Passionberri: Oklahoma City fro-yo smackdown, part one
by Sam | May 21, 2009 | 20 Comments
(4.13 with 8 votes) 
Loading ...Passionberri has two locations: 1204 N. Interstate Drive (map) and 1236 Alameda Street (map), both in Norman, Oklahoma. They are open 11am to 10pm Monday through Thursday, 11am to 11pm on Friday and Saturday and 12pm to 10pm on Sundays. You can reach them by phone at 405.701.8898 or visit their website.
So, there’s been a few Southern California-style fro-yo places popping up in the metro recently. This, plus the fact that we’re heading into summer and in need of cool treats, inspired me to create a little series where we review and compare the fro-yo options. Since Passionberri was the first one I heard about, they will get the first review. But stay tuned as there will be more fro-yo smackdown published in the days ahead.
I heard about Passionberri through the grapevine and decided to give it a try when I was down at OU for the weekend for grad school. I’ve been surprised that fro-yo places haven’t hit OKC until just recently. I’ve been to one in Tulsa called FreshBerry that was pretty decent, but I’m not gonna drive all the way up there to get my fro-yo fix.
On my several trips back to L.A., I’ve been to Pinkberry, Red Mango, Yogurtland and a few other wannabe Pinkberrys. I guess you could say that I’m a fro-yo afficionado. So, in true afficionado style, let me offer a little history.
Pinkberry, aka “Crackberry,” actually started the fro-yo craze in the U.S. back in 2005, and it is one of the fastest developed franchises I’ve ever seen. Red Mango was already a well established franchise in South Korea and I’m pretty sure the owners of Pinkberry (also started by two Koreans) thought it would be wise to open up something like it in L.A. and eventually other cities across the U.S. Now, there are several dozen (at least) spin-off versions of Pinkberry in existence. It’s like people are crazy for it, but with good reason. Who doesn’t love that perfect union of fat-free dessert topped with healthy fruit?
So, four years after the U.S. craze begins, Passionberri boldly goes where no other fro-yo shop has gone before — to Norman. On my visit, I was kind of in a rush to get back up to OKC, so I focused on my usual fro-yo order: a medium-sized plain yogurt topped with strawberries, kiwi and dduk (small balls of soft rice cake). The price came out to $4.27 — a steal compared to the $8-10 you’d pay for a similarly designed cup at Pinkberry. Green tea and pomegranate are the other yogurt flavors at Passionberri and other toppings include blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, nuts and a few more I just can’t remember. I’m just glad it’s strawberry season again because the fruit they had was perfectly ripe and delicious. Although their plain yogurt isn’t as tangy as Pinkberry’s, I actually prefer my fro-yo to be a little more plain and enjoyed what Passionberri had to offer.
Tim, on the other hand, told me that he visited Passionberri and was pretty disappointed. That was primarily because he went there with his kids who were looking for things like chocolate yogurt and crazy, kid-friendly toppings. In his opinion, it wasn’t the most kid-friendly place and the mild flavors weren’t what they were looking for.
I’m sure that most people who venture here for the first time will get the fro-yo, but they also offer smoothies, teas and coffees. Honestly, I glossed over the entire right side of their menu. Tim said he did have the “Passionberri” smoothie — a mixture of fresh fruit blended up with plain yogurt for around $4.50. It was tasty and fresh and more tart than sweet, which he liked. One negative is that it only comes in the one size which is really big. But, hey, I guess you could share it if you weren’t there with people under seven years old.
Passionberri has ample seating and also have free wi-fi so once summer arrives you can just lounge around and spend your entire afternoon here. Now, if the owners of Passionberri were smart, they would open up a few more in Edmond, OKC and Moore so everyone can conveniently enjoy fro-yo goodness! However, I’m afraid some others may be beating them to it as we’ll see in future fro-yo reviews.
My favorite fro-yo joint in L.A. has got to be Yogurtland. Why? It’s because they actually charge you by the ounce, weighing your yogurt and toppings all together. They also have 10 different flavors of frozen yogurt and their choice of toppings was more than I can count with my hands. In contrast, Passionberri has only three, mild yogurt flavors, and they’ve gone for the full service model, charging based on dish size and how many toppings you choose to put on. So, if you’ve been spoiled by the pay-per-ounce model of some other fro-yo places, prepare to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you’re used to the Pinkberry/Red Mango model of business, you’ll be happy to find the pricing substantially cheaper at Passionberri.
Bottom line: Passionberri is a decent fro-yo option with quality ingredients and competitive pricing. But, its limited selection of flavors and toppings combined with a non-pay-by-the-ounce pricing model may leave it vulnerable when compared to other fro-yo options we’ll explore in this series.
Stay tuned, and let us know what you think about Passionberri in the comments.
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May 21st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I did not fro-ya was a “new thang”. I remember TCBY back in college in the 90′s but don’t think it was as health conscious as what you have described here.
May 21st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
@Jenn, yeah, nothing’s ever really new. But this recent frozen yogurt trend has its own qualities which are quite different from the TCBY days, IMO.
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I checked it out a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was just OK. I appreciated the fresh fruit toppings, but I would have liked more selection in yogurt flavors.
May 23rd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
If God wanted me to eat healthly fro-yo, he wouldn’t have let me discover real chicken fried steak and real ice cream several decades earlier.
On the bright side, there is that much more for-yo for everyone else.
You’re welcome. I promise, I consider it my great pleasure to leave the fro-yo to you and protect you from excessive consumption of CFS and real ice cream.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I love passionberri, it is still my fave out of all the ones popping up around town. I have heard good things about pink swirls though in midwest city, i need to try that.
I have been waiting for this stuff to get here from NYC for years.
Personally, I do not eat ice cream anymore (not since pinkberry in NYC)-
And this is not TCBY, think actual yogurt with the tang and freeze it. Delish!
May 25th, 2009 at 11:56 am
There is a place that just opened in Edmond called Orange Tree, they charge by the ounce and have 14 flavors which I think they alternate weekly. My mom went there and went on and on about how much she liked it. Apparently they have an endless variety of toppings, and it sounds more kid friendly. I hope you put in a review about it soon! If I make my way over there, I will be sure to let you know what I think.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
@AJ, yeah, we’ve heard a lot about Orange Tree from the Edmond folk. It will likely be on the smackdown soon.
May 25th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
It’s funny, I actually drove up to Edmond initially to do a review of Orange Tree, but by the time I got up there, I realized I forgot to get the address and did some errands instead….I’ll try again this week.
May 26th, 2009 at 7:24 am
HA! They just put a “Pink Swirl” in across from Tinker AFB. They are exactly the same as what you guys are talking about, except they also have a full service fresh handrolled sushi bar. It’s tops.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Pink Swirls is featured in pt 2 of my smackdown. They should be opening up several more stores in the very near future around the area.
May 26th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
orange tree in edmond is not that good, flavors seems bland , not a fan i will fpr sure drive to mwc or norman for my yogurt fix
May 27th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I’m intrigued…so it doesn’t taste like TCBY? Will be watching for SwirlBerry review as it is handier for me.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:46 am
For those who didn’t know, passionberri recently converted to self serve and added more yogurt flavors. Personally, I don’t like the self serve model. The idea kind of grosses me out, people who don’t wash their hands, kids spilling the toppings in the adjacent containers and getting their yogurt all over the serving spoon… Eehhh! Not to mention the service, what happened to good customer service. I was a fan but now not so much. This is the first I am hearing of Orange Tree so I look forward to checking them out soon.
May 31st, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Fro-yo fan. Thanks for the update. That must have been a recent conversion. They must have sensed the winds of competition brewing. I think they’ll do better with self-service and more flavors.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Went for the first time Saturday, and was wowed. Disclaimer it was my first adventure with the new craze. They asked if we had been in, and after saying no, handed us sample cups. They had 6 flavors from which to choose. I loved the pomegranate and the plain. Tons of kid style toppings (chocolate, gummi bears, cereal, etc) which I skipped, as well as honey and other syrups, and tons of fresh fruit.
Loved the pay by the ounce, except my wife got so giddy and kept adding toppings that looked good. But they had lids for her leftovers, and they were still top notch after a night in the freezer.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Looks like I may have to pay Passionberri another visit to see what all the new changes are with my own eyes.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I’m loving the new format at Passionberri. I think their natural flavor yogurt is the best, even better than Pink Swirls. Not a HUGE variety of toppings, but something for everyone and not too much candy or unhealthy stuff.
They now have 6 flavors: Passionfruit, Citrus, Green Tea, Triple Berry, Natural, and I wanna say peach or something similar… The Triple Berry or Passionberri flavor is GREAT.
Since I live in Norman I’d been going quite a bit out of my way to hit up Pink Swirls so I’m really happy about this development!
June 19th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Sarah, thanks for the update.
September 21st, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I love Lemon Tree at 104 and Penn. Also, the self-serve thing is achieved rather cleanly, in yogurt machines, instead of with a spoon or dipper.
October 12th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I love the chocolate and my wife loves the strawberry yogurt. The price is pretty good also.
Please tell us what you think.