I Heart Frozen Yoghurt

I am proud to say that I have visited all 5 boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island) of New York City over the past month, which is something of a rarity for probably quite a lot of people, especially given that Staten Island is accessible via car, express bus or ferry - but not subway.

In my experience, most Manhattanites baulk at the idea of travelling into the other four boroughs. I seem to hear more from those of us who live in the "outer boroughs" (how Manhattancentric) about visiting the other four - most of which aren't more than an hour away by subway, which is only an extra 20 minutes or so than if you live in Manhattan. (Boring fact: I used to live in the East Village and my commute would take 35 minutes to get to 33rd and 10th; but commuting twice that distance from Park Slope to Columbus Circle takes 45 minutes.)

I am definitely guilty of not exploring the city more. Visiting The Cloisters has been on my To Do list for a while now, and I have two friends who practically live across the street... And yet I have every incentive because every time I do travel to a less familiar part of town I always chance upon something either interesting or delicious!

For example, yesterday I went to visit a foodie friend of mine and her sweet eight-week old baby in the Bronx. It took less than an hour from Brooklyn on the D train to get to 161st Street, home to the magnificent new Yankees stadium which looks like a giant two-storey minimalist Colosseum. I know nothing about baseball, but near the stadium and right outside one of the subway entrances is Juice Factory, which serves this really great frozen yoghurt blended with fruit.

Now, I've heard that frozen yoghurt is lower in fat than ice cream, but as someone who will always pick the high fat version over the 'lite' version of something I've always been suspicious of ice cream alternatives. I'm not militant about it but I like my food to be as unprocessed and additive- and chemical-free as possible. (Why have revoltingly bland Tasti-D-Lite when you can have Ciao Bella gelato?)

Anyway, I trust my foodie Bronx-living friend, who, it is worth mentioning at this point, had just treated me to a picnic of scallops with chimichurri sauce, beef tournados stuffed with mushrooms and spinach, a tomato-free salad (bless her, she's never forgotten that I am allergic) and a side of spicy corn: when she said she wanted to treat herself to something low fat and delicious, I believed her that such a thing *actually* existed and, salivating in anticipation, off we skipped to the Juice Factory.

We were greeted by Tony who chatted aimiably with us about the various fruity options and toppings (his personal favourite is Captain Crunch cereal). We plumped for a simple blend of raspberries, whose pleasing tartness contrasted with the sweetness of the yogurt. It is a fabulous concoction!

L-R: Fro yo menu; My raspberry frozen yoghurt sans one bite; Tony