Dallas frozen yogurt meltdown: Orange Cup at NorthPark Center in Dallas

by Teresa Gubbins

Opened: April 2008

Profile: Started as a hopeful chain patterned after Pinkberry and Red Mango, has since scaled back somewhat, now pushes profile as small and independently held.

Ambiance: Stand occupies a corner of NorthPark near Neiman Marcus, with white mod chairs and tables in public walkway. Orange-and-white color scheme, with lots of flap about being "green."

They're not self-serve, and their selection of toppings is smaller than other local options. Their unique angle is that they give you a sticker that lists ingredients, calories, grams of sugar, etcetera. Staff is friendly if scattered; cashier forgot to give me my change.

Utensils: Plastic cups, plastic spoons.

Price: $2.71 for what appeared to be a 5-ounce portion, which comes out to 50+ cents per ounce.

Yogurt: Two machines, four flavors: 1. original (or plain) tart; 2. zum, which has orange juice blended in, so that it tastes a little like Tang; 3. acai berry; and a varying flavor such as green apple. It comes in three sizes, with the smallest being about five ounces for $2.71 including tax. They also do a good-looking smoothie type drink that combines frozen yogurt and fruit, not sampled.

Original and zum are on the same machine, so you can get them together in a twist. Supposedly that's what's in the cup above, but the zum isn't tinted, so you don't know for sure. Staffer said they'd discussed adding a tint to the zum to make the twist more obvious. He also described the combination of plain and zum as tasting like an Orangesicle.

The consistency was good -- it had a slight, appealing grit and was extremely cold, but it wouldn't be good if you like your frozen yogurt super extra creamy. Like most of their peers, these folks aren't interested in discussing how their yogurt is made or where they get their ingredients; but when the store first opened, one employee described the yogurt-making process as including about eight ingredients, including "yogurts, milk, juices, and powders."

Verdict: Recommend. Yogurt has unique consistency and flavor, handy if you're at the mall. Will be interesting to see how they do once Red Mango opens.