Dallas frozen yogurt meltdown: Braum’s

by Teresa Gubbins

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Frozen yogurt like they used to do it in the '80s.

Profile: Everyone knows about Braum's, right? Aside from the fact that they make pretty good ice cream (current seasonal flavor Gingerbread, with a thick gingerbready swirl, is a winner), they're also willing to open outlets in areas such as, oh, East Plano, that the Starbucks of the world eschew.

Ambiance: Braum's is probably the only place selling frozen yogurt where you're hit with the aroma of deep-fried food when you walk in. But there's plenty of seating and the staff is cheerful and helpful. You can tell not many people get frozen yogurt, however. When I placed my order, the befuddled cashier kept asking, "You want a shake, right?" When I said that I just wanted a frozen yogurt, she furrowed her brow and explained that it would come on a cone, and was I OK with that?

Utensils: Big waffle-style cone.

Price: $1.35 with tax for a small, which felt like it weighed at least 8 ounces. That adds up to maybe 17 cents per ounce?

Yogurt: One machine, two flavors -- vanilla and chocolate, also available in a twist. We are talking way old-school, dating back to the last/first time frozen yogurt was a Thing, in the '80s.

The word I'd use to describe the vanilla might be "Cremora." It had a distinct "non-dairy-creamer" flavor and a matching creamy yellow color. None of those new-age "tart" flavors. And it seems unlikely that Braum's is infusing their product with the live/active cultures that have new-wave fro-yo fans convinced the stuff is good for them.

Still, the thing was super-creamy and the cone was excellent: nice and thin and very crisp. Ate the whole damn thing.

Verdict: Not even on the current fro-yo radar, this is a handy trip in the wayback machine for those who weren't alive in the '80s and wonder how frozen yogurt was back then. Which is not so different from, say, the free soft-serve you get at Dickey's. But you know what I'm saying.

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