Yogurtland

Ever since yogurt became the new starbucks, I have made it my mission to find the best yogurt shop in San Diego. Ladies and gentlemen, Yogurtland is it.

First of all, the self serve beats the behind the counter service any day. No more trying to explain exactly what proportion you want of each flavor. No more fearing you are annoying the lady behind the counter with your never ending requests. Nope. You just get your giant (and I mean giant) cup, and you fill it as little or as much as you want, with as many or few flavors as you want. And don't forget they have free little sample cups, so you can make sure you want it in the cup first.

Second, no one beats the price! At $0.30 an ounce, it is $0.08 cents an ounce cheaper than the closest competitor (Yogurtworld). This adds up. And there is no question that it beats out the behind the counter service again - you just never know if they are actually going to fill your cup for you! I hate it when they leave a big hole in the middle of your yogurt. And of course the toppings just count in the per ounce price, no rip off $1 or $2 additional per topping.

Third, the labels are well marked, easy to read, and accurate. There are at least a dozen flavors of yogurt, and twice as many toppings, including both "dry" and "fresh" toppings. The place is really clean, the walls, the tables, the toppings counter, everything.

The plain yogurt is a little sweeter and less yogurty than some of the higher end yogurt places, but it's not a big enough difference that those places can justify their price. And on top of the Yogurtland experience is much more fulfilling.

They have easily accessible nutritional info in the shop, and their website is easy to find and navigate. The sugar content is reasonable, and they contain live and active cultures.

Finally, the decor is awesome, with green subway tiles, and mod furniture. And they are open until midnight!!! Midnight, people! You can get your yogurt fix pretty much any time. Yogurtland is number one.


Yogurtland
855 Garnet Avenue
(between Bayard St & Mission Blvd)
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 581-1700
www.yogurt-land.com/

Hours:
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Yogurt World - Kearny Mesa

I have taken on a quest of discovering the best yogurt shop in San Diego. As part of this search, a friend told me that Yogurt World in Kearny Mesa is "The Original - the yogurt shop that started all yogurt shops in San Diego." I definitely had to check it out.

Upon walking in I was initially impressed - they had the full range of flavors, the yogurt was only $0.38 an ounce. I sampled the yogurts (they give free samples), and I made my decisions. Like most self serve yogurt shops, they have only large and huge sized cups. I was used to this, so it was no surprise. I filled my cup with flavors, and then I went to the toppings.

The toppings, to be frank, were a little nasty. They looked kind of old, and things were not clearly or consistently labeled. They did have a large wall of "dry" toppings, like granola, sprinkles, chocolate chips, dried coconut, etc, etc, etc. This looking moderately clean. However the "fresh" toppings, such as the fresh strawberries, bananas, canned pineapple, caramel sauces and such were all kind of brownish. The crushed up butterfingers kind of stuck together in clumps like it had gotten wet. The snickers crumbs had been dropped into the oreos.

I continued onward, and I paid the tab. It was reasonable. The yogurt was pretty tasty. I admired the shop. It was also a little run down, like the toppings. The walls were marred. It was clean enough, though.

The walls boasted all the health benefits of yogurt - clears up acne, improves digestions, and so forth. I inquired at the counter about the nutritional information; it was not available. They gave me a website. I looked it up; it didn't work. They gave me another website. I looked it up. It worked. However, I found out that not all their flavors are yogurt. Some are ice cream; some are custard. This doesn't bother me per se, except that because of the name of the store it is implied that all options are actually frozen yogurt.

The yogurts they sell are certified to contain live and active cultures. They are moderate in sugar content. Most are fat free or low fat (though the ice creams and custards are not).

I also noticed they have only one register, which I suspect is to create an artificial line. This is a southern California practice to manufacture the perception of extreme popularity, and it drives me bonkers.

Overall, this place was okay, but needs to be cleaned, to be better labeled, refreshed toppings, and a second register.

Yogurt World
4646 Convoy St
Ste 113
(between Dagget St & Opportunity Rd)
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 268-1688

Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.