guilt. Sure, the cupcake craze has maintained a steady hold on trend-scathed America (think Sprinkles, Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery); so has the rage for foreign-based pastries and sweets (Japan comes to mind with Beard Papa cream puffs, and crepes by Genki). But the latest fad to hit the fan in recent years: the resurgence of frozen yogurt; but not your typical TCBY-esque fro-yo. I’m talking the likes of Pinkberry and/or Red Mango.

These new-school fro-yo hot-spots have brought the frenzy of tart-tasting yogurt back to the forefront of mainstream pop-culture. Even MTV has been smitten, featuring Pinkberry as one of several different “spots” on The Hills. In L.A., especially, Pinkberry stores are popping up on every corner – almost comparable to seeing a Coffee Bean or Starbucks; it’s sort of like a fast-spreading disease. For the longest time I vowed not to allow myself to be infected. But being the trend-victim that I tend to be, I marched into the Beverly Hills store one day and have since found it hard not to get my fix. I have been fro-yoed.

Just as I started to come to terms with my addiction, I began noticing the faces of new places popping up while on my many drives around town: Red Mango… Kiwi Berry… Yogurberry… (even Loveberry in The Bay). It was as if I was being thrown into a deluge of brands all beckoning me to their stores… kind of like that nightmare where I’m drowning in a sea of Rock and Republics, Citizens, Chip and Peppers, Trues, etc. (OK, so I never had that nightmare… but I often day-dream about that happening. Now that’s the way to go, if ever you had to go like that…) I resolved to stick with one (Pinkberry) and call it quits. But the inquisitive monster inside of me started to play mind-games. I had to know which of the fleet was the better fro-yo: Pinkberry OR Red Mango!?

While visiting The Bay over the weekend, we happened to drive through Palo Alto after I was scooped up from SFO. Originally, I was looking for coffee. But we drove past a Red Mango, and I seriously made my friends stop the car. There was only one mission at hand. So we nixed the coffee idea, walked right into Red Mango, I ordered a regular yogurt with mochi, and was instantaneously sold. Red Mango wins! Not that there’s a serious difference or anything. If you were to dissect a Pinkberry and Red Mango side-by-side, you’d probably get the same shit: hip/mod/minimalist décor, loungey surroundings, basic yogurt flavors (RM: regular and green tea; PB: the same PLUS the new coffee flavor), and a plethora of toppings including fresh fruit (mango, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, etc.), Cap’n Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, mochi, etc.-etc.-etc. The only difference that I could ascertain: PB -–just a tad more tart (more yogurt-ish), RM –-just a bit less tart and slightly creamier.

But the winner in my book: Red Mango. Not for taste or what have you – but because between them, it’s the first among the two ---originating in South Korea back in 2002. Pinkberry was started later (2005) by Korean Americans, who were both probably enthralled by RM during a visit to the motha’land. I'm all for whoever got to the finish line first. Ha.

So. You may choose your own adventure, and decide for yourself which one is better. I, on the other hand, have spoken. The word of Wen. Thanks be to me.