Fro-yo Battle Royale in Palo Alto

This weekend I traveled outside my food blogging safety zone of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley and trekked all the way down to Palo Alto’s University Avenue. What would make me travel more than an hour on train to this part of the Peninsula? Frozen yogurt.

Sure, you’re probably thinking there are a variety of new frozen yogurt stores that I can blog about right in San Francisco. In fact, I think there are probably four new fro-yo shops that opened up in the last month that I still haven’t tried. But in the tree-lined blocks of University Avenue is the grand-daddy of all frozen yogurt shops, Red Mango.

When the fro-yo trend started in Los Angeles a few years ago, it was Pinkberry that got people lined up for the tart original flavor or green tea. But many people were quick to point out that Pinkberry was just a knock-off of the Korean chain Red Mango.

Last year, Red Mango came to the United States to reclaim its title as the favorite fro-yo and the U.S. division has been opening stores like crazy. And while Pinkberry has yet to open a store in the Bay Area, Red Mango came to town last month with its first store in Palo Alto. (Other stores are planned for San Jose, Cupertino and San Carlos.)

But this isn’t just a visit to Red Mango. I decided to do a taste-test of Red Mango’s yogurt compared to local favorite Fraiche Yogurt, who could probably be credited with starting the local version of the fro-yo craze when it opened a few years ago and became one of the first frozen-yogurt spots in the Bay Area.

So my first stop was Fraiche, since it’s the closest to the Caltrain Palo Alto station.

Just off University Avenue on Emerson, Fraiche is a cute little shop that sells both fresh and frozen yogurt. It also sells oatmeal and baked goods and serves Blue Bottle Organic Coffee.

Started by two friends, Fraiche’s yogurt is made just like they do it in Europe. But they use local ingredients (Clover organic milk) and it’s made on site. They have a nice selection of fresh fruits along with the crunchy stuff. The sizes include Junior (4 oz.) for $2.95, Regular (6 oz.) for $3.95 and Large (9 oz.) for $5.25. The fro-yo flavors are natural, soy and chocolate. Then there are extra costs for the number of toppings you choose.

Fraiche décor is very Swedish with a lot of white, brown and orange accents. I really liked the wall texture that looked like a wave but probably is supposed to represent the swirls of frozen yogurt. While the décor was contemporary and nice, it did feel a bit tired. Like the brown pillows on the side just seemed well-worn.

I got the natural flavor frozen yogurt in the regular size cup with two toppings: strawberries and blackberries. Total cost was $4.95.

The cup looked like a lot of fro-yo, and it looked milky white. While it was pleasant, it did have a slight icy texture to it. You know what I mean? Like tiny bits of ice granules were mixed in when making the yogurt. The flavor of the fro-yo was subtle, with a very slight vanilla hint but mostly the flavor of milk.

The fruits were incredibly fresh. Strawberries were great since they’re in season, but the blackberries were especially good. They were firm and sweet.

Overall, it was an enjoyable cup of fro-yo and I liked the fact that they used compostible spoons. Service was friendly, and you could probably meet and chat with one of the two owners behind the counter.

I walked a few blocks up University Avenue to Red Mango, which definitely has a more high-profile location right on University Avenue.

This particular Red Mango was opened with a famous partner, Bay Area’s Yul Kwon who won Survivor a few years ago. I’m guessing he’s using some of his $1 million in this business venture. Kwon was supposedly spotted at the store when it opened but now makes only a few rare appearances.

The store has a bright, open feel with a lot of red accents, of course. Red Mango sells only two flavors of fro-yo: original and green tea. It also sells what they call frozen yogurt blenders, which I’m guessing is like a smoothie.

The fro-yo sizes are Small (4 oz.), Medium (8 oz.) and Large (12 oz.). The prices for original flavor are $2.95, $3.95 and $6.45; and the green tea prices are a $1 additional. Toppings are extra.

I ended up getting the medium original fro-yo. They had strawberries but no blackberries, so I couldn’t get an identical match for comparative purposes to Fraiche, so I went with mango and raspberries. My total was $5.20.

The medium is 2 ounces larger than Fraiche, and cost a bit more. But once I started eating the yogurt, I could tell a marked difference. The yogurt was creamier and had no icy texture like Fraiche. And it had the distinctive tart flavor I’ve heard people talk about when describing yogurt.

The mango chunks were especially good because they tasted really fresh and sweet. So overall, it was a really worthwhile cup of fro-yo.

I think there are going to be loyalists who will continue to patronize Fraiche because they’re local and it is made of quality ingredients. Both Fraiche and Red Mango have contemporary, clean environments but I have to say Red Mango wins for texture and taste. I would take a 1-hour train ride just to get a cup (but I’m hoping they’ll eventually open one closer to me). I can’t wait to try the green tea!

Fraiche Yogurt, 644 Emerson St., Palo Alto. PH: 650.566.0055. www.fraicheyogurt.com. Open Mon.-Thu., 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-11 p.m.; and Sun., 9 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

Red Mango, 429 University Ave., Palo Alto. PH: 650.324.1811. www.redmangousa.com. Open Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m.