Powerschool GoGuardian Naviance Aimsweb Semstracker EdReflect SchoolDude Virtual Paragon Frontline Alio Service Portal

Ice Cream vs. Froyo: Who’s better?

Capturing the hearts of teenagers and children alike, the new frozen yogurt trend is plaguing the nation. Just this past year, more than fifteen frozen yogurt places have opened in Connecticut alone. And with its welcoming café feel, tons of exotic toppings, hundreds of ever-changing flavors, and the serve-yourself routine, it is almost impossible to resist. But as the frozen yogurt trend continues to grow, the once successful future of the ice cream bar remains questionable.

Unlike an old-fashioned ice cream bar with stools and tables, these cafes offer seating on suave, leather couches and white benches. Rather than special scooping spoons signifying important events during the history of the ice cream bar plastering the walls, the walls of these new places are covered in flat screen televisions while the most popular music hums through the speakers. And although the setting and climate is a bit different between the two, the biggest difference is actually putting the ice cream or frozen yogurt into the cup. At an ice cream bar, girls and boys in tie-dye t shirts happily scoop ice cream into a cup or cone, adding whatever topping they have to offer.

But at places such as Peachy Keen, and Froyo, and Nuvita, it is all about serving yourself. Choosing between what it seems to be like a large and extra large cup, the customer is now faced with choosing a flavor. With about five to ten flavors to choose from, the process is easy. Pulling down a handle, the yogurt begins to slowly dispense through a tube and fill your cup. Flavors such as New-York Cheesecake, cake batter, original vanilla, toffee, and more make the options endless. And since it is do-it-yourself, mixtures and combinations are easy to create.

However, the best is yet to come. After choosing a flavor, everyone knows toppings are necessary, but toppings at places like these are a little out of the ordinary.

For the ones looking to make their frozen treat a little healthier, strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple can be layered on top of the frozen ice cream. And there is the original fruit, but something new is emerging. About the size of a pinky nail, fruit bursts, originating from Korea, bring delight to the large cup of frozen yogurt.

With the healthy options, the frozen yogurt places also offer something a little special to spoil the treat like cheesecake and brownie treats, gummy bears, gummy worms, oreo and Reese’s crunchies and a variety of sauces to top it all off.

With all of these different varieties, there are no wonder places such as these have become so popular.

“I like these places because I can choose what size I want, what flavor I want and how much I want, rather than others doing it for me,” said Froyo fanatic Taylor Boncal. “The serve yourself aspect is the best part of it.”

Serving yourself and having others serve you seems to be the biggest difference between the two, but employees of the ice cream bars remain hopeful.

“I am a frozen yogurt fan myself, but even if the trend continues to grow, there are always going to be people who just love real ice cream,” said Emily Broe, long-time employee of the Prospect’s Big Dipper.

And since these frozen yogurt places are self-serve, ice cream bars always offer the personal human interaction that is absent from the new places.

Although they are old- fashioned, and although they might not have tons of toppings, nothing beats a cup of homemade vanilla ice cream covered in rainbow sprinkles, the perfect taste of summer.