It is always nice to be able to join friends for a frozen treat on a hot afternoon or after a nice meal out. Self-serve frozen yogurt places are popping up all over the place, so I thought it was time that I check one out. I was able to visit Orange Leaf Yogurt this weekend for a mid-afternoon snack.
I had tried several other times to visit Orange Leaf, but the line had been out the front door. I don’t like crowds. Especially when I am trying to ascertain if I can safely eat someplace for the first time. I opted to head back at a less crazy time, which is clearly mid-afternoon on a Saturday.
There were only a few people in the store when I walked in. I loved the light, bright and funky décor. There is a wall of self-serve yogurt machines and then a toppings bar. I asked the manager on duty which flavors were gluten-free. I was told that the gluten-free flavors were any of the following:
- Banana
- Blueberry
- Blueberry Banana
- Butter Pecan
- Caramel
- Caramel Chocolate
- Cherry
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Cherry
- Chocolate Coconut
- Chocolate Mint
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Raspberry
- Classic Tart
- Coconut
- Coffee
- Cotton Candy
- Dole Pineapple
- Eggnog
- Grape
- Grapefruit
- Green Apple
- Green Tea
- Honeydew
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Lychee
- Mango
- Mango, Strawberry, Banana
- NSA Chocolate
- NSA Vanilla
- Orange
- Passion Fruit
- Peach
- Peanut Butter
- Peppermint
- Pineapple
- Strawberry, Banana
- Pistachio
- Pomegranate
- Raspberry
- Raspberry Banana
- Raspberry Lemonade
- Strawberry
- Strawberry Banana
- Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry
- Taro
- Vanilla
- Watermelon
- White Chocolate
Obviously, not all of the above flavors are available at all times, though I had a nice selection to choose from. I opted for pineapple, coconut, coffee & caramel. I headed over to the toppings bar, which is a cross-contamination nightmare. In all honesty, I didn’t feel safe adding any of the fruit or toppings that were out in the open, as there were gluten-containing toppings placed right next to them. I saw that some of the toppings had other toppings that didn’t belong in them and that was enough to convince me to skip them. There was another small section that had closed bins that I chose peanut M&M’s and regular M&M’s from. I went to add some Reese’s Pieces, but when I grabbed the scoop, a malted milk ball rolled out. Not good. My advice is to stay away from the toppings or ask if there is a specific topping that an employee can get from the back that hasn’t been put out and is “at risk” yet.
The yogurt was good, but not something that I would probably opt to have on a regular basis.
Orange Leaf has many locations across the country. Have you tried Orange Leaf? What was your experience like?
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