Sweet Berry offers refreshing and tart summer treats

A stretch of Meyran Avenue just got a SoCal makeover.

The new Sweet Berry frozen yogurt shop… A stretch of Meyran Avenue just got a SoCal makeover.

The new Sweet Berry frozen yogurt shop uses the lime green and other summery colors that have garnered the Pinkberry frozen yogurt chain so much cheery acclaim.

Though Sweet Berry might look like the knock-off designer purse to Pinkberry’s iconic Chanel quilted handbag, I don’t like it any less. The frozen treat is light, sweet and practically guilt-free, unlike a thousand dollar purse.

For those who are new to the Pinkberry phenomenon, which is likely since locations tend to cluster in the country’s trend centers — Southern California and New York – the chain harks back to the Coldstone Creamery craze. It’s not just the yogurt in this case that brings people in the door, it’s your choice of chocolate, fruit, sprinkles, cereal and nuts on top that make it a customized creamy treat.

The yogurt comes in original and the sweeter honeydew flavors. Both have a smooth consistency reminiscent of soft serve ice cream

Sweet berry boasts 16 toppings including strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, almonds slices, raspberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, Fruity Pebbles, and cut-up mochi — a Japanese doughy rice cake — but I only counted 13.

The yogurt is sweet enough that it stands alone and you don’t have to ration the goodies.

Though a cohort of mine said that it tasted like “health,” the light taste is a big draw to the frozen nonfat yogurt, branch owner Sung Park said.

“It is sweeter and has less calories than Pinkberry,” he said.

But how?

“That’s our secret,” Park said proudly.

One hundred grams of the original flavor, the size of an average small order, will only weigh you down 89 calories, 15 grams of sugar and 19 grams of carbohydrates. The yogurt is naturally fat free too.

Park said that his shop is part of a nation-wide franchise but many of the stores aren’t called “Sweet Berry.”

This Sweet Berry is the first one in Pennsylvania, and an employee at the store said that Park chose the location on Meyran because Oakland is the first place that many out-of-town college students who are familiar with Pinkberry see in Pittsburgh.

In addition to frozen yogurt, Sweet Berry fruit smoothies and Seattle’s Best Coffee. There are only a few smoothie options listed but the employees will happily make personal blends. The strawberry smoothie is juice-based and doesn’t taste as heavy or sweet as many other smoothies I’ve previously drank. Unfortunately, there is only one size, which was roughly the same as a medium in a coffee shop.

Park said that a lot of young women prefer frozen yogurt as a healthier alternative to ice cream or a specialty drink at a coffee shop. Considering that a small frozen yogurt with three toppings costs $4.50, the price is about the same.

Sweet Berry offers a delicious way to extend a date, so long as you get in the door before 9:30 p.m. But try to plan your visit earlier to get a larger, fresher choice of toppings.

The environment is clean and open with flowers on the walls and tables. There’s seating on high chairs for about eight, but that won’t be necessary since you’ll probably scarf it down before your tush hits the seat.

Pinkberry, eat your tart heart out.