a pinkberry experience at home...

Here is what J taught me while I was in CA about eating pinkberry at home:

1. take pinkberry out of the freezer 20 to 30 minutes before you want to eat it. (a good rule of thumb is to pull it out before a half-hour tv show so you're not going crazy waiting!)
2. scoop pinkberry out of container into bowl with ice cream scoop that has been run under hot water
3. smoosh the pinkberry with ice cream scoop (maybe run it under the hot water a couple more times)
4. place toppings on pinkberry
5. eat pinkberry (preferably while watching episodes of entourage) ;-)

I know, I know....

It's been waaayyyy too long since my last post. Don't worry though - my feelings for pinkberry have not wavered. I've just been very busy with other life things ;-) I have had lots of p-berry in the past two months and I just got back from LA where it all began. I got to visit J - my friend who started my addiction. It was so awesome to get a text on the plane before we took off asking for p-berry orders so I knew there would be some waiting for us when we landed in CA. Let's just say I don't feel bad about my "problem" just take a look at what he had waiting for B and I. This photo does not capture the multiple containers of toppings as well (mango, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, cap'n crunch, fruity pebbles, mochi, kiwi). I didn't get to have any today and now I feel like I'm going through withdrawal. I was also lucky enough to learn J's technique for preparing p-berry that has been hardened in the freezer. If you're lucky I might share it with you.

I promise more posts to come.

oh no!

So I was out of town for over two weeks missing my pinkberry terribly. I even had a whole conversation with my friend J about how to survive without pinkberry if forced to (in a pinch his solution is raspberry sorbet and vanilla frozen yogurt mixed together). So I was really excited yesterday to stop at the Spring Street p-berry (where they must recognize me by now) only to find out that they have raised the prices! I was all ready to shell out my $5.98 when the woman at the register said "that will be $6.23" $6.23? Up a whole quarter? What's up with that pinkberry??

I haven't forgotten about my pinkberry...

Sorry I haven't been posting for a while. Don't worry - I have not abandoned my beloved pinkberry! (just been busy) Since I last posted:

• I brought K to pberry where he had original with mango, raspberries and bananas (interesting combo, right?). He loved it as I knew he would. :-)
  


• A friend texted me as the resident pinkberry expert while she was out about town wanting to know the closest pberry - I was able to help out (she was near columbus circle)
  


• I actually don't mind going to the dentist because it's one block away from a pberry. Is that bad?

more to come...

a small annoyance...

So today as I was waiting for my pinkberry after work I was wondering why they bother asking if I want it to stay or to go because either way they give you a container with no cover (at least here in nyc). The funny thing is this bothered me months ago and I actually asked them why they asked that question and they assured me that if you ask for it to go they do indeed put a lid on it for you (at the time I was getting to stay so I didn't really know better). So tell me pinkberry - are you just doing a survey? wanting to know how many people want it to stay and how many people want it to go? If that's the case then fine - but otherwise you're wasting precious time asking questions that have no relevance! ;)

taking it home...

So the other day as I was stopping on my way home from work at the Spring Street p-berry, I decided why not - I'll be bad and get a second original with mango-mochi-yogurt chips to go! A friend of mine swears by this (see previous post) so I was curious to try it out.

I have a couple of observations:

1. You get a decent amount of toppings by asking them to pack them separately - but...

2. The yogurt gets a bit too frozen so it's not quite the same experience (though it does make it last longer since it takes more time to eat it!)

need it that bad...

So I thought I was bad having to stop at pinkberry on my way home from work at least once a week. This is the picture of a friend's freezer....

granted he has been away and needs to catch up on two months sans-pinkberry but from what I understand this is a fairly normal occurrence. The only reason I hadn't thought of it was that I thought the toppings would not keep well. Little did I know that they will actually pack your toppings separately! now my freezer might have to be chock full o'pinkberry too.

a brilliant idea...

Ok – so my brother and I were talking this evening. He experienced something I think all we PBAs have at one time or another – you know – waiting in a long line at pb only to have the people right in front of you get up to order and they have NO CLUE what they’re doing or what flavor they want or what size and omg I have to decide on toppings too! Though Billy’s experience was even kind of funnier – the people in front of him waited in the 15 minute long line at the Union Square PB – got to the counter to just ask for some samples! Then they decided it wasn’t for them (mmm yeah it’s just not for me) and left without ordering at all. First of all – blasphemers!! Secondly – here’s the idea Pinkberry – why don’t you have a special line for those of us who know how it works and are faithful customers week after week so we don’t have to deal with these first-timers? (and I imagine that first-timer syndrome is only going to get worse over the summer.) It could be like that special line for first class passengers at the airport. Think about it PB and get back to me – I think it’s a brilliant idea ;)

I beg to differ...

Ok check this out: http://embeedub.livejournal.com/61715.html

I have a few things to say -

1. Red mango does have better spoons I will give you that.
2. Red mango also has quite a nice outdoor patio on Bleeker street.

but....

3. you can give me pinkberry's "domino" colors anytime. I much prefer them over the more earthy RM colors
4. PB offers yogurt chips as a topping, RM does not.

and most importantly 5. Red mango is tangier? um I don't think so - I think you're thinking of pinkberry. ;)

even strangers ask for it on the street!

So the other night my brother and I were walking down 8th avenue with our post-spring awakening pinkberry (celebrating jonathan groff's last performance - boo hoo) and an Asian man stops me and says "excuse me". And I'm waiting for him to ask directions to times square or the like but instead he says "where's pinkberry?" and points at my cup full of delicious original w mango, mochi and yogurt chips. I happily directed him to 58th street to get his fix. don't say I never help a fellow PBA (pinkberry addict) out! ;-)

fellow pba (pinkberry addict) story

Ok - this is a story from a fellow pb addict from CA whose name is being withheld to protect the innocent. :)

"Before coming to j-----, I was working a ton and my schedule was really crazy. BUT, PB was in Old Town Pasadena (10 minutes and its gorgeous there),but who wants to go there EVERY time I need a fix...? You know where I am going with this...so,eventually I was ordering say, 5-6 larges at a time, with all of my toppings TO GO. Some days I would change up the toppings a bit and they'd get all confused, and I'd end up getting extra mochi or something. I know, ITS GENIUS. You see, PB really is a problem for me. My point? Every time I would go in there, this girl would say out loud in front of the whole fucking store "UH-OH, here comes a big order!!!"
Needless to say, I began simply writing my orders down on paper for the simpletons to pour over. At times I would get shorted, but by then my extras from last time (still in the fridge) would cover me. Again, GENIUS I know, but it all boils down to a really sad fact: I am a certified PB junkie. Stick THAT in your blog and smoke it."

and I thought I was bad? ;-)

the problem with bananas...

So I'm really being adventurous these days. Today I got an original with strawberries, bananas and yogurt chips. It seems that when I'm branching out I need to keep one of my toppings from my stand-by (mango, mochi, yogurt chips) So anyway - today I tried bananas for the first time. The flavor was very good but here's my issue - they slice the bananas but the other fruit like strawberry and mango they dice. So the banana pieces end up being twice the size of the other fruit. I like my toppings to be of similar size so they blend well and last equally as long as each other.

any thoughts?

Pinkberry for Dinner!

So I had a long day - and a long drive home from Paterson, NJ today. The only saving grace was that I had to take the west side highway to get home instead of the major deegan because of traffic - this meant that I could stop at the spring street pinkberry as I crossed canal street. :-) Since it was so late (already 8:30pm) I decided what the heck I'll just have pinkberry for dinner. I went all out too - I tried a different combo! I had original with kiwi, strawberries and mochi and have to say it was pretty darn tasty.

I know it's not a healthy habit but has anyone else replaced a meal with pinkberry?

Topping amounts

Ok here is an example of a good amount of toppings.

These two are from the pinkberry on 32nd Street which I have to say consistently gives a good amount of toppings. There have been occassions where you get a good amount at other locations such as St Marks the other night (see a few posts ago) but if you want consistency - Koreatown is the place. :)

What do you think?

Mommy & pinkberry

So now we've gone and done it. For mother's day my brother and I have started our mother's addiction to pinkberry. We took her there yesterday (koreatown location) for dessert. She had original with pineapple. She said "This is good but I don't see what the big deal is." Yeah Mom, that's what we ALL say the first time! Then late last night as we were walking back from the subway she turned to me and said "You know I could really go for some of that pinkberry right now."

mission accomplished. ;-)

no photography?

So what is the deal with the no photography allowed in pinkberry? Are they afraid someone is going to send in a corporate spy and steal all their ideas? Oh wait but didn't they steal their ideas from redmango? Is redmango trying to steal them back? Will someone explain to me why I can't take a picture of my mom enjoying her very first ever pinkberry in pinkberry? And can you also tell me why this post is comprised soley of questions?

Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? apparently not: http://www.ontakingpictures.com/2008/05/silly-photography-bans.html

Another one I can cross off the list!

Made it to the pinkberry on St Marks thursday night - it's a small one like the one on Bleeker for those of you who are wondering. My brother and I ordered our usuals and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of topping we received. So if you're at St Marks - make sure Nigel is your server (or is it swirler?)!!

Billy at Pinkberry - spring street

locations

This is a straight run down of all the pinkberries in NYC and how many I have made it to thus far (wow only half! - I've got some work to do.) Pink + X means I've been there most likely with my brother.

1 32nd St (Koreatown) - X

2 Chelsea (8th ave) - X

3 Columbia (Broadway) -

4 Columbus Circle - X

5 Flushing -

6 Gramercy (3rd Avenue) -

7 Greenich Village (Bleeker) - X

8 Spring Street - X

9 St. Marks -

10 Union Square -X

11 Upper East Side -

12 Upper West Side -

Please feel free to share your own experiences - where have you been?
Has anyone hit them all yet? Hmm maybe that person deserves a prize of some sort....thoughts?

topping combos

Ok so I know there is much debate as to the best topping combos. I have been pretty limited in mine I have to admit. Here's what I've had so far:

1 original w mango/mochi/yogurt chips
2 original w pineapple/mochi/yogurt chips
3 original w mango/pineapple/mochi
4 green tea w mango/mochi/yogurt chips

I have to say combo #1 is my staple. My brother sticks with original w strawberries & cap'n crunch and our friend Jonathan swears by original w raspberries/kiwi/mochi.

So tell me - what's your favorite combo?

how it all began...

Well I'm sure we all have different stories as to how we came to pinkberry. Here is mine.

A friend from L.A. (Jonathan) who is known to be frozen dessert connoisseur had informed me a few months ago about his new favorite frozen yogurt, pinkberry, which he informed me was only available in L.A. and NYC. At the time I brushed it off - but he persisted when we spoke again and said you MUST try it. So the next time I was in Manhattan with my brother (see photo on left) we decided to stop at pinkberry in chelsea. It was all a bit overwhelming - ordering first before you could see the toppings?! Ah we were such novices - and actually picked our toppings at the counter. We were so naive back then ;-) I had original with mango and yogurt chips, my brother original with strawberries and cap'n crunch. We ate our treat thinking - this is good but what's the big deal? and that was the beginning of the end - the next day I started thinking to myself - hmm I would really like some pinkberry right now....

So it's your turn - how did your relationship with pinkberry begin?