While in Durham, Kathryn kept telling us about this great frozen yogurt place called Tutti Frutti that we had to check out. Previously (as in 2 years ago), my sister took us to Pinkberry's in New York City. At the time, that was the only frozen yogurt joint out there. I tried it and thought it was gross. I didn't realize that frozen yogurt was literally yogurt put in a soft serve machine. I thought my ice cream had gone bad. Here I am 2 years later, and there is frozen yogurt on every corner. Apparently frozen yogurt has joined alcohol and Chinese government bonds as a recession proof market, because so far I have been to 3 different shops and they all have a ton of people. This has to be one of the greatest business ideas I have ever heard of. Here is how it works-
You can get all the yogurt and toppings you want, no matter what flavor or what toppings and you sit your yogurt cup on a scale at the register and pay a flat per-ounce fee. My friend Mark put it well today- "They basically have based a whole business on the fact that Americans are fat and their eyes are too big for their stomachs." BRILLIANT! They got me... 3 times so far. Even smarter is that they have 1 size of yogurt cup to fill up, but a 3 year old could crawl up and take a nap in the bucket that they give you. So, not only do you have no way of knowing how much you are buying until you get up to the register, but you are tricked into thinking that you are serving yourself less than you are. Just because a swimming pool is only filled with 3 inches of water doesn't mean there is a small amount of water in the swimming pool.
This is what I love about this country. It is go big or go home. Last night I went to Moe's with my sister and her friends for "Moe's Monday." It is a deal where for 5 dollars you get a burrito, chips, and a drink. Being out of the country really allows you to put into perspective the size of portions in the US. This burrito consisted of a tortilla shell the size of a large pizza crust steamed so it could be as pliable as possible to hold what was coming next. Enough chicken, sour cream, rice, and black beans to feed Uganda. They roll it up so tight that the goods inside the burrito are just screaming to get out, like some kind of embryonic Mexican alien in a pod, wrap it in aluminum foil, and hand it to you to take home to do bicep hammer curls.
This made me think, what if they made pay by the ounce burritos? That would be even more brilliant than yogurt I think. Because honestly, you can do without fruity pebbles and chocolate syrup on yogurt, but a burrito with no sour cream? That is the glue that binds the caloric behemoth. You already start with a placemat sized tortilla, much like the cooler sized tubs at frozen yogurt places. You would have to add sour cream, meat, rice, beans, and cheese to the burrito at a minimum to make it palatable. And, each of these burritos ends up weighing the same as my sister's pug/terrier mix. The fact that our stomachs have been adjusted to handle one of those things is a miracle in itself.
All this to say that if you see a little restaurant called "Jarred's Burritos and Yogurt" one day, swing in. It'll be delicious, and as American as you can get!
