Yo-yo-yo, it’s another fro-yo review

Continuing to eat my way through the frozen yogurt craze, I took a cue from some of you who suggested I make YoCup my next destination.

So last week after work, I went to the Rincon Center south of San Francisco’s Financial District and found a near-empty YoCup store in the courtyard (just a stone’s throw from the popular Yank Sing dim sum restaurant). I guess everyone was busy rushing home to dinner. Who eats yogurt before dinner? Oh yeah, me. The food blogger.

Of all the fro-yo spots I’ve visited, YoCup seemed the least dynamic. Sure, it was pristine in its pure white base, but the complementing pastel colors seemed to fade into the background, making the place seem even more empty and stark.

YoCup serves three frozen yogurt flavors: original, blueberry and mango. The mango was interestingly tart, but I opted for the original. Instead of my usual strawberry toppings, I went for lychee this time. YoCup is one of those fro-yo places that likes to play with the names of the sizes (just like mi my mo at Jubili). So here you can get a “teaser” (small), “pleaser” (medium) or “filler” (large).

I’m pretty sure the $3.50 for my teaser fro-yo included the one topping. If you get the larger sizes, you get more choices for toppings. The lychee, while one of my favorite fruits from a can, did look kind of plain next to my white original fro-yo.

But on the yogurt, YoCup’s is definitely different from all the rest. It was denser, thicker, almost like ice cream. That was a nice surprise. It was slightly tart, but not too much. The downside of it being thick, however, is that it was really really cold. Seriously. You could get a brain freeze if you ate it too fast. Really.

There were a few bits of icy particles, which I assume comes from being so dang cold. But it wasn’t the same annoying icy texture I’ve had at other fro-yo shops where the texture is grainy because of the iciness. Overall, I liked YoCup.

Walking back to the BART station along Market Street, I stumbled across YoCup’s new second location. It’s more convenient with more foot traffic than inside the Rincon Center. I’d suggest looking for this YoCup since it’ll be easier to spot than weaving your way around the Rincon Center. Peace out.

Single Guy's Fro-yo Rankings:

1. Red Mango, Palo Alto
2. Pinkberry, Southern California
3. YoCup, San Francisco
4. Fraiche, Palo Alto
5. Icebee, San Francisco
6. Jubili, San Francisco
7. Yogurt Harmony, Berkeley
8. Yogen Früz, San Francisco

YoCup, 101 Spear St., first floor courtyard of the Rincon Center, opened Mon.–Sat.; and 685 Market St., opened daily. www.yocupyogurt.com