Bites Nearby: So Fun! Frozen Yogurt

It certainly doesn’t seem like only two months has passed since So Fun! Frozen Yogurt in the Lower Nazareth Commons Plaza -- the very first of a planned chain of yogurt shops.

Maybe it has something to do with the place being consistently busy since its May 5 grand opening, or maybe it's simply because has become a weekly staple for me (your author).

Apparently, I’m not the only one thoroughly enjoying what the yogurt shop has to offer.

“The support from the community has been amazing,” said So Fun! manager Jon Harada. “We have people that come in every day, sometimes more than once.”

Those of you who haven’t tried it yet are probably saying, “It’s just frozen yogurt. What’s the big deal?”

First of all, So Fun! is completely self-serve. You choose from one of two cup sizes -- 16 or 20 ounces -- and then head over to the bank of yogurt dispensers.

On any given day, there are 16 flavors to choose from, all low-fat, some non-fat, and at least one that is dairy-free. These 16 are rotated regularly from a selection of more than 80 flavors.

Here’s some food for thought: the peanut butter flavor has the highest fat content of all the shop's varieties -- five grams of fat per four ounces. Now compare that to peanut butter ice cream, which averages around 14 grams of fat per ounce.

Despite those five grams -- we promise we won't tell -- the majority of the yogurt shop's flavors are, indeed, fat-free. 

According to Harada, out of those 16 daily flavors, about 14 of them are completely safe for people who have food allergies. So Fun! cleans each machine daily, and never mixes flavors.

“We get kids who can’t eat peanuts, or can’t eat ice cream, and we’re able to help them out,” Harada added.

For those skeptics who think yogurt is kind of chunky and not very smooth, this writer can vouch that every yogurt I have tried -- to date -- has been rich and creamy... and tasty.

It wasn’t until my third visit that I mustered the courage to mix flavors. A word to the wary: give it a whirl... especially if both chocolate and cake batter are available.

Once you’re satisfied with your yogurt selection, you then move along to the toppings bar. For the health-conscious, there’s plenty of fresh fruit to choose from, like kiwi, pineapple and strawberry.

For everyone else, the sky is the limit. The toppings bar offers Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s, cookie crumbs, peanuts, cookie dough balls, sprinkles, hot fudge, and -- the one I have yet to find the gall to try -- Cap’n Crunch pieces. And this is list isn't incomplete -- there's a lot more to choose from.

“You can be as healthy as you want, or as bad as you want,” Harada joked.

When you think your yogurt is complete, you move down the line, set your bowl of yogurt and toppings on a scale, and pay by weight -- not by size. The yogurt and toppings, which, of course, are optional, cost .49 cents per ounce.

An average-sized yogurt comes in around $4, while a mountain of yogurt with a hot-fudge moat that floats M&M’s and is studded with cookie pieces may weigh in closer to $8.

And that’s the appeal of So Fun!; not just that it’s tasty, but that it’s completely your choice. There are no rules.

Weekends and late evenings tend to be busy at So Fun!, but don’t be discouraged if the wait looks long; the line moves quickly, and the upbeat music played over the shop's speakers help keep the mood cheerful.

All I know is this: I’m on my second punch card in two months. Ten punches gets you a freebie. One punch per yogurt.

So Fun! Frozen Yogurt is located at 3770 Dryland Way, directly to the left of . The shop is open Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.