Pinkberry

 Take a cold sweet treat, make it healthy, ensure it’s delicious, keep the calorie count down (starting at 100 calories per 1/2 cup) and the per unit price below $5 and you have a recipe for parking tickets in Los Angeles.

That’s the Pinkberry, aka Crackberry, legacy in Los Angeles that has lead to the closing of several addiction-fixing frozen yogurt shops in high-trafficked areas because of the dearth of parking, the complaints of neighbors seeing long lines on their sidewalks and the plethora of tickets parking cops have to write, especially on hot Sunday afternoons (it’s also tabbed by locals as “the taste that launched 1,000 tickets”).

But Angelenos are a spoiled bunch and when they want a Pinkberry, it better be there – somewhere. And indeed it is. The humble eat-my-yogurt shop that started with three flavors and one location in Santa Monica in 2005 is now 75 stores and growing throughout California, New York, Texas and internationally in Kuwait and Dubai.  Movies are made about its irresistible powers; indeed, the yogurt has spawned sets of groupies. Money-hungry paparazzi stake their spots in strategic LA locations for impromptu visits by snacking celebrities (a recent visit by the Beckhams quickly spiraled around the Net last week).

So what’s all the fuss about? It’s just yogurt, right? True: it’s nonfat milk and yogurt from contented, hormone-free bovines. True: Pinkberry is certified by the National Yogurt Association to carry the live and active cultures (think, lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus, which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt during the fermentation process). Also find lactobacillus acidophilus, bifid bacterium, and lactobacillus paracasei if you are gnoshing in LA.

The recipes are, of course, top secret according to founder Young Lee. She arrived at the concept --and content -- as a design school grad that loved gelato and Hawaiian fruit-infused soft serve. Her toppings include almond slices and honey almond granola, berries and fruits of all persuasions and liquid gold such as Italian caramel and pure honey. Most of Pinkberry’s toppings avoid hydrogenated oils and transfats.

And as would be only appropriate for an LA-born eating venture, yogurts come with suggested pairings: mochi, strawberries and toasted almonds for Pinkberry original; blackberries, coconut and mochi for the California Pomegranate. You can even have it delivered curbside if you’re stuck in line waiting to buy an Apple iPad or tied to your car waiting for the tow truck.

There are at least 30 locations now within the Los Angeles area, as far east as Pasadena and as southwest as Torrance.

- by Lark Ellen Gould, Los Angeles Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Lark Ellen Gould

Lark Ellen Gould has penned seven books on Las Vegas and Los Angeles as a veteran news and travel writer. Her work appears in the L.A. Times, Elite Traveler, Travel Agent Magazine and other national forums. She lived in Boston for many years, earning her masters degree and then traveling the globe for stories. Today she lives in LA and still travels the world on assignment while filling the pages of her travel site: www.wheredaily.com, along the way.